AI and Creativity

Posted on by Wynne Leon

LinkedIn says that the top job skill for 2024 is adaptability. They aren’t the only one touting “soft-skills.” The World Economic Forum list these top skills for 2025 (see link for list of all of the top 10 skills):

  1. Analytical thinking and innovation
  2. Active learning and learning strategies
  3. Complex problem-solving
  4. Critical thinking and analysis
  5. Creativity, originality, and initiative

Reading these articles, it seems our technology is answering the easy questions so it’s pushing the envelope for humans to do the creative thinking.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with AI lately. Not because I want to, but because I get paid to help others figure out how to leverage technology in a safe and sane way. So it’s kinda like being on a bad set up date – neither of us wants to be here. Well, I can’t speak for AI, but I wouldn’t be here unless I had to be.

But the interesting thing is that the more that I dig, the more opportunities I see for being creative. Here are some examples.

The Editing Hurdle

A lot of the generative AI demos that I’ve watched or done have to do with starting something. Please, Copilot, will you create a sales presentation for me? [My specialty is in Microsoft technology, so please forgive that bent in my examples.]

I don’t know about you, but I have a way harder time inserting personality into something that’s already written. I’ve been handed sales sheets that were drafted by AI and then asked to complete them. It takes a massive shift of perspective to not just edit what’s there but to insert what is NOT.

Creative Combos

Another example comes from a seemingly dry topic of data sets. Creating analysis of massive amounts of data that would be time-consuming for a human to do. So, AI is pretty good at things like detecting a pattern of intrusion attempts from security log entries.

But again, this is most useful when we are providing the creativity to determine what is interesting. Something like, “Compare weather patterns between Seattle and New York City.” It’s meaningful in a way that undirected analysis would not be.

Creative Prompts

It starts with knowing what you want. Being creative in how to set up the tasks that automation can deliver on. The prompts for what you want to leverage a good output fall to us. Things like:

  • Map out a road trip between Seattle and San Francisco. Make sure that we don’t drive more than 400 miles in a day, find motels that overlook the beach, suggest side trips and stops that include wildlife and nature.
  • Summarize the meeting notes with an emphasis on examples given and stories told.
  • Analyze my shopping data and tell me what I haven’t bought in a long time.

AI can write a sales presentation. But it takes a deft hand to write one that delivers the unexpected line or with the right dose of humor.

This all tells me that there is plenty of room for creativity.

(featured photo from Pexels)

32 thoughts on “AI and Creativity”

  2. Reading the list of top skills, I noticed that social skills are not on the list—things like collegiality, the ability to work with others (collaboration), and leadership. I will leave it to you and your readers, Wynne, to think about the implications of that.

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    2. I agree with you, Dr. Stein. I have said for many years that there are two things that technology can’t replace: creativity and relationship building. I’m very surprised to see the latter missing from the list Wynne shared. In the context of business, relationships are so important. When I look back on my career, I remember the people more than the work. Sadly, the focus on people is dwindling in recent years.

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  3. There are so many thought-provoking ideas here, Wynne. I think your final point is the key, through. AI is just one tool in the toolbox. Just like we can’t build a house with only a hammer, AI isn’t strong enough alone to create outstanding content (yet, at least). It’s the interaction between AI programs and human creativity/ingenuity that may leverage the technology in support of brilliant discoveries that could change the course of history.

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  4. I love your point about humanizing AI efforts…adding the spice, the flavor…or as you put it so well, “insert what is NOT” there. I’m with Erin about AI being a resource in the toolbox…for now. All the AI-driven ingenuity won’t be a match for the novelty (sometimes nonsense) that gives joy. Cheers to the creative humans who make all of that magic happen. 🥰

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  6. Oh, this is so good. Love the focus on AI because I’m trying to learn more about it. But I especially love the focus on learning something new and the role creativity plays. I sometimes get overwhelmed when I start a new project or try to learn something new. I think the problem sometimes is that I haven’t focused my creativity in the right areas, once I’ve done that, once I’ve made the problem smaller and more manageable, my creativity can run. Love your messages Wynne.

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    1. What an amazing point about making things more manageable by focusing creativity in the right areas. Yes, I feel that overwhelm to begin as well – and as we know, just starting is the trick! Thanks, Brian!

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  10. AI is certainly everywhere, isn’t it, Wynne? I partook in one of our organization’s consultation sessions for our next strategic plan today and AI was brought up multiple times.

    The top job skills list is fascinating to me because it reinforces the skills that AI can never replace – human innovation, creativity, heart and determination. It’s reassuring to think these skills will only continue to be in more demand in our AI futures.

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