Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT, the topic of AI has become more prevalent in everyday life. Questions about AI in the classroom or AI and art have raised concerns about what this might mean when it comes to academic integrity, plagiarism, and creativity. But how does AI work and how can we use it as a tool for co-creativity?
Let’s discuss the most popular AI tool: ChatGPT. ChatGPT works by attempting to understand the prompt entered by the user and then spits out strings of words, based on probability data, that it predicts will best answer the question. In other words, it generates responses based on the data it was trained on. When you input a prompt or text, GPT breaks down that text into tokens or subwords the model understands. Then, ChatGPT uses the context provided by the tokens to predict the next word based on the probability that one word is likely to follow the previous word. It generates the text accordingly until the response is complete and there you go, an AI-generated response.
However, with ChatGPT and other AI tools at our fingertips, some worry that its easiness and accessibility will undermine human thought and creativity. For example, teachers are worried about plagiarism, cheating, and academic integrity. Meanwhile, others might be concerned about how AI limits human ingenuity and how human-made art can be substituted for AI-generated art made from tools like OpenAI’s DALL-E, which generates images based on text prompts. Of course, there will still be debate about how and what limits should be employed regarding AI in the classroom but there are some ways people can use AI as a co-creative tool.
First, AI can be used as a cooking assistant. If you have some random ingredients lying around and are unsure what to make, AI can help create a recipe with just the ingredients and cooking equipment you have. It might not taste very good but it can definitely help relieve some stress and make your life a bit easier by doing the thinking and planning for you. All you’ll have to do is follow the recipe and make modifications if you want. AI can also be used to help with creative writing. If you need someone to bounce ideas off of, ChatGPT might be helpful. Lastly, ChatGPT can help musicians generate melodies, lyrics, or musical arrangements. It can provide suggestions for arranging musical elements or tempo changes to enhance the overall composition.
While the use and limits of AI continue to be up for debate, employing this tool as a co-creator in various contexts can be helpful. By simulating human-like interactions, GPT can be used as something to bounce ideas off of or engage in thoughtful discussions. It can also become a personal kitchen assistant or a meaningful conversationalist. GPT may even help some people develop their desired skills or allow individuals to become involved in creative industries. By employing technology in this way, innovation and imagination can reach new heights allowing us to expand human creativity even further.