Creativity: Muses or neurons?

'Every act of creation is first an act of destruction', is a quote attributed to Picasso, words which suggest creating from physical matter, or creatio ex materia . This in contrast to the notion of creating "out of nothing", or creatio ex nihilo which proposes creation by some divine act or inspiration. Both assumptions involve the nature of creativity and change, and ego, And Picasso, like the Muses of Greek mythology, projected striking egotism, all that makes for a good story. But from a scientific perspective, creativity is elements of thought across many levels of physical, chemical, and biological description. Take Dr. Nancy Andreasen, for example, whose research is about the relationship between creativity and the brain. She writes that the brain’s abilities are “near miraculous,” and the process of creating something “is neither easy nor obvious.”. And so, her hypothesis is that the brain begins by disorganising and then making connections between various encoded data which were not previously connected. In other words, our brain is a self-organising system meaning that it could easily be chaos, with quadrillions of living, moving parts (neurons), but it somehow keeps itself in order, not unlike flocks of birds or ant colonies.  Now, if every human being possesses what could be called “ordinary creativity”, which goes back to our basic instincts, then our brains learn, unlearn and relearn to recognise patterns in order to aid in our survival. "Extraordinary creativity", on the other hand, as exemplified by Picasso, seems to be operating with substantially enhanced neural processes.  *Andreasen, N. (2005) The Creating Brain - The Neuroscience of Genius. Chicago University Press. 

Unpredictable AI

AI technologies are essentially computational systems and as such fairly well understood among IT professionals. However, from social and cultural perspectives, which necessarily include design processes and outputs, these technologies are poorly understood and, as there is no single definition of AI, have become subject to conjecture, speculation and doublespeak. But there are two primary approaches, probabilistic and deterministic AI with each serve unique functions based on their design and outputs: GenAI systems are probabilistic*. Yet AI's long-term impact on, say, education and the labour market is hard to predict because transformative technologies, such as generative AI, take time to become clear. Moreover, there is uncertainty about how humans, both individually and collectively will respond to AI's societal impact, particularly as the AI industry remains largely unregulated creating vast wealth and power inequalities. Given the unpredictable nature of AI, then, designers need to consider both technology and ethics when applying AI systems. *At a high level, probabilistic AI models uncertainty and provides outcomes based on likelihoods. This means that it doesn’t always offer one definitive answer but instead provides a range of possibilities with associated probabilities. Deterministic AI, on the other hand, is rule-based, designed to yield specific, predictable outcomes without room for variability once given a particular input. https://www.dpadvisors.ca/post/the-basics-of-probabilistic-vs-deterministic-ai-what-you-need-to-know

AI-deation workflow

Artificial intelligence-based software, such as ChatGPT has become an everyday part of designers' workflows, across disciplines and cultures. Using ChatGPT can help generate ideas and develop design concepts and make the ideation process faster and more efficient*. Moreover, AI image generators can save significant amounts of time and money on rendering. Indeed, as the underlying AI technology is getting more powerful exponentially, so are the tools based on the technology. However, ChatGPT responses and outcomes, and the quality of advice and solutions, depend on prompts, custom instructions and context, and while it gets a lot right, it doesn't get everything right. And so, powerful AI tools in the hands of beginners who don't understand what AI is doing are at risk of doing mistakes, and in haste. Therefore, it is good practice to verify anything important before acting on it, especially when it comes to high-stakes decisions. In short, to harness, and fully benefit from the power of AI across design fields require challenging experience and discernment. *Caveat: While complex ideas travel slowly, simple ideas actually travel very fast. However, there's a high amount of variables wrapped up in even the simplest of ideas, if and when we let an idea rest or “sleep on it.”

GenAI and the risk to critical thinking

GenAI, such as ChatGPT, has become immensely popular because the learning models respond to user prompts in a conversational way generating text, images, videos, and so on. That is, GenAI uses machine learning models (LLMs) to learn patterns from existing data, both structured and unstructured, to generate new and innovative content. But innovation needs a critical approach (1), not least in the digital age when transformative or impactful innovation is facilitated if not driven by AI. And so, designers need critical thinking skills in the process of finding a solution to a stated problem (2). But while GenAI is capable of creating new content, can it replace human critical thought and reflection? An online sample study of some 600 participants in the UK, showed that with people employing GenAI tools as substitutes, and not supplements to routine tasks, there is a 'significant negative correlation between the frequent use of AI tools and critical thinking abilities'. Similarly, a US university survey of 1,000 faculty found that GenAI diminishes students’ critical thinking skills and increase over-reliance on AI tools (3). Psychologists call it cognitive offloading when GenAI, offers users "good enough" outcomes that can be attained with minimal effort (4). But such outcome-oriented thinking that focuses on results rather than process may overlook or underestimate human judgement, user education level, design knowledge and experience.   (1) The term critical comes from the Greek word kritikos meaning “able to judge or discern”. (2) https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-business/making-creativity-and-innovation-happen/content-section-5.2  (3) https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20260128145305278  (4) https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-art-of-critical-thinking/202512/is-generative-ai-rewiring-our-brains-heres-how-it-happens

Superior human creativity?

GenAI models, such as ChatGPT use algorithms trained on vast amounts of data from existing work, and then generating their own novel content (texts, images, software code, and music). But are the models really creative in a human sense? Because the models don't "understand" the meaning or context of their creations directly, unlike humans who, generally speaking, show a greater ability to generate and evaluate ideas with great variations due to their unique and detailed training and experiences. For example, research suggests that generative AI–enabled stories are more similar to each other than stories by humans alone (1). That said, GenAI , as a tool, can support and augment human creativity acting as an "intelligent tutor" or "co-creator". So, what's the difference between GenAI and human creativity? Or, do people assume human creativity as being superior to GenAI? (2) Because if creativity is largely remixing parts and recombining thoughts, in which human language plays a major role, GenAI generates content in response to human-written prompts. That is, GenAI generates its outputs by statistically analysing the distribution of words or pixels or other elements in the data that it has been fed. And so, GenAI outcomes are based on likelihoods, hence probabilistic AI. But while GenAI in this manner "mimics" human creativity, it is not an original source of information and doesn't have the same kind of complex directionality as humans with their memories, intuitions, dreams and wishes. In short, GenAI is not an individual being (3). This highlights the ethical and social costs of GenAI harvesting human knowledge from often unidentified sources, that is, without consent or respect for privacy and copyright boundaries. That is, GenAI doesn't give credit to human creativity.  (1) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11244532/ (2) Traditionally, the study of the creative person focused on personality traits of creators with different level of achievement and in different domains.  (3) Cf. In the 1999 science fiction film "The Matrix," hacker Neo is faced with a decision. Resistance fighter Morpheus presents him with two pills. If Neo swallows the blue one, everything will remain the same — a comfortable life in a fantasy world. If he swallows the red pill, he will see "true reality" — a dystopian world in which humans are enslaved by machines. 

Choreographing ideas

The word choreography comes from Greek and most commonly refers to dance movement (in the sense, 'written notation of dancing'). Conceptually speaking, choreography is about symbolically designing movement in time and space. But what does it mean in practice? Can the notion of choreography be applied to design and, more specifically to ideation, as in idea sketching? While choreographers often “invent” new ways of moving, choreography transcends movements, and gives them meaning. Similarly, sketching is a performative process and practice that expresses and communicates ideas and give them meaning. And so, designers, like choreographers typically think about the various aspects of the task in hand and whether guided by improvisation or based on a brief. In this pursuit, designers and choreographers alike use a broad and varied range of means, from traditional techniques to experimenting with AI technologies. Regarding choreography as the art of designed movement, choreography is everywhere where movement happens. That is, choreography, in the digital age embraces places, spaces and settings thereby reinventing stage performance and so extending the audience experience. Indeed, theatrical experiences are a classic happening. And so, in its many forms and iterations, choreography - and sketching - can be conceived both as dialectical practice and performance that, though disruptive in character, is constructive in outcome gesturing towards a state of being-without-limit.  https://www.dance-masterclass.com/blog/what-does-a-choreographer-do

 

Dialogic ideation

One of the many approaches to design ideation takes the form of dialogue, or interactive communication between two or more designers, or between the designers, clients and users (co-design). The dialogue, or conversation, however, as an experience of human interaction, is rarely just a rational exchange of ideas. More often than not it involves the participants' attitudes, motivations and feelings when faced with, and responding to a given situation or problem as typically articulated in the design brief.. The dialogue, or exchange of first thoughts and ideas, then, creates and presents scenarios or narratives that triggers emotional responses in the stakeholders. Moreover, in AI-facilitated design, the dialogue highlights the role of designers to take responsibility and accept accountability for limiting any negative impact of AI, notably in terms of AI ethics. Additionally, the emotional content in what may called dialogic ideation, may act as a prologue to designing for emotion when, as in, say, product design, the user experience is core. 

When ideas run into the sand

When Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman proposed building a 110-mile linear megacity called the Line in the middle of the desert near the border of Jordan and Egypt in 2020—the centerpiece of a vast new planned city called Neom accommodating 9 million residents—a dozen of the world’s most prestigious architecture firms signed up. Now, five years later, the idea has run into the sand, literally, with the Saudi government having a change of heart announcing the $1.5 trillion project will be downscaled drastically. And so, the assigned architects are now working on redesigning the megastructure into a more modest, and radically changed project - from metropolis to a hub for data centers to serve the AI industry. The megacity idea, however, was, due to is complexity and construction costs, unrealistic from the start. More generally, expert analysis by Oxford University's Saïd Business School suggests megaprojects are often commissioned for the wrong reason ("unchecked  motivations") and, due to their size and complexity, are pre-determined to systemic failure. As for motivation, then, did big ego, including the architects', get in the way ("lack of ego-control")? If so, does the retreat of the megaproject exemplify design driven by hype rather than evidence-based practice. For example, Neom's presentation videos were a masterclass in rendering a seductive utopia. More contentious, the Saudi decision may reflect how the planning of Arab cities responds to globalism: That is, does "new Arab urbanism" differ significantly from colonialism, that is, the intrusion of a Western lifestyle? http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/20950/1/11.pdf

The idea of progress

Design ideas are intrinsically linked to the Western idea of progress and the 4 industrial revolutions, from the end of the 18th century to present-day (mechanical revolution, mass production, digital automation and industry 4.0). That is, in evolutionary terms, progress built on the assumption of gradual, continuous change - a self-driven, purposeful and cumulative process. However, since late twentieth-century, the idea of progress has increasingly come under scrutiny as a result of the environmental and social consequences of free-market policies. And so, with industry 4.0, the question is now how AI systems will impact the idea of progress in the perspective of economic and social development, particularly when the effects of AI remain uneven among jobs and economies as exemplified by the introduction of humanoid AI robots. Positively, AI may renew and reaffirm the idea of progress as experimental technology turns into operational technology in homes, offices and on factory floors  However, the uncertainty or disruption triggered by AI - revolution or evolution (?), may erode the historical foundations for the belief in progress as a human force for good. To consider future direction and impact of AI on society at large, understanding how it is used, and why is as important as measuring how widely it is adopted.

Ideas looking for a problem

From loudmouthed AI chatbots to ridiculous e-commerce product summaries, “AI slop”, which is defined as low-quality and generally unwanted AI-generated content, reached a new peak in 2025. Indeed AI-generated articles now make up more than half of all English-language content on the web, according to search engine optimisation firm Graphite. And so, in AI slop environments, designers find  themselves under commercial pressure 'to start from the solution and work backwards to find the problem', say researchers at Nielsen Norman Group. That is, product designers have been tasked with integrating AI almost anywhere and everywhere even when it might make little sense. And so, there has been a reaction against the amount of AI slop spreading on the web although, as the research suggests the tide seems to be turning against AI slop making way for more intentional product design and strategy that focuses on impact. If so, more intentional product design, given he impact of AI, suggests that designers will need to argue their case for what their skills contribute to projects. Interestingly, working backwards from problem to solution has a parallel in the found object art, that is, a non-art item or ordinary manufactured objects is designated as art, as exemplified by Marcel Duchamp's "readymades". André Breton, the co-founder of surrealism, defined a readymade as a ‘manufactured object raised to the dignity of works of art through the choice of the artist'. And so, Duchamp put his idea about the object and then calling it art.  Readymades are considered a viable artist practice although still open to questioning.