ChatGPT Emerges as Top 1% in Original Creative Thinking
Researchers from the University of Montana have found that AI technology can match the top 1% of human thinkers in terms of creativity, according to a recent study. Led by Dr. Erik Guzik, an assistant clinical professor in UM’s College of Business, the research team utilized the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), a well-established tool used to assess human creativity for decades.
In the study, eight responses generated by ChatGPT, an application powered by the GPT-4 artificial intelligence engine, were assessed. To ensure accuracy, the scores of these AI-generated responses were compared with answers provided by a control group of 24 UM students who were taking Dr. Guzik’s entrepreneurship and personal finance classes. The control group’s scores were then compared with those of 2,700 college students who had taken the TTCT in 2016 on a national scale. Importantly, the Scholastic Testing Service, responsible for scoring the submissions, had no knowledge that AI had generated many of the responses.
The results showed that ChatGPT achieved top percentiles for fluency and originality, indicating its ability to generate a large volume of ideas and come up with new ideas. In the category of flexibility, or the capacity to generate different types and categories of ideas, ChatGPT scored in the 97th percentile.
Dr. Guzik expressed his excitement about the findings, stating, For ChatGPT and GPT-4, we showed for the first time that it performs in the top 1% for originality. That was new. While some of Dr. Guzik’s human UM students also achieved top percentiles for creativity, ChatGPT surpassed the vast majority of college students on a national level.
During the study, Dr. Guzik asked ChatGPT for its thoughts on achieving positive results on the TTCT. The AI responded insightfully, suggesting that human creativity may not be fully understood and that more sophisticated assessment tools are needed to differentiate between human and AI-generated ideas.
Dr. Guzik, who has been captivated by creativity since his childhood, explains that the TTCT test prompts simulate real-life creative tasks, such as thinking of new uses for a product or improving existing products. It was discovered that ChatGPT not only excelled in generating numerous ideas but also demonstrated efficiency in producing original ideas, a characteristic typically associated with human imagination.
As AI technology continues to advance rapidly, Dr. Guzik predicts that it will become a vital tool in the business world, driving regional and national innovation. He believes that AI can apply the principles of creative thinking to entrepreneurship and innovation, revolutionizing these areas.
While it is clear that AI, exemplified by ChatGPT, is on par with or even surpassing human creativity, Dr. Guzik emphasizes the importance of responsible use and the need for rules and regulations. With businesses already utilizing AI for various creative tasks, it is evident that AI’s integration into the future is inevitable and transformative for entrepreneurship and regional innovation.
The research conducted by Dr. Guzik and his team demonstrates the significant strides made in AI’s creative capabilities, marking a new chapter in the relationship between humans and intelligent machines.
