AI & creative industries: freak out or be happy? - [Episode 4/4]

AI and creativity: an ongoing debate between summits, conferences and opposing positions. Rather than surfing on opinions, I rely on science — cognitive psychology, neuroscience, sociology of technology — to provide concrete facts.

Make way for episode 4, which explores how AI can augment human creativity rather than replace it. A practical guide to get the most out of it. Missed the previous ones? Episode 1 sets out the scientific basis for creativity, episode 2 explores the “average” effect, and episode 3 discusses the legal limit.

Creators “augmented” by AI

AI researchers, like Margaret Boden (a cognitive scientist in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Sussex), have proposed that AI could support human creativity rather than replace it.

This is the main thesis of the moment — and one that everyone is happy about.

In his book “Creativity and Artificial Intelligence”, she distinguishes several forms of creativity: combinatorial, exploratory and transformative. AI, according to this approach, excels in combinatorial forms (recombining existing elements) and exploratory forms (exploring solutions within a defined framework), but it struggles to achieve transformative creativity, which consists in questioning norms and in redefining the very framework of creation.

AI as a creative assistant

The justification given by the proponents of this approach is as follows: because “real” creativity is rooted in human dimensions — intention, culture, emotions, contexts — which remain difficult to code, the AI of the future would be at most a creative “assistant”. A kind of component for increasing the abilities of the human creative person.

AI will never be a source of radical and total innovation, but it can be used to enrich the process. She would act as a “muse” by proposing tracks or variations that the human will then select, adjust or combine.

Research on the subject also shows that the human-machine alliance gives more original results than the machine alone or the human alone. AI provides rapid and extensive “exploration”, while humans apply “curation” and contextual sensitivity.

The role of the human creator will remain central. For now only?

And tomorrow?

Rather than seeking to replace creators, AI would therefore move towards a co-pilot role (hence the name of the Microsoft AI that you find on your Office suite: “CoPilot”), multiplying the human imagination thanks to novel suggestions, surprising associations and real-time analysis of trends. This increased creativity would stimulate innovation rather than standardize it. In any case, that is what everyone hopes for.

But research is ongoing. Ongoing work is exploring the creation of a more contextual and intentional AI, capable of better understanding the cultural and social issues of its productions.

The objective? Go beyond simple statistical imitation for a more detailed understanding of the message and the underlying emotion. Some laboratories, especially those working on strong AI, aim to provide the machine with a form of “understanding” of the world, opening the door to more nuanced and original creations.

The dream of demiurges who want to remake the world thanks to the machine.

Ethical issues and traceability

Finally, ethics and traceability have become research priorities: guaranteeing the authorship of works, distinguishing content generated by AI and preventing abuse (deepfakes, plagiarism, manipulations).

Tools such as those offered by companies at the forefront of their sector are already helping certain industries identify fake, AI-generated content. Not so much to delete them, but at least just to identify them, and inform users. To give them a choice.

AI and creativity: revolution or mirage?

AI could well become a true creative partner. This is enough to legitimately worry some and to fascinate others. One thing is certain: change is happening. It remains to be seen who will adapt.

An adaptation that seems to be already under way in the world of cinema, for example: in a recent interview (this article was written in mid-March 2025), director Joe Russo (”Avengers: Endgame“) states that the use of AI is common in Hollywood, although rarely accepted, and believes that this technology is particularly suited to creativity.

This is why, with his brother, he invested in a high-tech studio aimed at developing AI tools to support artists. Their goal: to create reusable digital assets for various media, while ensuring that AI is used to improve the creative process without replacing human artists.

https://www.ign.com/articles/avengers-director-joe-russo-says-ai-was-used-for-voice-modulation-in-netflix-film-the-electric-state-insists-ai-is-best-suited-towards-creativity

So should we expect a historic upheaval? Maybe. But history has proven it to us: the major creative industries — luxury, design, media, music — have survived all technological revolutions.

So will AI be THE ultimate breakthrough that tech-optimists are waiting for? Or just a new wave to surf? The answer in the next 2 to 3 years maximum...

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This article is the 4th and last in a series written in early 2025 devoted to the AI x Human match on the subject of creativity. If you missed an episode, find them below

Episode 1: The scientific components of creativity

Episode 2: Average effect and risk of homogeneity

Episode 3: The legal limit: a real constraint for AI?