Get ready to be amazed because artificial intelligence has just shown off its creative skills! In a recent study, 151 human participants went head-to-head with ChatGPT-4 in three tests designed to measure creative thinking, and the AI came out on top!
The tests measured something called "divergent thinking," which is all about coming up with unique and original ideas. ChatGPT-4 wowed everyone by providing more creative and elaborate answers than the human participants. It's like when you have to think of the best way to avoid talking about politics with your parents – that's the kind of creative thinking we're talking about!
The study, published in Scientific Reports, was led by U of A Ph.D. students and an assistant professor. They used tests like the Alternative Use Task, where participants had to think of creative uses for everyday objects, and the Consequences Task, which asked people to imagine what would happen if humans didn't need sleep anymore.
The researchers found that ChatGPT-4 was more original and elaborate than humans on all the creative thinking tasks. But hold on – there are some important things to consider. The study looked at creative potential, not actual creative achievements, and the AI doesn't have its own ideas – it needs a human to guide it.
The researchers also didn't check if ChatGPT-4's answers were appropriate for real life. So, while the AI came up with lots of original answers, the human participants might have felt limited by having to keep their ideas grounded in reality.
One of the researchers also pointed out that the tests might not be perfect for measuring human creativity. They're questioning whether these tests really capture all the different ways people can think creatively.
But here's the big news: AI like ChatGPT-4 is getting better and better, and it's starting to outshine humans in new ways. It's not clear yet whether AI will replace human creativity, but the researchers think AI could be a really cool tool to help people be more creative in the future.
