AI’s Influence on Human Creative Agency

Abstract

Emerging AI capabilities are reshaping traditional creative problem solving roles, creating tensions in various professions. It is therefore time to begin examining the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Generative AI (GenAI), on human creative agency. While AI presents challenges to creative agency, it also opens avenues for growth, necessitating a balanced approach to leverage its potential. To initiate a professional dialogue, we propose a framework outlining the influence of three aspects of AI on creative agency: whether the AI system’s perceived functionality is competing or complementing to human skills; the perceived effectiveness or level of performance of AI systems; and, whether the AI systems perform a high-stakes or a low-stakes function. The important moderating role of AI literacy on these three aspects is emphasized.