Dr Holly Patrick-Thomson

Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: Opportunity or Threat
Apr 15, 2025

Description Until recently experts believed that creative jobs and businesses would be among the least vulnerable to AI and robotisation. However, in recent years these views have changed with the acceleration of Generative AI tools, which are already used as a low-cost substitute for creator labour previously done by humans. Undoubtedly, AI systems not only have made an impact on human creativity but have gone as far as generating new and original content, prompting some scholars to describe machine-based generative outputs as ‘artificial creativity’ (Moruzzi, 2021; Runco, 2023a, 2023b).

There are currently two discourses: on the one hand, there are enthusiasts who stress that the adoption and use of AI as a tool brings increased potential for creative tasks, expanding the reach and speed of search beyond the localised imagination of people, and ultimately resulting in augmented human talent and creativity. Digitisation of creative content has made professionals more productive and saved thousands of hours of tedious “grunt work” in activities like animation, where AI can substitute for repetitive rendering, freeing workers attention for higher-level and potentially more creative tasks.

Against this promise and opportunity sceptics report that work is already being lost, particularly in the more precarious freelance sector. Moreover, AI models depend on creative content produced by humans, which is exploited without regard for the human sources and their remuneration, since Intellectual Property enforcement is difficult with online content. From this respect, there are concerns that AI systems will eventually diminish human creativity and jeopardise the future of jobs, businesses and entire industries, including education institutions serving those industries.

This event will bring together these two contrasting perspectives to consider both sides and debate the opportunities and threats of AI for creativity.

Location Loughborough University, London

People Holly Patrick-Thomson

Research Areas Employment
Management

Themes AI and Technologies
Culture and Communities

URL https://www.bam.ac.uk/events-landing/ems-event-calendar/artificial-intelligence-and-creativity-opportunity-or-threat.html

Description	Until recently experts believed that creative jobs and businesses would be among the least vulnerable to AI and robotisation. However, in recent years these views have changed with the acceleration of Generative AI tools, which are already used as a low-cost substitute for creator labour previously done by humans. Undoubtedly, AI systems not only have made an impact on human creativity but have gone as far as generating new and original content, prompting some scholars to describe machine-based generative outputs as ‘artificial creativity’ (Moruzzi, 2021; Runco, 2023a, 2023b). There are currently two discourses: on the one hand, there are enthusiasts who stress that the adoption and use of AI as a tool brings increased potential for creative tasks, expanding the reach and speed of search beyond the localised imagination of people, and ultimately resulting in augmented human talent and creativity. Digitisation of creative content has made professionals more productive and saved thousands of hours of tedious “grunt work” in activities like animation, where AI can substitute for repetitive rendering, freeing workers attention for higher-level and potentially more creative tasks. Against this promise and opportunity sceptics report that work is already being lost, particularly in the more precarious freelance sector. Moreover, AI models depend on creative content produced by humans, which is exploited without regard for the human sources and their remuneration, since Intellectual Property enforcement is difficult with online content. From this respect, there are concerns that AI systems will eventually diminish human creativity and jeopardise the future of jobs, businesses and entire industries, including education institutions serving those industries. This event will bring together these two contrasting perspectives to consider both sides and debate the opportunities and threats of AI for creativity.
Location	Loughborough University, London
People	Holly Patrick-Thomson
Research Areas	Employment Management
Themes	AI and Technologies Culture and Communities
URL	https://www.bam.ac.uk/events-landing/ems-event-calendar/artificial-intelligence-and-creativity-opportunity-or-threat.html

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