Two young creatives are working together to create an ad.
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As we experience ups and downs regarding the use of AI in business, an important underlying question is: To what extent does AI hurt or help creativity? I wrote in 2022 that we need to be careful not to overuse AI in ways that turn humans into Borgs. This question is more important than ever, as the availability and use of generative AI has exploded since the announcement of ChatGPT last year. There are already good examples to suggest that excessive use of AI can harm creativity. So what is the right approach to make sure that AI supports creativity rather than hurting it?
AI boom
With the explosion of generative AI tools and their use, you might be wondering how much AI can hurt or help creativity today. But keep in mind that we are only at the beginning of the trend. At a meeting last week with the advisory board of Pepperdine University’s Institute for Entertainment, Media and Sports, some industry executives equated the current state of the AI boom to the beginning of the dot-com boom two decades ago. This boom is sure to intensify in the creative economy. For example, a new generation AI studio startup backed by Peter Chernin and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz was just announced. Dubbed Promise, the service promises to create movies that take full advantage of Gen AI, putting aside the negative effects of the current state of the industry that can hinder progress in Gen AI video creation. .
AI’s impact on creativity is increasing in many areas of media and entertainment, including visual arts, film, music, writing, and advertising. When content creators rely too much on AI, unique ideas can be lost, and consumers lose out in the process. A good example of this is the recent infamous AI-generated Coca-Cola ad that failed to connect with many viewers.
Harnessing the AI boom for creativity
So the question is not really whether genetic AI can aid creativity, but rather to what extent and under what conditions genetic AI can foster human creativity. A new study by Zenan Chen and Jason Chan of the University of Minnesota, published in Management Science in October, provides important insights in the context of creative advertising. Chen and Zhang conducted an experiment in which participants, both expert and non-expert ad creatives, were asked to write ad copy with or without the assistance of a large-scale language model (LLM). Chen summarized the results as follows: “We found that using an LLM as a sounding board can improve the quality of ad copy, but not as an AI ghostwriter. Especially for non-experts, using an LLM as a sounding board can improve the quality of advertising copy. Copy quality has improved.
Perhaps one of the more interesting findings is how LLM affected expert advertising copy. It turns out that the experienced advertising creative who used the LLM as Al’s ghostwriter to create a “first draft” was locked into a not-so-creative idea. Chan recalls: “When Gen AI tools are used as ghostwriters, AI-generated content can lock users in and reduce the quality of their work, especially for subject matter experts. Gen AI tools can improve operational efficiency in task execution. It tends to improve, but it doesn’t necessarily improve the user’s creativity.”
So creators in various industries, take note. AI should not replace us from the beginning. Start by envisioning and unleashing your creativity, then use generative AI to enhance your post-idea output. Also, if you are a beginner, take advantage of gen AI to enhance your work as it will likely improve the quality of your deliverables.
Christel Russell, a marketing professor at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, is working with 50 entertainment executives on a project about what makes a hit. She provides a compelling rationale for these experimental results, not just for advertising but for content creation in general. “What no type of AI can replace is a critical understanding of the broader cultural and social trends that drive the emergence of creative ideas. Only human intelligence can You can dream of the unspoken and unseen, and see new trends that are not yet visible to “naked AI.” ”
This makes intuitive sense, but when technology advances, we tend to lose common sense and give in to the hype. The reality is that, for now, AI will not replace high-quality creative work. In fact, if AI takes over the early stages of creativity, it could be harmful. However, technology is rapidly evolving and advice is subject to change. For example, in 2017, I reported on how entrepreneurs are hard at work creating AI-generated music that elicits the emotions that quality human composers can. Please wait for a moment. Don’t worry, we didn’t use gen AI in the first draft of this article.
