AI vs. Humans on Creativity

A recent study published in Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40858-3) compared the creative abilities of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and humans. Conducted by researchers Mika Koivisto and Simone Grassini, the study aimed to assess whether AI could demonstrate creativity on par with or exceeding that of average human performance.

The researchers tested three AI chatbots - ChatGPT, ChatGPT4, and Copy.Ai - against 256 human participants on a standard assessment of creative thinking known as the: Alternate Uses Task (AUT). This AUT is used to measure "Divergent Thinking" - using four objects Rope, Box, Pencil, and Candle... and then getting answers from both Humans and AI about their "alternative uses". Although the paper does not give the specific answers given by each one, I can speculate the answers were something like this:

• Rope: Humans may suggest using it as a lasso, clothesline, tug of war rope, swing, etc. AI may suggest tying packages, mountain climbing, jump rope.
• Box: Humans may suggest using it as a fort, race track for toy cars, homemade sound booth, hide-and-seek space. AI may suggest storage, shipping items, recycling bin.
• Pencil: Humans may suggest using it as a drumstick, blow dart, spinning top, ruler. AI may suggest drawing, writing, arts and crafts.
• Candle: Humans may suggest using it to light birthday cakes, melt crayon for art, play hot potato. AI may suggest mood lighting, meditation aid.

While there might not huge differences, this speculative example illustrates how the most creative humans were still able to match or edge out AI chatbots in some instances, even though the AI performed better on average on the whole task.

The most creative humans can make less obvious connections that even advanced AI cannot.

Now, this study yielded several notable findings:

• On average, the AI chatbots outperformed the human participants in creative output, as measured by semantic distance scores and subjective creativity ratings by independent human judges. As the study states, "AI’s scores were higher than humans’ ones" when looking at both metrics. This suggests current AI has reached similar or superior creative ability compared to average human performance.
• However, the most highly creative humans still matched or surpassed the chatbots' performance. The study found "the best human ideas still matched or exceed those of the chatbots," with top human responses receiving scores on par with or higher than even the best AI responses. This indicates limitations in AI's ability to replicate exceptional human creativity.
• Humans displayed wider variation in performance, with some giving uncreative or low-quality responses. In contrast, the AI chatbots consistently produced relatively creative responses. The researchers propose humans may experience lapses in the executive control needed for sustained creative thinking.
• Among the chatbots, ChatGPT4 received the highest subjective creativity ratings from the human judges. This may be due to its improved ability to combine concepts in surprising or emotionally resonant ways.

While this study demonstrates AI's burgeoning creative potential, the authors note human creativity remains multidimensional and complex: "Understanding the interplay between AI capabilities and qualities unique to human creativity will be important for the future of creative work." The most non-shocking result here, is that humans were more inconsistent; this is what we want and expect, inconsistency is inherently the most human thing we have from this context. Think of professional sports like baseball, where we have broken down the sport to an incredibly precise mathematical equation which behaves relatively consistent throughout the course of a season with low variations and high predictability; but the post-season is not always like that, which is what makes all sporting events exciting, the fact that humans will consistently show some variation in behavior and some level of consistency that makes it fun to watch! Can you imagine bots doing sports? All outcomes would be generally predictable.

In business, there are some things we want to be predictable and not others. For example, as much as it pains marketers so admit, consumer behavior is NOT predictable, which is what makes business a fair environment and where the most creative tend to win. Serving customers in a an open market is a battle for creativity, surprise, and experience; delivering the mathematically most efficient product with the perfect interception of price/quality/features is NOT what wins in the long term.

For the accounting profession, the rise of AI poses the risk of jobs becoming automated and the role being reduced to commoditized data processing. To stay vital and evolve with technology, accountants should focus on bringing human ingenuity, imagination, and strategic foresight to their work. Rather than just recording history, accountants should adapt their role to speculate about potential financial futures.

Just as the study showed the continued need to nurture the creative edge that makes humans indispensable, accounting too must emphasize creative skills alongside technical expertise. This could involve interpreting what the numbers imply, advising clients on important decisions, and envisioning long-term strategy versus tactical bookkeeping. By embracing the change to add more value as strategic advisors, accountants can redefine their profession's essence and remain irreplaceable even alongside AI.

The message is clear across fields: as technology progresses, humans must double down on exercising the creative, adaptive, visionary capabilities that make us uniquely human. For it is our ceaseless imagination and ingenuity that will enable us to thrive alongside AI, not compete against it. Accountants have a timely opportunity to transform their role into one providing both financial insight and creative foresight – the value of which no AI could ever replicate.

I am running a conference in Miami on October 25 to 27th 2023, where we explore these topics and more: https://altaccountant.com/creative/ (there is only a few tickets left)