What Defines Creativity Today?

23 June 2024 | Issue #53

In this issue:

What defines creativity?
AI recipes and creativity – Podcast
All apps sitting under one AI layer
AI-powered production studio
App/icon/logos for different AI options
MarTech vendor finder

**Midjourney Prompt**: a young woman being creative --ar 16:9

What defines creativity?

This used to be an easy question to answer. These days, the definition is much murkier.

Now that generative AI has gone beyond mundane tasks and is now creating so much content, people are trying to draw a line between what people do and what AI does.

It makes sense why people want to carve out a space they can own. It makes them feel safe. We all crave safety. It's on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Unfortunately, nothing is as clear-cut as it used to be.

Creativity can be defined as "the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new" according to Britannica. This made sense pre-generative AI.

This definition would have to include content ChatGPT or Meta AI generates. So, is generative AI creative?

Some people say it's not because generative AI's creation process is systematic, not impulsive like humans. Generative AI only gives us what we ask for. It's not possible to create something brand new because it relies on inputs.

According to Margaret Boden, the difference between human creativity and generative AI outputs is the evaluation of what is being created. Her paper on creativity and AI goes on to define three types of creativity: combinational, exploratory, and transformational creativity.

Making something new isn't necessarily "creative" if it isn't any good. So, generative AI can address the first two types of creativity (combinational and exploratory), but it isn't able to best humans on the third (transformational) because AI isn't able to define its creations as being good or not.

In a great conversation with Roger G Waters last week, we discussed human creativity compared to AI creativity. AI is able to take pre-existing information and combine it to generate something new.

In many ways, this is what people do, too. I have studied art, design, and marketing over the past 30 years and I take all of those inputs to try to connect dots in ways that haven't been connected before.

Roger pointed out that AI is just a great copycat. It creates things based on previous inputs. Once we layer in Margaret Boden's ideas on creativity, it shows that Roger is right because AI can't define if the content it generates is something truly creative. It only generates; it doesn't evaluate.

We humans are the only ones that can determine if the AI outputs are right or not.

How to define creativity today

Boden's paper on AI and creativity is from 1989 (Sam Altman was four years old, btw) and from what I've seen, it's still holds up. I've been trying to find a simple way to define our current state:

Computers of the past could only create outputs based on inputs. 1+1=2.
AI says “based on past trends, 1+1=2.”
Humans are able to say “1+1=2, but sometimes 1+1=3.”

If a computer or AI said 1+1=3, we'd assume it was a bug or hallucinating. Only humans have the capacity to explain why 1+1=3.

We're able to take leaps that haven't been taken before and then explain why that leap makes sense. Creativity has to have a little spark of surprise. A digital system can't have a Eureka! moment because it's just doing simple 1+1=2 math problems.

To have something truly creative, it needs to come from a human.

Next week we'll dig into design and how execution plays into these updated definitions.

NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI

🌅 AI Recipes, Critical Thinking, and the Imperfect Human

This week's episode of the Trending Communicator finds host Dan Nestle in a conversation with Kami Huyse. They talk about how AI is reshaping critical thinking and creativity, highlighting why these insights are crucial for anyone navigating the evolving landscape.

• Balancing AI and Human Judgment: Kami discusses the importance of balancing AI efficiency with human critical thinking to maintain creativity and ethical standards

• Embracing Imperfection: Kami emphasizes the value of human imperfection in creative processes, suggesting that unique, imperfect human input can lead to more authentic and impactful work

Listen now

🖥️ The next phase of interface design? How AI could streamline the way we use our devices

Design studios, Modem and Mouthwash, want to build an AI layer on top of all of our applications

• Versatile Interface Design: The project showcases how adaptable interfaces can streamline diverse tasks, allowing users to switch contexts seamlessly and improve overall efficiency.

• Human-Centered Technology: Modem and Mouthwash emphasizes creating technology that prioritizes human needs and experiences, fostering more intuitive and user-friendly digital interactions.

Keep reading

🚄 WPP Unveils AI-Powered Production Studio

WPP announces the launch of its AI-powered production studio, highlighting a significant leap forward in content creation and production capabilities for marketing professionals.

• Efficient Content Creation: The AI-powered studio can automate and accelerate the content creation process, allowing marketers to produce high-quality materials at a faster rate.

• Enhanced Creativity and Personalization: By leveraging AI, the studio offers tools for creating more personalized and creatively rich content, tailored to specific audience segments and preferences.

Originally shared by Tau Kapow in the RISE community

Keep reading

NEW RESOURCES FOR YOU

Logo/Icon/App design time!

**Image Credits:** *Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch*

How do the logos of the big AI companies compare? It's an interesting mix right now. The subtle gradient is clearly winning the day for the big players like Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Google.

It's interesting to see how Perplexity and OpenAI ChatGPT are going in different directions (even though that black hole doesn't look like the ChatGPT logo I see).