Exploring the impact of AI features on collaborative creativity

Jonas Frich; Jens Emil Sloth Grønbæk; Marcel Borowski; Peter Dalsgaard

doi:10.1145/3726986.3727015

Exploring the impact of AI features on collaborative creativity

Jonas Frich
, Jens Emil Sloth Grønbæk
, Marcel Borowski
, Peter Dalsgaard^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/proceeding › Article in proceedings › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into popular digital tools for creative tasks. Many creative professionals also work collaboratively using these tools, and it is therefore important to investigate the effects of AI features on digitally mediated collaborative creativity. Utilizing a controlled experiment with 36 participants grouped in pairs, we assessed the effect of adding AI capabilities to a digital collaboration tool on the generation of creative ideas. The added AI features included support for divergent thinking, sense-making, and convergent thinking. Results, while statistically insignificant, indicate clear tendencies for trade-offs between appropriateness and novelty, such that pairs using AI support developed more novel, but less appropriate ideas. This preliminary study suggests that while AI can enhance the ideation process by expanding the possibility space, it may also lead to a decrease in the suitability of the generated ideas. These findings contribute to the understanding of AI's role in creative collaborations and highlight the nuanced effects of AI tools in creative processes.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024
Editors	Stephen Viller, Jeni Paay, Joel Fredericks, Jane Turner
Number of pages	10
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Publication date	25 Sept 2025
Pages	480-489
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400715099
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3726986.3727015
Publication status	Published - 25 Sept 2025
Event	36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024 - Brisbane, Australia Duration: 30 Nov 2024 → 4 Dec 2024

Conference

Conference	36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024
Country/Territory	Australia
City	Brisbane
Period	30/11/2024 → 04/12/2024
Sponsor	Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Queensland University of Technology, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland

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Frich, J., Grønbæk, J. E. S., Borowski, M., & Dalsgaard, P. (2025). Exploring the impact of AI features on collaborative creativity. In S. Viller, J. Paay, J. Fredericks, & J. Turner (Eds.), Proceedings of the 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024 (pp. 480-489). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3726986.3727015

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title = "Exploring the impact of AI features on collaborative creativity",

abstract = "Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into popular digital tools for creative tasks. Many creative professionals also work collaboratively using these tools, and it is therefore important to investigate the effects of AI features on digitally mediated collaborative creativity. Utilizing a controlled experiment with 36 participants grouped in pairs, we assessed the effect of adding AI capabilities to a digital collaboration tool on the generation of creative ideas. The added AI features included support for divergent thinking, sense-making, and convergent thinking. Results, while statistically insignificant, indicate clear tendencies for trade-offs between appropriateness and novelty, such that pairs using AI support developed more novel, but less appropriate ideas. This preliminary study suggests that while AI can enhance the ideation process by expanding the possibility space, it may also lead to a decrease in the suitability of the generated ideas. These findings contribute to the understanding of AI's role in creative collaborations and highlight the nuanced effects of AI tools in creative processes.",

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Frich, J , Grønbæk, JES , Borowski, M & Dalsgaard, P 2025, Exploring the impact of AI features on collaborative creativity. in S Viller, J Paay, J Fredericks & J Turner (eds), Proceedings of the 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024. Association for Computing Machinery, pp. 480-489, 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024, Brisbane, Australia, 30/11/2024. https://doi.org/10.1145/3726986.3727015

Exploring the impact of AI features on collaborative creativity. / Frich, Jonas ; Grønbæk, Jens Emil Sloth ; Borowski, Marcel et al.
Proceedings of the 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, OzCHI 2024. ed. / Stephen Viller; Jeni Paay; Joel Fredericks; Jane Turner. Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. p. 480-489.

Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/proceeding › Article in proceedings › Research › peer-review

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Exploring the impact of AI features on collaborative creativity

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