How to practice creativity? “A Glimpse of AI”

The title of this short passage may lead readers to a misunderstanding since we live in a decade in which ChatGPT is our main assistant even when it comes to basic tasks such as thinking about what to cook or even confirmations about daily decisions. But when we look a bit deeper, it can help us to find a satisfactory answer, not by scripting the result of this question on screen in seconds but by being a great specimen with its working principles and mechanism core.

When it comes to the design fields like architecture, product design, game industry or fashion; authenticity is mostly the major element which makes the design distinguishable. Ever since tools like Artificial intelligence( AI ) dwell in our daily lives, a question appeared in both the art and the creativity fields. If creativity is something humans gain through its evolutionary phase to differentiate themselves from other animals then why machines can also do that? Do they create better or do they even actually "create"?

These questions are not pushover to answer and could be the subject of further discussions. To approach the main topic, we can switch our focus to a beneficial channel, where some starting points have the potential to lead us to answers.

What is Creativity?

In its basic terms, the verb “to create something” is generating a phenomenon in terms of expression. The importance of expression can not be overlooked in this description because every creation somehow exists in some form. When designers strive to be creative, it doesn't always mean creating something completely new - it can involve building upon existing ideas and experiences⁠. It’s controversial to assume what’s good always has to be something brand new. From an empirical perspective, when it comes to having the ability to innovate something, we tend to draw upon fragments of our life experiences as our primary resource. These experiences have been accumulating since the very first day we started to use our sensory organs to identify the world around us. Hence, they can be counted as data inputs.

Firstly, the level of creativity of machine-based outputs differs from human creativity at some points since it lacks certain essential elements of human creativity. While the human state of creation relies on a combination of both bits of intelligence, including a little bit of chaos, machine creations take statistics and rules as a foundation throughout the making process. In the second GIF below, we can see how a machine generates images using diffusion models. (see the sources to know more about how diffusion models work)

At its core, the creation process involves intentionality and planning. Absence of consciousness is a fundamental requirement that distinguishes human creativity from its artificial counterpart.

Stable Diffusion, an AI-based image generation model (source:https://towardsdatascience.com/make-your-art-move-with-stable-diffusion-animations-80de62eec633)

The way AI generates images (source: https://weaviate.io/blog/how-ai-creates-art )

What does AI do?

AI works with an input-output mechanism. If we stop feeding the machine, at some point, it’ll start to repeat itself for the rest. One of the ways to improve an AI’s performance is the quality and quantity of data that has been provided from outside. When AI produces something brand new, it’s a combination of the collective data provided to it.

In its abstract definition, machine training is instructing an algorithm (actions in specific orders) to a machine which can do computations in milliseconds. Therefore, we can discuss the concept of time-saving in tasks. (That’s the main reason why every process in our lives started to digitalise more. Time is money! ) Once a machine learns how to combine different inputs; it can provide pictures, sounds or even stories in a short amount of time. All that has to be done is to explain the logic of an idea or action in a language that computers can understand.

Let’s examine an oil painting production from AI. It’s obvious that a computer is not equipped with tools like hands to draw or paint, so instead, after importing the necessary dataset to it, it will compile a digital image on the screen through pixels, depending on the model it has trained with. Computers can be mastered at processing the datasets that made it learn to combine the fundamentals of classic oil-painting properties. A trained computer can recognize the elements of a 2D artwork such as colors, light-shadow effects, brush strokes, and patterns (something that repeats and is in a relationship with its group). Based on this operating principle, AI creates variations by building upon existing models.

AI-generated oil painting (source:https://www.reddit.com/r/midjourney/comments/1b47zpz/oil_paintings_in_v6_are_incredible_prompt_in/#lightbox)

Conclusion

In summary, it is easily understood that one of the foundations of creativity relies on increasing the amount and range of input. Observing the environment more; not only as visual but as actions and their consequences, consuming the surroundings with consciousness as well as exploring the inner and gaining unexpected sights substantially impacts the data we put in our neuroelectrical systems. Therefore, the brain receives a point where it has a lot of information to combine in different forms and unlock the boundary of regular, opening its door to the unexpected or spontaneous, just like AI does.

Another crucial aspect, as mentioned earlier, is the method of expressing outputs. This skill, along with the ability to observe, is something humans can cultivate. Contemporary Artist’s works can be a great example of expressing ideas, as the main issue of contemporary art is to give the sense of an idea or feeling, whether it’s beautiful, disturbing, or shocking, rather than covering an aesthetic point of view.

Artificial Intelligence is a system that combines every input provided by humans to give a logically structured output. In contrast, human creativity is a blend of intelligence and emotion. Whether it’s a human or an educated machine, what makes someone or something worthy to have a compliment like creative is nothing more than its own life experiences (inputs) and the way to express them in a conscious manner (outputs).

"La razón de nuestra vida es expresar... expresar odio... expresar amor... expresar integridad y habilidad... todo cosas intangibles." - Louis Kahn