In the world of creativity, there has long been an unspoken divide—those who seem naturally gifted with imaginative prowess (like our Ideasicle Experts) and those who struggle to come up with anything original. But with the advent of AI, that gap is starting to close. AI is not just a tool for automation and efficiency; it's now being harnessed to elevate the creative abilities of individuals. A recent study from the University of Exeter reveals just how AI is leveling the playing field, making those who traditionally struggle with creativity able to perform on par with the most creative minds. Sounds great, right? But this technological advance comes with an unexpected twist. While AI boosts individual creativity, it might actually be harming our collective creative output, reducing the diversity and novelty of content across the board.

Study Methodology: AI’s Role in Enhancing Creativity

Researchers from the University of Exeter Business School and UCL School of Management conducted a study involving 300 participants tasked with writing micro-stories for young adults. The participants were divided into three groups: one group wrote without AI assistance, the second group was provided a single AI-generated idea, and the third group could select from five AI-generated ideas. Afterward, 600 individuals judged the stories based on two key criteria: novelty—whether the stories offered something new or unexpected—and usefulness—how well the stories engaged the target audience.

The researchers also used OpenAI’s API to calculate how similar the stories were to one another, looking at whether AI-assisted writing led to more homogeneity in creative output. Interestingly, they also assessed each participant's inherent creativity using a Divergent Association Task (DAT), which measures an individual’s ability to make unusual associations, a common marker of creative thinking.

Results: AI Levels the Creative Playing Field, But...

The findings were eye-opening. AI assistance significantly improved the creativity of participants who scored lower on the DAT, leveling them up to the same standard as the naturally creative individuals. For example, less creative writers who used AI saw a whopping 26.6% improvement in writing quality and a 15.2% reduction in boredom, with their work deemed funnier, more emotionally engaging, and more likely to contain plot twists. Essentially, AI made the less creative as productive as their more creative peers.

However, for those already scoring high in creativity, AI offered little to no benefit. Their work, while still creative, did not experience the same leap in quality or novelty. This suggests that AI's real strength lies in empowering those with less inherent creativity, making their work more professional and polished.

Yet, here’s where the downside comes in. The more AI was used, the more similar the stories became. Writers who incorporated AI-generated ideas produced content that was 10.7% more similar to each other’s work compared to those who did not use AI. While the stories were more polished and engaging, they also lost some of their distinctiveness, raising concerns about the long-term effects on collective creativity.

Implications for Creative Industries Like Advertising

For creative businesses, especially in fields like advertising where originality is prized, these findings offer both promise and caution. On one hand, AI can help bring team members up to speed, reducing the disparity between different levels of creative talent. It can help generate better ideas faster, increasing productivity and, in turn, allowing creative teams to deliver higher-quality content more efficiently.

But there's a double-edged sword. As more professionals rely on AI for inspiration, we might start seeing more "cookie-cutter" solutions. If every agency is using the same AI models to generate ideas, the outputs may start to look eerily similar. This would be a disaster in a field like advertising, where standing out is essential. The same concerns extend to any industry where creativity is a key differentiator.

So, while AI can be a great equalizer for some individuals, businesses need to be mindful of its potential to paint us into an innovative box. It’s not just about boosting individual creativity but ensuring that as an industry, we don’t lose our collective ability to surprise, engage, and innovate. At Ideasicle X, we’re acutely aware of this balancing act. We continue to believe that true innovation can only come from real live human beings. But that doesn’t mean AI can’t help. Our job, as leaders in creativity, is not just to harness AI but to ensure it helps inspire the unique, varied, and bold ideas that clients are looking for.

In the end, AI is a tool—a powerful one—but it’s up to us to wield it wisely.

Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post like this.