Is AI Truly Creative? Turns Out Creativity Is in the Eye of the Beholder
People may perceive an AI system as creative based on the extent to which they witness its creative process. The recent study suggests that exposure to the creative act influences people's perception of AI creativity. This research has important implications for the development and understanding of creative AI systems. It also prompts reflection on how human creativity is perceived and understood.
Introduction
What makes people think an AI system is creative? New research shows that it depends on how much they see of the creative act. The findings have implications for how we research and design creative AI systems, and they also raise fundamental questions about how we perceive creativity in other people.
Research Study
Niki Pennanen, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Aalto University with a background in psychology, along with other researchers, conducted experiments to explore whether people perceive a robot as more creative when they witness more of the creative act.
In the study, participants were asked to evaluate the creativity of robots based on still life drawings that the robots had made, which were actually reproductions of drawings commissioned from an artist. The study revealed that participants rated the drawings as more creative when they saw more elements of the creative act – the final product, the process, and the robot creating the drawing.
Implications
Christian Guckelsberger, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of creative technologies at Aalto, emphasized that revealing more about the process and producer of AI systems can impact people's perception of their creativity. However, he also cautioned against artificially enhancing the perception of creativity in AI systems, as it could lead to deceptive impressions.
The study findings not only have implications for the design of AI systems but also highlight the need for future research on creative AI to consider how presentation influences judgments of creativity. Additionally, understanding these factors can help reveal human biases and improve system design.
Robot Designs
The researchers tested the impact of different robot designs on the perceived creativity of the drawings. Surprisingly, there was no significant difference in how participants scored the creativity of drawings created by different robot shapes. Further research is planned to delve into this unexpected result and explore other factors influencing the perception of creativity.
HONESTAI ANALYSIS
As artificial systems become more prevalent, understanding how people perceive their creativity is crucial for designing effective systems. The study's findings not only contribute to the field of creative AI but also offer insights into how creativity is recognized in humans.
The pre-print version of the paper is available at the provided link, with the final publication scheduled for 7 April 15:30 EET.