Will AI rob us of our creativity? Philosophers offer insights

The string of victory proclamations from artificial intelligence companies can be overwhelming. If AI models are so smart, is there still room for human excellence?

Dr. Lindsay Brainard, an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, studies the philosophy of creativity and is exploring what the future of human creativity might look like, based on new claims about how improved creativity works in tandem with new AI models.

Her first paper, “A Strange Case of Strange Creation,” was published in the journal inquiry In September 2023, Brainard set out to evaluate whether these new AI models were truly creative.

“It depends on how you define 'creative,'” Brainard said. “Is it the ability to produce something new and valuable? If so, ChatGPT may fit that description.”

But she argues that a key aspect of creativity is curiosity, which is lacking in current AI models. With that in mind, she says, human creativity is safe for now.

“We explore the question of whether these AI models, while not themselves creative, could end up rendering human creativity in the arts and sciences obsolete,” Brainard wrote in the Inquiry abstract. “I optimistically argue that this is unlikely. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that current models don't meet the conditions for creativity.”

In her second paper on creativity and AI, Brainard raises the question, “Should we still strive to raise students and children to be creative?”, and she plans to explore this topic in more detail in her third paper.

“We face a dilemma: we need to either acknowledge that AI may make human creativity obsolete, or identify values ​​of human creativity that AI may not be able to realize,” Brainard said.

Given the latest trends in AI and student interest, Brainard and his colleague, Dr. Joshua May, professor of philosophy at UAB, are committed to providing contemporary, up-to-date philosophical exploration of important topics. They are currently developing a class on the ethics of AI, which they hope to launch in spring 2025.

Based on Brainard's research to date, her answer to the question of whether AI can provide a substitute for human creativity is “no.”

“In my next paper, I will argue that there are at least four ways in which human creativity is valuable but cannot in principle be achieved by contemporary AI or its approximations,” Brainard wrote. “AI has not yet achieved originality, a certain self-improvement, connection, and imagination.”