Who Benefits More? The Role of AI-Human Interaction in Creativity Augmentation

Building on the prior literature on Artificial Intelligence (AI) augmentation and human-AI interaction, this paper investigates the notion of AI in human creativity augmentation, with a focus on the dynamic of human-AI interactions. We conducted an online observational study where participants interacted freely with ChatGPT, enabling an in-depth analysis of how AI tools can augment human creativity in creative writing tasks. Our approach also involved quantifying and characterizing these interactions using text analysis, with a specific emphasis on understanding them from a cognitive processing perspective. We discovered that the influence of AI on elevating creative output is more pronounced when there is a higher distribution of cognitive engagement, a phenomenon predominantly observed among participants of higher skill levels. Our research advances the understanding of this dynamic, empirically demonstrating that the AI augmentation effect of creativity exhibits a skill-biased tendency. Our research illustrates the collaborative potential between humans and AI in creative tasks. The study not only contributes to theoretical knowledge in this field but also offers practical insights and guidelines for effectively integrating AI into creative practices. This has significant implications for future work, where human-AI collaboration can unlock new possibilities in creative generation.