Generative AI is often seen as a simple content production tool, able to answer your questions or write emails and LinkedIn posts. However, its use is not limited to these tasks. Indeed, generative AI and creativity can be combined synergistically to develop new perspectives for innovation.
Before going into these perspectives, it is important to clear up a common ambiguity: AI is almost never able to propose the ideal solution to a complex problem. It is the person who commissions the work who can discern the relevant ideas and guide the AI to help identify them. AI is not meant to replace creative people, but rather to give them new tools to enrich their creative process.
Now that the ambiguity has been cleared up, here are a few examples of how AI can be used in various applications:
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Product and service brainstorming: Use it to generate many ideas for new products or services based on market trends and customer needs.
Example prompt: “What new products could we launch in the health technology sector? Here is the context of our product:
@contexte Produit *” -
Employee engagement: Suggest initiatives to improve employee engagement and satisfaction.
Example prompt: “What activities or programmes could we put in place to strengthen employee engagement? Here is our HR context:
@contexte RH*” -
Environmental initiatives: Suggest ideas to make the company greener and more sustainable.
Example prompt: “What environmental measures could we put in place to reduce our carbon footprint? Here is a description of our activity
@context activité *and what we have already put in place regarding CSR@Contexte RSE *”
For my part, I also use AI a great deal to challenge my own ideas:
Example prompt: “Can you tell me whether it is a good idea to write an article on this subject: Multiplying team creativity tenfold: a lesser-known use of generative AI. Can you rate the relevance and interest of this article for my target audience
@Contexte Cible *”.
I got 9/10 ;)
Let’s take a concrete example
I have to organise an event: the launch of my new line of eco-friendly clothing.
But I am short of time and I have many constraints: number of guests, budget, venues. Everything has already been done, but nothing suits me precisely. This is exactly where AI comes in.
An effective prompt for this request would look like this:
Prompt 1
“I am about to organise a product launch event for a new line of eco-friendly, sustainable clothing. My budget is around 15,000 euros and I would like to host around 200 guests, including influencers, journalists and potential customers. I would like the event to take place in an outdoor space, in a botanical garden in the city of Lyon. I want the event to be both educational and entertaining, with product presentations, hands-on workshops and interactive activities for the guests. As a first step, I would like you to give me creative and unusual ideas to carry out my project within my constraints.”
Prompt 2
“Thank you, now work out a precise, well-structured plan for me to achieve this goal.”
Thanks to generative AI, I can:
- Get ingenious, creative proposals based on my context
- Have a sizeable range of options to choose from
- Receive unusual, original ideas
- Get a precise view of the actions to put in place to achieve my goal
Where it would have taken a whole team and many hours of research and brainstorming, AI simplifies and enriches the process.
Generative AI in the creative process
More broadly, generative AI can step in within the creative process itself, as described by Graham Wallas. This method applies in every case involving any form of ideation:
- Step 1: Preparation, where relevant information and data are gathered
- Step 2: Incubation, where ideas are explored and developed
- Step 3: Illumination, where ideas take shape and turn into projects
- Step 4: Verification, where ideas are assessed for their feasibility and relevance
Generative AI can step in at each of these stages to help creative teams develop new ideas and bring them to life.
AI then acts as a real driver of innovation. A super-powered assistant which, handled with care and precision, can support every creative and non-creative person throughout the development of a project.
Practical applications of generative AI
But generative AI can also support us in tasks that, at first sight, do not seem all that creative. In every department, sector and company, we face situations that call for unconventional or singular thinking.
In these cases, generative AI can:
- Propose an ingenious tax model when the situation is too particular for traditional means.
- Optimise a visual, print or packaging design according to market trends and context.
- Conceptualise workshops for round tables or conferences.
- Develop action plans for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in line with the company’s values.
- Imagine creative logistics solutions to optimise the supply chain whilst reducing the environmental footprint.
If AI is creative, does that mean it is capable of reasoning?
Well, no. Generative AI cannot be said to be creative. It simply has bottomless knowledge and an ability to combine information in a statistically relevant way. Generative AI works by analysing enormous quantities of data and generating content based on models and probabilities. It does not really “create” with intention, emotion and deep understanding.
What AI does is recombine the information it was trained on. AI has stored information from blogs, videos, forums, scientific articles and many other sources. It can then synthesise this information and present it in a new and relevant way. This ability of AI to aggregate and rephrase existing knowledge can stimulate human thinking and open up new perspectives. However, it is always human intelligence that brings real meaning, context and practical application to this information.
This ability may seem creative, but it is the result of massive data processing and statistical associations. AI has no real understanding of the context, the emotional nuances or the wider implications of what it produces.
However, this does not diminish its usefulness. Generative AI can be a powerful tool to stimulate human creativity by providing new ideas, associations and perspectives. It is in this symbiosis between AI and human intelligence that the real potential to multiply team creativity tenfold lies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, generative AI can be a powerful tool for stimulating creativity and innovation within teams, provided it is used intelligently. Like a creativity assistant. By freeing creative teams from tedious tasks and providing them with ideas and arguments, AI can help them focus on the most creative and strategic aspects of their work. Let us not forget that creation cannot be automated and that the complementarity between humans and AI is the key to success.
*In these prompts, the Context base feature of @ucontrol.Ai is used to give context to the AIs.