This following article forms a short summary of the bachelor thesis written in German << How do AI texts become creative? – An analysis of „Harry Potter and the Portrait of what looked like a large Pile of Ash“ >> (WiSe2023) by Felix Keilhack. It was written under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Thomas Reinhardt in the context of Ethnology.
The following article names the concepts of creativity and argues for a new interpretation of the concept of creativity.
The paper and its sources can be read as a PDF here.
ABSTRACT
How do AI texts become creative? Due to the increasing influence of Artificial Intelligences, an approach is needed to redefine creativity as an anthropogenic ability. Within the topic of creativity and due to its mystification, this bachelor thesis examines how AI texts actually become creative, using the example of “Harry Potter and the Portrait of what looked like a large Pile of Ash”. The thesis develops a profile for analysing creativity within the field of creativity research, which can be used in other scientific work as well.
APPROACH
The bachelor thesis considers creativity as a process and asks how it emerges. So the question of how AI texts become creative is juxtaposed with the question of what creativity actually is. The question also has a normative component: What does creativity mean to us? So how are AI texts becoming creative and should they be called creative after all? The purpose of the thesis was examined by means of the following procedure: (I) How was the sample text produced? (II) How does creativity arise? (III) Is the AI text “Harry Potter and the Portrait of what looked like a Pile of Ash” creative? (IV) How can creative work steps be optimized and what are the problematic developments in the externalization of creative work processes?
EXAMPLE TEXT
The so-called cyborg comedy “Harry Potter and the Portrait of what looked like a large Pile of Ash” introduced by Botnik company was created in a collaboration between human authors and an artificial intelligence. Botnik‘s AI basically functions as a predictive keyboard. The ironic fanfiction story of Harry Potter is one of the best-known works of AI-generated literature in meme culture.
In my bachelor thesis I also collaborated with an AI for the introduction as well as for the conclusion. I have marked the AI-generated text passages of ChatGPT accordingly.
CONCEPT OF CREATIVITY
Creativity is often misunderstood as an action or object solely within a culturally-determined domain. These predestined domains of creativity include for instance fiction or music. However, any kind of action of an agent could be considered creative, regardless of a prescribed domain, such as problem solving in general.
The attribute “creative” is used in several contexts to describe certain actors, their actions or their works. The following four pillars bear the concept of creativity in my thesis: (I) Artist, (II) Process, (III) Object, (IV) Consumer.
(I) ARTISTS are the agents of the creative process. I identify (1) the motivation, (2) the intentions and goals, and (3) the external influencing factors (for example social & cultural influence) as the essential factors for the creativity of the artists.
(II) The creative PROCESS can be differentiated into (1) types of thought, (2) steps and (3) qualities.
- The following types of thinking can be used in the creative process:
- Design thinking as setting the frame for a creative playground.
- Systemic thinking as the arrangement of interactive components and causal processes within a given framework.
- Thinking in analogies as exploring similarities.
- Visual thinking as a power of imagination
- Abduction thinking as the progressive exploration of possible explanations for certain problems.
- Meta-thinking as reflecting on one’s own knowledge.
For more detailed information on the thinking types and patterns, please read this article.
- The following steps exist in the creative process:
- Identification of problems
- Collection of information
- Organisation of information
- Combination of concepts
- Generation of ideas
- Internal evaluation
- Planning & Implementation
- Verification
- A creative process can have the following qualities:
- Combination as the linking of already existing elements.
- Exploration as the extension of the limits of knowledge.
- Transformation as the overcoming of the framework of culture-determined reality by creating a new reality.
(III) The creative OBJECT is influenced by the three factors (1) novelty, (2) surprise and (3) value. (3) the creative value of an object depends on the internal evaluation of the ARTISTS as well as on the external evaluation of the CONSUMERS. Often the value of an object is associated with a reference to previous objects.
(IV) CONSUMERS assess the creativity of an object by their external evaluation. Their power of judgment depends, among other things, on the culturally determined values, the performance of interpretation, the attention and commerciality as well as the innovativeness of the object.
The creative OBJECT thus is influenced by the competitive tension between the internal evaluation of the ARTISTS and the external evaluation of the CONSUMERS.
SYNTHESIS
The AI text “Harry Potter and the Portrait of what looked like a large Pile of Ash” can be analysed using the creativity profile. The complete analysis can be found in the bachelor thesis.
In summary, the Botnik-AI is a limited artist because it has no motivation and only acts within the framework of weak goals. While human authors use design thinking to define the framework of their creative output, AI uses systemic thinking in particular. The work steps of AI are limited to the calculation of probabilities for words. Qualitatively, the output can be seen as a combination, but not as a transformative performance. The AI text may seem new and surprising, but is it valuable?
REVOLUTION OF CREATIVITY
Artificial intelligences are conquering more and more creative spaces and domains that were once reserved only for humans. Will people become obsolete in the coming years? Is the essence of man deciphered? Where else can humans shine?
In the age of Artificial Intelligences, people need a revolution of creativity. What is meant by a revolution of creativity? It encompasses the awareness of humans‘ strengths, their emancipation and a normative reinterpretation of the concept of creativity.
The bachelor thesis identifies the niche for the uniqueness of human abilities and argues for a revolution in the concept of creativity. The uniqueness of human action lies in the so-called “creative impulse”. The creative impulse encompasses the motivation of people and manifests itself in design thinking as the transformative actions of the artists. Problem identification, internal evaluation and content review play an essential role as the main steps for creativity.
Creativity should be understood as the anthropogenic ability to produce socially relevant, progressive, self-reflective and sophisticated content. Creativity, as a transformative (or explorative) achievement, should include exclusively design thinking. Readers should realise that consumers, too, can rise to the status of artists through their critical acuity and reflection, by constructively developing previous content. Creativity should become a progressive, democratic and future-oriented form of human communication.
Wie werden KI-Texte kreativ?
– Bachelorarbeit (Deutsch)
