The secret sauce for content creators to thrive in an AI-driven world
Generative AI has mimicked the left part of the brain, but will it overpower the right side?
Creators are a harried lot these days. With the commercialization of artificial intelligence (AI), most find their clients have vanished into thin air. Businesses have moved on from human content creators to AI, no thanks to OpenAI and ChatGPT.
Almost six months after the launch of ChatGPT, I can safely say this — the secret sauce to countering generative AI is CREATIVITY.
But before I get into that, let me spell out the five points I am going to address in this newsletter:
1) Human creativity
2) AI creativity
3) Will or will not machines ever match human creativity?
4) Is AI killing human creativity?
5) What does all of this mean for creators?
The advent of generative AI tools has intensified a long-standing debate — is AI as creative as humans? Or can it be? Or will it ever be?
We humans still have two things going for us — creativity and innovation.
Creativity requires a unique combination of imagination and knowledge. It is a mysterious, non-tangible quality, and that’s why, the anti-AI brigade says a machine will never be able to replicate it.
I am trying to be as non-scientific here as possible but if you were to recall your biology class lesson, the left part of the human brain is for the logical things you do while the right part is where your creative self nestles. The left hemisphere controls speech, comprehension, arithmetic, and writing. The right side controls creativity, spatial ability, and artistic skills.
Human creativity is a complex process that involves different parts of the brain working together to generate new ideas, concepts, and perspectives. It is often unpredictable and unstructured, with ideas coming from unexpected sources and in unconventional ways. The ability to think outside the box and come up with something truly original is one of the hallmarks of human creativity.
Imagination plays a crucial role in creativity as it enables the generation of novel ideas. Although the mechanisms behind human imagination and creativity are still not fully understood, it is evident that creativity involves some degree of originality and interpretation. Often, human creativity arises from the association of disparate concepts or experiences, resulting in the development of a creation that conveys a specific emotion or message.
Can we say the same about AI?
The ironic part is that both, AI and the human brain work on inputs. While AI can analyze vast amounts of data and recognize patterns that humans might miss, it lacks the intuition and emotions necessary to create something truly unique. Creativity requires a deep understanding of human experience and emotion, as well as an ability to connect seemingly unrelated ideas in novel and meaningful ways. This is something that AI simply cannot do, as it lacks the consciousness and self-awareness that are essential to human creativity.
Furthermore, creativity often involves taking risks and making mistakes, which are integral parts of the learning process. While AI can learn from its mistakes and improve over time, it lacks the flexibility and adaptability that humans possess. Humans are able to change their approach and try new things based on their experiences, whereas AI is limited by its programming and algorithms.
Which then brings me to the next point…..
Is AI Creative At All?
Generative AI is a powerful tool that can create from previous works, be it poems, articles, stories, paintings, and so on. It cannot generate fundamentally new ideas on its own. It can only replicate creativity by using data, keywords, and now “prompts” to create a piece of content. So in that sense, yes, it is creative. Let’s just say it has “limited creativity”. AI has (and continues to do so) created works of art like writing poems in the style of a well-known poet, or writing songs or even a novel.
So what’s the difference between human creativity and a machine’s?
Generative AI is an application of machine learning that incorporates supervised and semi-supervised algorithms to create fresh content by identifying patterns and trends in training data. Unlike conventional AI which recognizes patterns and makes predictions based on existing data, generative AI goes a step further by producing diverse outputs, such as videos, text, and images.
Clearly, AI’s creativity is limited to what it has been trained on. In contrast, human creativity is infinite, not bound by training or data sets. Human creativity is driven by imagination and innovation, which allows us to challenge traditional ways of creating art and present new perspectives.
Here’s an example: based on datasets, you can prompt a generative AI tool to paint in the style of Salvador Dali. Which it will. That’s limited creativity because it is bound by the data it’s trained on. It “understands” the strokes of Dali, the style, etc. A human, on the other hand, will come up with something completely original. AI takes and mixes up random inputs from its datasets to produce a “replicate” output so in that sense, one can call it creative but it is limited by those very databases. It cannot think up something on its own. A human brain, on the other hand, relies on a lot more when asked to paint — memory, emotions, feelings, moods, imagination, and hence, its creativity is limitless.
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Will Or Will Not Machines Ever Match Human Creativity?
I cannot forecast the future of technology as fascinating and as evolving as AI. There are many out there who insist that AI will never be able to match human creativity while those in the opposition are equally vehement in their assertion that it will. The debate around whether AI can replace human creativity has been ongoing for years. While some argue that AI can, by copying, produce “unique” content, others say AI can only catalyze human creativity by merely supporting it.
When it comes to creativity, I agree that AI still has a long way to go. Although AI can produce technically proficient works of art, it is not yet capable of producing works of truly creative or innovative design. It is still far off from fully replicating the complexity and diversity of human thought. Without the ability to understand context, human emotions, personal experiences, and spontaneity, AI will always struggle to replicate human creativity.
In his post on generative AI, CEO of AI and data driven solution company addepto Artur Haponik succinctly explains some of the reasons why AI can’t replace human creativity (for now):
1. AI is not equipped with emotional intelligence: While generative AI is a powerful tool that can create unique and compelling content, it cannot replicate human emotions. Emotions are what allow us to connect with art on a deeper level, and without them, AI-generated art will always lack that special quality that sets human art apart.
2. The performance of Generative AI depends solely on the quality of the data used for training: AI generates output based on the input it receives during its training. This means that if the data is biased, the output will be too. In contrast, human creativity is not limited by finality. Any piece of art created by a human is part of their journey to growth through experimentation, failure, learning, and ultimately, growth.
3. AI cannot ‘think outside the box’: Unlike humans, AI cannot ‘think outside the box.’ It will always be limited within the boundaries of its training data. To catch up with human creativity, AI would have to come up with new thoughts and ideas — something it’s simply incapable of achieving.
4. The abstract application of context: Throughout our lives, human brains organically absorb information to build complex neural networks. It’s this balanced learning that makes us creative, allowing us to innovate by abstractly applying knowledge gained in one situation to completely different contexts. This is a level of abstraction that AI simply cannot match.
5. AI struggles with spontaneity: Human creativity is often spontaneous, whereas AI is programmed to follow instructions or work towards specific goals. While AI can mimic creativity to create art from previous work, it does not have the capability to read human emotions and create demanded art based on social norms.
6. AI cannot generate fundamentally new ideas on its own: The creative process involves coming up with new ideas. Although AI can generate unique content, the content is largely based on variations of pre-existing works, particularly those programmed into it during the training process.
I can only say one thing — nothing is impossible. Especially where AI is concerned. Who knows whether it will get “more creative” than humans in the future?
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But Is AI Killing Human Creativity?
There is a key aspect of AI’s impact on human creativity that is slipping by unnoticed — AI can also inhibit human creativity due to its ability to become more distracting as it gets more intelligent. To me, this is the most worrisome aspect of AI, for now.
As AI makes inroads into our daily lives, it becomes more helpful and distracting. This means that AI can limit human creativity by providing too much support, which can then inhibit originality. Additionally, AI can distract humans from the creative process by providing too many options or suggestions, leading to decision paralysis.
The more creators start depending on generative AI tools, the lazy (or less creative) they are bound to get in creation. Dependence should not kill the senses, right? Generative AI is not your muse, it’s only your assistant. For now.
What Does All This Mean For Creators?
While AI is making strides in the creative industry, it is also becoming increasingly clear that generative AI is turning more into an assistant tool; a highly intelligent and perhaps even experienced intern or virtual assistant.
Human creators are still needed to provide the creativity and originality that AI cannot replicate. Finding the right balance between AI and human input can help accelerate the creative process and increase productivity.
Clients who went over to the other side need to understand this. There’s only that much that a generative AI tool can do. As AI becomes a partner in intellectual endeavors, knowledge workers will need to learn how to best prompt the machine with instructions to perform their work.
Generative AI, for now, provides a “quick and easy” approach to creativity. That’s a shortcut that will not meet all the demands of a project.
CREATIVITY is a quality that ONLY humans bring to the table.
For content creators, digital marketers, and those who are part of the creators’ economy, a change in focus is important. Stop with the mundane, repetitive work and try to be as creative as possible, even thinking out of the box while on a project. That will not only set you and your work apart but also help your client realize the distinction between machine and man. For now. Till a superintelligent AI comes along.
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The above is from my rather erratic newsletter — All About Content.
