Creativity and Originality in the Context of AI vs. HI

DEP AI vs HI book project

“According to Merriam-Webster, creativity is “the ability to create,” with the verb “create” being a multi-dimensional term that implies the actions and behaviors that lead to the birth of something new.” AI and the Creative Process: Part One

Will we still be able to tell the difference ten years from now between AI and HI writing?

For the next ten years, the five big predictions in the context of AI development are focused on scientific changes and also developments at governmental and healthcare levels.

Forbes doesn’t mention anything about AI taking over HI. It’s all about machine learning in science, big data for faster discoveries, global partnerships for AI advancements, the metaverse or cryptocurrencies, climate change with AI predictions, and personalized healthcare.

There is talk about AI giving humans a competitive edge in content creation in marketing, according to an article in Forbes.

In their New Year predictions, Buffer, wrote that:

Overall, while AI tools have been proven to provide efficiency and consistency, they also brought to light the need for human oversight to maintain creativity, authenticity, and ethical standards in content creation.

The year taught us a crucial lesson: the future of content creation lies in the synergy between AI and the irreplaceable human mind.

But what about creative writing?

When we think, however, of content creation for writers, the creativity and originality topic is not covered per se.

Either writers are busy using AI and not thinking about the consequences for the younger generations, or they are busy writing their original pieces and “battling” the generated content users.

“It’s important to note that AI software does not create anything. It generates a regurgitation of what it’s fed,” the Writers Guild of Amercia has claimed.

There is already a faint line between AI content and HI content, but the difference lies exactly in what makes HI writing irreplaceable in the long run. And that is emotion expressed through words in a unique way, almost like an imprint, characteristic of each person who can express their inner thoughts through the written word.

Human creators are authentic

While AI has made significant strides in generating content, human creativity and originality still stand out. It will be forever unique, in my opinion, unless people suddenly stop writing original HI works and AI will just regurgitate everything that has already been written up to that point. A shivering thought.

Human creators bring into their writing personal experiences, emotions, and cultural nuances that AI may struggle to replicate authentically. I see it clearly when I read the two types of content.

HI writings are unique, like snowflakes in winter, whereas AI uses the same expressions, boring phrase constructions, and long paragraphs. Unless the AI tools are used by a professional, who is clear about the “traditional values of creative composition“ and has “deep familiarity with technology”. (see article)

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is similar to a smart robot that learns to become human. This robot can learn continuously, manage to solve problems, understand language, and even make decisions. Thanks to special computer code and complicated programs, this works to some extent when it comes to creative writing.

One big part of AI is machine learning, which is the heart of AI. This is how AI is getting better and smarter over time.

Generative AI can produce stories, music, and art that closely resemble human creations. Here is where the question of authenticity, proprietorship, plagiarism, morality, and originality comes up oftentimes.

So what about our own creativity?

Will we stop coming up with new ideas because AI does it for us?

Or do the prompts given to AI generators count as co-creativity or some form of human-machine collaboration?

Stephen Marche used the term “a collaboration between myself and transformer-based artificial intelligence” for his AI-created novel experiment (read about it here.)

Machines might know a lot and keep learning from all the content they are being fed, but they cannot imagine things like we do. Human creativity is our power. That and also the quest for connections between our ideas about how we express thoughts and emotional situations.

Can we keep our creative spirit alive?

Before starting this research, I was radical in my idea that human creativity is original and that it is only humans who can create new and emotional pieces. I still stand by the emotional part, especially when it comes to writing about personal experiences.

I was hoping we could still be original when writing short fiction or longer fiction when writing about our experiences on various platforms and expressing our thoughts through poetry and essays.

And then something struck me when reading this that left me mouth-agape for a few good minutes, thinking.

“I feel that I should also point out something obvious to the many readers and writers who believe, in good faith, that this technology represents a threat to the value of human originality: You’re too late. Originality died well before the arrival of AI; we are currently in the most derivative period of human creativity since the Industrial Revolution.” Stephen Marche in The Atlantic

So what’s next?

Do we learn to collaborate with AI by experimenting with new tools, or should we keep our strong foot on striving for creativity and originality without AI?

Do we think of AI as merely a mysterious tool or as a force taking over our creative arts and fundamental human expressions?

Perhaps each of us, while answering these questions after some pondering, will try to understand, adapt, and persevere in our newly found belief about what creativity and originality mean in the context of AI vs. HI.

Thank you for reading!

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Let’s spark an engaging discussion on what makes us creative and original and where is AI’s place (if any) in this definition.

Sources:

https://www.inc.com/inc-masters/ai-and-human-originality-and-creativity.html

Please read the rules for the DEP 1st Book Project in 2024, AI vs HI:

Also please check the DEP AI vs HI Contest:

Gabriela is studying to become a full-stack developer while being a mother of three small kids. This requires her to pay for some graduate programs and boot camps to gain experience. She is writing articles on Medium and Substack to inspire others and fund her journey.

Do you enjoy Gabriela’s articles? Buy her a tea or a Ko-Fi to support her work.

✍ — Published by Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles at Dancing Elephant Press. Click here for submission guidelines.