Large language models (LLMs), AI systems that can process human language and generate new texts in response to written prompts, are now widely used by people worldwide to complete various tasks. These systems can be used to quickly create various texts for specific purposes, including work emails, reports, lists, articles and essays, as well as poems, stories, scripts and even song lyrics.
Some people use LLMs as a source of inspiration or ideas, which they then adapt in their own words, while others might choose to directly use AI-generated texts without changing them. Despite their overall effectiveness as creative tools, their actual impact on human creativity is still poorly understood.
Researchers at the University of Toronto recently set out to explore how the use of LLMs during creative tasks affects the creativity of human users. Their findings, published on the arXiv preprint server, suggest that these models can impair the ability of humans to think creatively, resulting in less varied and innovative ideas.
"Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are increasingly being used for creative tasks, from writing emails to brainstorming ideas," Harsh Kumar, co-author of the paper, told Tech Xplore.
"However, there are growing concerns, which have not yet received sufficient attention, about the long-term impact of these tools on human creativity. We hypothesized that the repeated use of large language models (LLMs) might be impairing our ability to think creatively on our own, despite enhancing performance while the tool is in use—similar to the temporary boost provided by performance-enhancing steroids in sports."
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