Generative AI is a double-edged sword. When used well, it can enhance creativity by exposing us to new perspectives, generating variations on existing ideas, and helping us overcome creative blocks. However, recent studies conducted in businesses show that without proper guidance, generative AI can limit our teams’ creativity. How can we avoid falling into this trap?
“Generative AI helped employees avoid bad ideas, but it also led to more mediocre ideas.”
– Kian Gohar & Jeremy Utley, Don’t let Gen AI limit your team’s creativity
How to Maximize the Potential of Generative AI for Problem Solving
Here are some tips to fully leverage the potential of generative AI while stimulating your team’s creativity.
Be Specific
Clearly articulate the problem you want to solve. Include as many details as possible, such as measurable objectives or specifics about the process to improve and your business context.
Start with a Non-AI Brainstorming Session
Give your team enough time to think individually and come up with their solutions. This exercise stimulates creativity and ensures the generation of as many ideas as possible.
Don’t Stop at the First Response
The teams that had the best ideas in the study were those that interacted more with the tool. Don’t settle for the first response and keep coming back with other questions.
Use AI as a Validation Step
Once the ideas are generated, you can use generative AI to analyze them against your objectives and provide improvement suggestions. You can also ask it to challenge some of your ideas and provide alternatives.
Why Not Conduct Your Own Experiment?
Next time you have a problem to solve in your business, you might take the opportunity to conduct your own experiment. Split your team into two: one that can use generative AI and the other not. This way, you can learn more about the impact of this tool on creativity in your company and identify opportunities for improvement in its guidance.
Generative AI was not used in the ideation, writing, or review of this article.
