Once upon a time, stories were only written by people. But now, a new study shows that AI can help writers be more creative. Researchers found that using AI writing prompts from ChatGPT can boost creativity for writers who may not have natural creative talent. However, this comes at a cost of having less variety in the stories produced.
Professor Oliver Hauser from the University of Exeter, who co-authored the study, mentioned that using AI prompts can be beneficial for individuals. But if everyone relies on AI, we might lose out on diverse and unique ideas that come from human creativity. He emphasized the importance of sometimes needing wild and unusual ideas for creative endeavors.
In the study, 293 participants were asked to come up with 10 words that were as different from each other as possible to measure their inherent creativity. They were then given three different topics to write an eight-sentence story about – an adventure in the jungle, on the open seas, or on a different planet. Some participants received AI-generated starting ideas from ChatGPT, while others did not.
The results showed that those who used AI prompts had an increase in novelty and usefulness ratings for their stories compared to those who did not use AI. Participants who had access to more AI-generated ideas had a larger positive effect on their stories. Additionally, stories written with AI prompts were found to be more enjoyable, have more plot twists, and be better written.
Interestingly, the study revealed that writers with lower inherent creativity benefited the most from using AI prompts. On the other hand, highly creative individuals did not see a significant boost in their stories when using AI. The team also noted that stories produced with AI prompts showed greater similarity, possibly due to AI generating somewhat predictable ideas.
Dr. Anil Doshi, a co-author of the study from University College London, highlighted the importance of evaluating the use of AI in creative processes to ensure that we harness its benefits without losing the essence of human creativity. This study sheds light on the potential of AI in enhancing creativity while also raising questions about the impact on the diversity and uniqueness of storytelling in society.
