Background
For this creation, my goal was to learn two new perspectives, one of a human and one of an AI figure, for differing aspects of creativity and learning. The human I chose to interview was my mom. I chose my mom because she has one of the most creative personalities I have met during my lifetime. Through her modeling, I have fostered my own creative sense. In a professional setting, she takes on multiple roles in her work at an aerospace company and is constantly using creative thinking to problem solve. The AI figure I chose to interview was ChatGPT. I have extremely limited experience with AI, but I had some exposure to this source through accounts of colleagues on social media which guided my choice.
Each interview was conducted using the following questions:
-What is your definition of creativity?
-What is your creative process?
-Is it possible to teach creativity? If yes, what elements are required to do so?
-What factors must be present to foster a creative learning environment?
-What are the connections between creativity and intelligence?
-What are some defining characteristics of creative people?
-What hinders creativity?
These questions were created based on ideas present in Dr. Theodore Lewis' “Creativity: A Framework for the Design/Problem Solving Discourse in Technology Education” and “A Five-Dimensional Model of Creativity and its Assessment in Schools,” by Bill Lucas.
Synopsis of Interviews
Beginning with the first question, “What is your definition of creativity?” I received two extremely different responses from the human and AI interviewees. For the human’s response, I received an answer that was rooted in the necessity for imagination to create something useful. For the AI’s response, I received an academic answer which stated the complexity of creativity with specific points addressing the requirement of originality, value, problem-solving, divergent thinking, imagination, expression, and process.
For the next question, “What is your creative process?” the AI was not able to provide an answer, but instead addressed specific qualities put in place to have “creative outputs,” such as data computation, pattern recognition, and content generation. The AI stated creativity as a vital human trait. When the human was asked this question, there was an emphasis on the use of senses to create or recreative more effective ideas or processes.
The following question (Is it possible to teach creativity? If yes, what elements are required to do so?) was another instance of two extremely different answers. For this question the AI source said yes and addressed the differing levels of creativity that all humans have. The AI continued to say creativity may be nurtured and developed. The human interviewee answered no to this question with the reasoning of creativity as something you either are born with or are not born with. The human did express the subjectivity of being creative explaining that all creativity is different in a way that cannot be formally taught.
When asked about the factors present to foster a creative learning environment, the AI source and human had similar answers. They both agreed imagination, knowledge of content, and the opportunities to branch outside of a typical through process must be present. When asked about connections between intelligence and creativity, the answers differed once again. The AI source stated while the two are different concepts, they both have defining characteristics that overlap, such as cognitive processes, ways of thinking, and the need for knowledge in creative thinking. The human addressed the possibility of creativity without a strong intelligence and the possibility of being extremely intelligent with a lacking sense of creativity, but overall did not find strong connections between the two concepts.
Exploring defining factors of creative people for the AI resulted in an expansive list of 16 qualities such as emotional intelligence and awareness, persistence, passion, and originality. The human answered with a focus on experiences rather than basic qualities. The human explained that in her experience, creative people have more worldly and diverse experiences and use those experiences to build a foundational knowledge for creative thinking. This answer is similar to the response of the AI source when asked for hindrances of creativity which listed a lack of diversity and knowledge, rigid rules, and a fear of failure. The human answered this question the same expressing that an overabundance of rules and constraints will hinder creativity. The human also suggested that overwhelming emotions or stress can block the brain’s creative flow potential as well.
Reflection
After completing these two interviews, I was shocked at the depth of answers I received from the AI source. For each question, I was met with an introductory thought, a list of related components or the question I was asking, and a conclusion to wrap the whole answer together. The AI source provided me mostly with similar or the exact ideas presented in the academic pieces I based my questions on. This created a challenge for my achievement of my goal to gain two new perspectives for the questions I asked.
I was surprised by the similarities and differences in answers of the human and the AI. For example, I was shocked when the AI agreed that creativity could be taught, but the human interviewee did not. I was also surprised when both AI and human made notes of the emotional block that can be present as a hindrance to creativity. The human’s answers being rooted in personal encounters and experiences was helpful in gaining a new perspective of answers. The AI also addressed its lack of capability to be creative due to creativity being a vital human trait.
Concluding these interviews and receiving the different perspectives of the AI and the human, I revisited my own definition of creativity (the harnessing of imagination and its gateway into reality). This research has encouraged me to revise my definition of creativity to be the combination of experiences and imagination to benefit the human experience.
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