The age of AI is forcing humanity to rethink what it means to be creative

A philosophical paper by Amit Raphael Zoran of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, published in AI & Society, argues that generative AI loosens the historical link between sophisticated artworks and the years of training traditionally needed to create them—a claim he calls the “decoupling thesis.” Zoran proposes that creativity should be evaluated not only by finished output but through “artistic becoming,” changes in makers, recipients, and surrounding culture. He illustrates the framework with multisensory projects—such as a tree-centered environment combining scent, taste, sound, generative music, and performance, and a lecture that gradually reveals itself as prerecorded—though he explicitly notes participants’ transformations were not measured. The paper challenges evaluating AI tools solely by realism, speed, or coherence, proposing instead indicators such as whether tools encourage exploration or steer users toward familiar patterns, and whether different users’ outputs converge. Zoran suggests preserving productive difficulty where it supports discovery. For practitioners, schools, museums, and funders, he recommends valuing process, duration, and participation alongside finished work. He does not claim technical skill is worthless or that AI guarantees richer experiences, but proposes using abundant generated forms to deepen engagement with places, materials, living processes, and other people.

(Source：The Brighter Side of News)