Humans Outperform AI in Key Creative Skill, Study Reveals
▼ Summary
– Human pairs outperformed AI and internet tools in generating original ideas, especially in divergent thinking tasks like finding unusual uses for objects.
– Participants working with another human reported increased creative confidence, while those using ChatGPT or Google did not experience this boost.
– Automated scoring systems rated ChatGPT-assisted ideas as more creative than human-generated ones, but this was due to length bias rather than true originality.
– The study found no significant difference in performance between ChatGPT and internet search tools, with both being less effective than human collaboration for idea generation.
– Researchers caution that AI may still be useful for refining ideas, but human interaction remains superior for sparking novel creativity and confidence.
New research reveals that human teams consistently outperform AI when it comes to generating original ideas, highlighting the irreplaceable value of human collaboration in creative thinking. A recent study comparing different creative partnerships found that pairs of people working together produced more innovative and clever solutions than individuals relying on artificial intelligence or internet search tools.
The experiment, conducted with over 200 university students, tested four collaboration methods: human pairs, human-internet (Google), and two variations of human-AI (ChatGPT) partnerships. Participants completed creative tasks like brainstorming unusual uses for everyday objects and imagining hypothetical scenarios. Human judges consistently rated the ideas from human pairs as more original and inventive than those generated with AI assistance.
Interestingly, those who worked with another person also reported higher creative confidence afterward, while those using ChatGPT or Google saw no such boost. This suggests that human interaction not only sparks better ideas but also strengthens self-perceived creativity. Participants in human pairs viewed their partners as equal contributors, whereas those using AI often credited the technology rather than themselves for the output.
One unexpected finding came from an AI-based scoring system, which initially rated ChatGPT-assisted responses as more creative than human-generated ones. However, researchers discovered this was largely due to “elaboration bias”, the AI scoring system favored longer, more detailed responses, mistaking verbosity for true originality. After adjusting for length, the advantage disappeared, raising questions about whether AI can reliably assess creativity.
The study focused primarily on divergent thinking, where novelty and variety matter most. While AI showed no clear edge in refining or converging on solutions, human pairs excelled in generating fresh, unconventional ideas. The researchers noted that real-world creative collaboration may differ from controlled lab settings, and future studies could explore how people interact with AI in more natural workflows.
Despite AI’s growing capabilities, this research underscores that human creativity thrives in collaboration, producing not just better ideas but also fostering confidence in creative abilities. As the study concludes, some aspects of innovation remain uniquely human, at least for now.
(Source: PsyPost)
