Study Reveals AI's Creative Limitations Compared to Human Writers
A study published in November in the Journal of Creative Behavior, conducted by David Cropley, a professor at the University of South Australia, reveals that the creative potential of large language models is restricted to 0.25 (25%). This research suggests that AI prioritizes coherence over originality, achieving creativity levels comparable to an average human. Historical findings from Dr. George Land indicate that while 98% of children aged 4-5 exhibit 'creative genius,' this figure plummets to 2% in adults. Notable figures in divergent thinking include Franz Kafka, Sylvia Plath, and Lewis Carroll. The article also mentions a fictional unicorn story produced by Dr. Jorge Pérez using GPT-2 in 2019. Linda Caroll points out that AI's coherence hampers its ability to generate genuinely original content.
Key facts
- A November study in the Journal of Creative Behavior found AI's creative capacity caps at 0.25 on a 0-1 scale.
- Research led by David Cropley shows AI must trade originality for coherence.
- GPT-2 in 2019 generated creative outputs like a unicorn discovery story but produced much nonsense.
- Dr. George Land's NASA-era study found 98% of young children are creative geniuses, dropping to 2% in adults.
- Divergent thinking—connecting unrelated ideas—is the basis of creativity and declines with age.
- Examples include Franz Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' and Lewis Carroll's Dodo character.
- AI's training on internet data does not enable true originality due to coherence constraints.
- The article is a guest post by writer Linda Caroll on her Substack newsletter 'Hello Writer!'.
Entities
Artists
- Linda Caroll
- Alexandre Cabanel
- Franz Kafka
- Sylvia Plath
- Hans Christian Andersen
- Lewis Carroll
- Colleen Kyllonen
Institutions
- University of South Australia
- Journal of Creative Behavior
- NASA
- University of Miami
- A. B. Combs Elementary School
- OpenAI
- FASO
Locations
- Shenzhen
- China
- Andes Mountains
- Argentina
- Raleigh
- North Carolina
- United States