The increasing use of generative artificial intelligence is causing many artists, designers and writers to doubt whether they have a future as creative workers. However the value of human creativity might become even greater in a world where AI produces vast quantities of merely imitative content lacking the depth, understanding and genuine originality that can be found within work created by people with lived experience. Therefore, it is worth considering the nature of human creativity and how it can be developed.
The Origins of Creativity
The source of human creativity has long been a subject of debate among philosophers and scientists. In the mythology of ancient Greece, Prometheus was a Titan who, against the wishes of the gods, brought to human beings the gift of fire, which was the spark that gave rise to creativity and civilisation. The source of creative inspiration was said to be the nine muses, which many artists and writers referred to, when trying to describe the seemingly mysterious origin within their mind of original ideas.
In the search for early evidence of human creativity, scientists have studied work created tens of thousands of years ago, including cave paintings, rock carvings and stone tools. Human creativity is now thought to have evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago, through a combination of biological and social evolution. People who were creative likely found effective solutions to novel problems and invented technology that increased their odds of survival.
Formal Education
During our formative years we express ourselves creatively with confidence and our imagination is not bound by limits place upon it in later life. We want to learn about the world around us and possess a natural creativity and confidence that drives us to express ourselves using available materials, such as clay or paint. Unconcerned by how other people perceived our level of skill, we find a sense of achievement and joy through expressing our perception of the world through what we make.
We might lack the skill of an experienced artist or artisan, but what we create can provide us with a sense of connection to the world and achievement, in particular when praised for our efforts. However, formal education focuses on acquiring academic knowledge or practical skills and we can lose connection to our creativity. Criticism can also cause many to doubt their creativity compared to peers considered to be more talented, leading to a loss of confidence.
Modern education emerged during the Industrial Revolution, to prepare working class people for jobs in factories. The middle and upper classes were educated to enter higher education and the professions. Creativity and problem solving are now considered by many employers to be of greater value than memorising facts, which can be looked up online. Those who maintain and develop creative thinking and combine it with relevant knowledge and skills often produce work of greater quality and originality and find innovative solutions to problems.
Developing Your Creative Skills: Seven Stages
Many people believe creativity is an innate talent, rather than a way of thinking that can be learned. Rather than waiting for inspiration, you might benefit from a more practical approach to developing your creative skills. To help you do this, the creative process could be broken down into seven stages: beginning with an objective, followed by research, a period of distraction, formulation of ideas, then evaluation, decision making and taking action.
After determining an objective, try to reduce the problem to its constituent parts. Research might require you to read relevant documents, survey a representative sample of the intended audience and develop an understanding of work done by others, possibly by immersing yourself in work that inspires you, such as a favourite artist. This stage of the process might continue for hours, days or weeks, but will provide inner resources you can later draw upon for inspiration.
To outside observers, the distraction stage might appear to be a waste of time, as you don’t appear to be working on a problem. However, with an understanding of your objective and after carrying out relevant research, you can allow your subconscious to integrate this information, while it works on the problem for you. As you take a step back, do not consciously seek solutions, but instead enjoy stimulating or inspiring activities that distract your conscious mind and allow connections to form within your subconscious.
You could socialise with family and friends, watch movies or enjoy a holiday. As patterns and relationships begin to form between previously unrelated pieces of information, original ideas could begin to emerge. Many of them might not be relevant to what you are working on, but when your subconscious finds something that connects with your objective, the idea could float to the surface of your conscious mind.
When you become aware of original ideas, make a note of them, rather than risk forgetting them. At this stage try to avoid analysing the ideas, but simply record them, even if they might initially seem irrelevant or unrealistic. Rather than seek a finished solution, enjoy receiving the ideas resulting from earlier work. As you explore ideas, remain open to how they might be interpreted or applied. Do not become too fixed on one solution. Allow for alternatives also worth exploring.
An individual might evaluate their ideas to find a solution on their own, or seek the opinion of other people, each able to perceive things from their perspective. Whether you work alone or as part of a team, a decision will eventually need to be made and appropriate actions taken. You might decide to repeat each stage of the creative process a number of times, until you find suitable answers, discover innovative solutions or create something original.
An idea might seem to appear in your mind from nowhere, but will typically follow a period of immersion in relevant information, followed by time to allow ideas to gestate. If you experience a creative block, work on something more routine for a while or take a break, allowing time for your creative energies to be restored. Taking the first step involved in a piece of work could begin the process of moving forward.
Working With Others
You might work in an environment that demands instant solutions to complex problems. Other people might view stages of the creative process, such as distraction, to be a waste of time. However, creativity does not happen to order and cannot be forced. The seeds of creativity can be sown though by allowing your mind to explore relevant information, while in a relaxed state. Be open to intuitive leaps of faith, which might lead to more innovative solutions than a strictly step by step strategy.
Complex projects with a number of objectives might each be at a different stage of the creative process. You could track their progress, prioritising those with a limited time scale or objectives that need to be completed first. During research and evaluation, be open to exchanging ideas with others or exploring seemingly unrelated disciplines. For example, an engineer might seek inspiration in nature. You might also find that you can concentrate more easily on complex analytical problems at particular times of the day and feel more creative at others.
Good observational skills and discerning what is relevant from what is not, can assist during the research stage. Be prepared to challenge assumptions, question conventional methods and approach problems from fresh perspectives. Rather than relying only on the analytical methods of a scientist, the imaginative vision of an artist or the practical techniques of an artisan, you can combine them. A holistic approach, free from routine fixed ways of thinking, might lead to a path that delivers innovative solutions.
Competing Against The Rise of AI
What should I study and which skills should I learn in a world where AI is predicted to outperform humans at many job related tasks? Already we have seen people depend upon technology to remember phone numbers and replace maps. However, regardless of how capable AI and robotics become, they will never outperform humans at being human. Therefore, when seeking answers we should consider those areas that depend upon human interaction, understanding and preferences.
AI can already analyse data more rapidly than humans and machines have since industrialisation exceeded our physical capacity. However, people continue to watch humans compete in sports, entertain them through the performing arts, seek emotional support from them and appreciate uniquely human work, such as handmade arts and crafts. Combining creative skills with the ability to think for yourself might lead towards a worthwhile path that delivers a sense of meaning, purpose and an income.
