AI beats average humans at creativity
For years, many people believed artificial intelligence would replace humans in routine, mechanical jobs, but never in creative work. Creativity was seen as a uniquely human skill. New research now shows that idea is no longer fully true, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports, citing Science Daily.
A large international study has found that modern AI systems can outperform the average person on some creativity tests. At the same time, the most imaginative humans remain clearly ahead, especially in deeper and more expressive forms of creative work.
The study, led by Professor Karim Jerbi at the University of Montreal, compared the creative abilities of advanced AI models with those of more than 100,000 people. It is the largest direct comparison ever made between human creativity and AI creativity.
Researchers tested several leading AI systems, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, against human participants. On certain tasks that measure original thinking and idea generation, some AI models, including GPT 4, scored higher than the average human.
According to the researchers, this marks an important turning point. AI is no longer limited to copying patterns or following strict rules. On well-defined tests, it can now produce ideas that are more original than those of many people.
However, the advantage ends there. When the results were broken down further, a clear gap appeared. The most creative humans, especially the top 10 percent, consistently outperformed every AI model tested. Even the most advanced systems could not match the originality of highly creative people.
How creativity was tested
To measure creativity fairly, the team used a simple but powerful test called the Divergent Association Task. Participants were asked to list 10 words that were as unrelated as possible. The more distant the meanings, the higher the creativity score. Both humans and AI completed the same task under the same rules.
The researchers also looked beyond word lists. They compared humans and AI on creative writing tasks such as haiku, movie plot summaries, and short stories. The pattern stayed the same. AI often matched or beat average human work, but the strongest and most original pieces still came from people.
The study also found that AI creativity can be adjusted. By changing internal settings or the way instructions are written, AI responses can become safer and more predictable, or more adventurous and unexpected.
The researchers say the findings do not mean AI will replace writers, artists, or other creators. Instead, they suggest a future where AI acts as a powerful creative assistant, helping people explore ideas and expand their imagination.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported on how each generation uses AI in everyday life.