Advances in artificial intelligence are redefining creativity, proving that machines can generate innovative and meaningful content across diverse fields, from marketing to medicine.
A 2023 study on AI creativity measurements from Stanford University found that machine learning models were 47% better at producing creative content than their 2021 counterparts. Advertising and pharmaceutical research are among the businesses that have taken notice of this noteworthy development.
According to Dr. Sarah Chen, Lead AI Researcher at DeepMind, "We're witnessing a paradigm shift in how we define creativity. AI systems are now capable of identifying patterns and making connections that humans might overlook, leading to unexpected but valuable innovations.
Modern AI systems operate by highly sophisticated algorithms that bring together existing knowledge in ways never seen before. For example, Google's PaLM 2 model has demonstrated cross-domain creativity of uncanny success, blending ideas from architecture and biology to propose new design solutions. On standardized tests of creativity, it achieved a novelty score of 78%, attaining performance near that of humans.
Major corporations are already using AI-born creative tools. One of them is Adobe, with the Firefly platform, now over 12,000 businesses have embraced it since launch, reporting 200 million AI-generated images using Adobe's in-house text-to-image model Firefly since it launched in March. Another, in turn, is pharmaceutical giant Merck, which applied an AI-powered platform for drug discovery and, in just the year 2023, identified 23 new compound combinations - a process that would take traditional methods at least five years.
Studies have found that while contributing to content creation AI can also increase the output in entities’ creative thinking. On the other hand, this will also result in some form of similarity across AI-generated results. This dual aspect implies that although AI can increase productivity and the generation of new ideas, the potential overuse of AI-produced text may result in reduced variance and newness.
The Fashion industry is the best case in point for the use of AI in product creation. Companies like Mango have begun using AI-produced models in their ad campaigns leading to collating a greater amount of content at a low cost and massive sales revenue. The advertisement campaign run by Mango with the help of models produced through AI soared the company’s income to the highest it has been for the last 40 years. This strategy not only cut costs but also offered new ways of marketing fashion in the economy. By joining Roblox, a global immersive communication and connection platform with over 70 million daily active users, Mango reaffirmed its dedication to digital innovation in January 2024.
Even with the many advantages AI has, some professionals advise against using it excessively to perform creative tasks. According to Mary Mesaglio, who works for Gartner, AI is not a guaranteed way to enhance productivity, so she wouldn’t recommend solely relying on it.
She points out that AI drastically improves productivity when utilized for low-complexity roles with no-seasoned employees, however when working on complex tasks that require human creativity doesn’t guarantee the same results. Mesaglio suggests companies change and optimize processes so that people don't simply employ the rough use of AI, but instead utilize its creativity properly.
AI also plays a significant role in democratizing design skills across various sectors. According to Canva's Visual Economy Report, 92% of global business leaders expect employees to possess digital design skills for effective communication. No matter their level of design experience, people can create great visual content with the help of AI technologies like Canva's Magic Studio. A wider spectrum of people may now take part in creative processes thanks to democratization, which boosts organizational innovation overall.
Even more advanced capabilities are anticipated as quantum computing and creative AI systems are integrated. According to IBM's research, during the next ten years, quantum-enhanced AI may boost creative problem-solving skills by an order of magnitude.
The way that industries approach innovation and content production is being revolutionized by the incorporation of AI into creative sectors. In a world where efficiency and standardization are valued more and more, this combination of human intellect and artificial intelligence has the potential to spur hitherto unheard-of levels of creativity and invention.