Generative artificial intelligence or Gen AI has been a paradigm shift in the concept of creativity as we know it. In being fascinated with its potential and capabilities, society has increasingly grown dependent on it and seems to be losing its creativity.
After all, why brainstorm ideas for your science club project when there is a robot assistant that will do it for you without needing to take credit? Similarly, why go through the trials and tribulations of growing your art social media accounts when there are LLMs that will handle both the artwork and technical work for you?
With such a useful innovation, one can’t help but wonder: what happens to the originality and authenticity of human imagination now? This article discusses how we can reach a future where people reap the benefits of generative artificial intelligence but also maintain creativity.
Generative Artificial Intelligence – A big name
Generative artificial intelligence, or Gen AI, refers to advanced computer programs that can produce content like text, images, and music that imitates human creativity. Gen AI is unlike traditional software that performs tasks based on strict instructions. It learns patterns from massive amounts of data and generates original outputs that can surprise even its creators.
Over the past few years, tools like ChatGPT for quick writing, DALL-E and Midjourney for visual art, and various AI music composers have rapidly transformed the way people work, create, and communicate (What is generative AI?, IBM, 2025).
Yet this very tool also brings challenges as it blurs the line between human originality and machine-generated content, leaving society with questions about the role of imagination in the digital age.
Who is “we”?
To begin, it is important to identify who “we” refers to in this context. “We” should be individuals like adults raising children, leaders of nations, CEOs of tech companies, and professionals in the education sector.
To make smart use of Gen AI, young individuals must be taught how to use it responsibly. When influential people take the lead and teach others how and when to use AI to improve their lives and the lives of those around them, it becomes less likely that people will go overboard and rely on it for everything.
Global programs, tutorials, and webinars should be held regularly (even online) to educate, train, and raise awareness on this matter. These programs could range from online courses to interactive workshops where participants learn to use Gen AI in practical ways, such as writing stories, composing music, designing graphics, or coding small applications.
The experts leading these sessions should demonstrate both the possibilities and the limitations of Gen AI, helping participants understand that while AI can streamline tasks, true creativity still comes from human imagination.
In addition, CEOs can use AI to speed up data analysis or marketing campaigns, but they should also encourage employees to brainstorm solutions before asking AI for answers. Policymakers can set regulations to prevent plagiarism, disinformation, or unfair advantages, while inspiring innovation in industries like healthcare, environmental research, and entertainment.
Moreover, the engineers and AI developers behind these technologies should be very involved in these public initiatives to shed light on the real purpose of their creations, how they work, their advantages, and their disadvantages. Such involvement would strengthen society’s understanding and appreciation of Gen AI as a tool to enhance rather than replace human creativity.
It’s a force we can’t hide
One of the most effective methods we can use to ensure creativity is sustained is openly integrating the use of AI into our daily lives. This should start with schools, since education forms the foundation of our knowledge and understanding.
As early as junior secondary (middle school), students should be allowed and even encouraged to use some form of AI to aid their learning. For example, students could use AI to generate story prompts, suggest improvements to essays, or create draft sketches for an art project, giving them a starting point to build upon rather than a finished product to copy.
In science and engineering classes, AI could help simulate experiments, analyze data, or visualize complex concepts, allowing students to focus on understanding underlying principles and applying their own ideas. Even in music or design, AI could assist in composing melodies or generating layouts while students add their personal touch and creativity.
At the beginning, all of this should be minimal, but it should increase as students move on to higher levels of education. If this is established, not only will it ensure equal technological literacy across society, but it will also instill the use of Gen AI and similar technologies for creative pursuits while adhering to ethical principles.
By the time these children reach adulthood, they will know when to use AI to lighten the burden of certain tasks while also understanding that AI can only enhance their capabilities. It is not meant to replace them.
Conclusion
Even with such actions taken, there will still be people who misuse AI. After all, why put effort into writing your school essay when a chatbot will write it all out for you and give you a passing (or even excellent) grade? Why put in extra hours and aim for that promotion when there are shortcuts available at your fingertips? Why pour blood and sweat into an animated series when you have digital tools that can get it done in half the time?
No argument there: Gen AI is improving lives and reducing the stress of achieving success. But if we take the initiative and remind people that there is value in the creative process as much as in the product (Extending human creativity with AI, ScienceDirect, 2024), it could show society that we are ultimately sabotaging our own creative skills and those of generations to come.
Deliberately embedding the use of Gen AI into schools, workplaces, and daily life, getting leaders to treat this as a significant issue, and raising the voices of experts could shape a mindset that Gen AI is a tool to tap into our own inner potential that may otherwise not be reached or fully realized.
We can go on to create a generation of brilliant, capable, and action-oriented individuals. People who do not wait for opportunities to be handed to them. People who create spaces of innovation and growth in various fields using what is available to them. A future where human existence is unlike anything before: advanced yet nurturing to our ideals and principles.
References
Stryker, C., & Scapicchio, M. (2025, November 17). What is generative AI? IBM.
Extending human creativity with AI. (2024, August). ScienceDirect.
