When I speak at a conference on innovation or creativity, there is a question that comes up more and more often: I am asked whether robots and artificial intelligence are sources of progress from a creative point of view, yes” automation ” and the transfer of skills to robots where lines of code are compatible with creativity. So here are some thoughts and a handful of references to shed light on this fascinating and complex subject.
It is not the robot that is creative, it is the human being freed from what pollutes his neurons.
In an article published by Forbes, digital entrepreneur Falon Fatemi, founder of Node.io, is interested in The impact of artificial intelligence on creativity. According to her, artificial intelligence will absolutely not kill her but will on the contrary create an environment more conducive to the creative spark by freeing us from boring and automatable tasks, purely technical, administrative etc. In other words, according to her: AI = created, but in an indirect way. It is not the robot that is creative, it is the human being freed from what pollutes his neurons. It is a point of view.
Are robots really just copiers?
However, Watson, the artificial intelligence program developed by IBM, has already succeeded in producing The trailer for a movie, invented Cooking recipes and created interactive ads for big brands. So do we have to talk about creativity for all of this? Other AIs have already shown themselves capable of Compose classical music, of Paint a picture figurative or abstract or even of Writing a novel (we like or don't like writing by a robot, that's another subject!)
So the question is not in my opinion can an AI be creative, but rather can an AI be creative and produce things that are relevant, interesting, stimulating, really “innovative”? When we talk about standardized products, AI can indeed intervene. French engineers have also developed software capable of anticipating the success (or failure) of a novel depending on what it is composed of. Why? Because some literature is a standardized product (especially in romance), as is some music (we think of the hit of the year...). In this respect, an AI can indeed “be creative”, that is to say produce something new, but a new standard, expected, without surprise. As shown by this music created by an astonishing AI: she releases albums with Warner Music (20 already!) , launch them on Spotify, but If you believe the critics “the result is not very diverse.”
An AI can “be creative”, that is to say, produce something new, but new, expected standard.
Because its field of action is currently limited to the reproduction of “patterns” known and documented by engineers. Will tomorrow be able to leave these canvases to truly offer something new? IBM engineers are convinced of this. We ask to see. In any case, the debate is open.
One thing is certain: AI will (partially) replace us
What is certain is that - if a recent McKinsey report is to be believed - AI is expected to replace between 75 and 375 million jobs by 2030, or between 3 and 14% of the global workforce). What will then make the difference between the robot and the human tomorrow? According to Fatemi, the first will be a thinking machine, while the second will have the initiative of creation.
What do you think? Do you think that AI is a threat to creativity? We talk about it whenever you want, during a conference or over a coffee:)
