Generative AI Boosts Creativity Only for Some Workers, Study Finds
A new study indicates that generative AI can enhance employee creativity, but the benefits are primarily realized by individuals with strong metacognitive skills.
Generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT can boost employee creativity, but only for those who possess strong metacognitive skills, according to new research. This finding comes from a study titled "How and For Whom Using Generative AI Affects Creativity: A Field Experiment," published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
The study involved randomly assigning 250 employees to either use ChatGPT to assist with their work or not. Evaluators ranked employees who used the AI tool higher in creativity, but this improvement was not universal. The research found that only employees who demonstrated strong "metacognitive skills"—the ability to reflect on their own thinking, identify knowledge gaps, and adjust their approach—showed significant creative gains.
Metacognitive abilities allow individuals to think about their learning and thinking processes, enabling them to use AI tools more effectively. Jackson G. Lu, a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, stated that metacognition is the "missing link" between simply using AI and using it well, allowing users to formulate better questions and extract real value rather than relying on the tool passively.
The participants who were better at reflecting on their own thinking and refining their prompts were the ones who saw the creative benefits. Luis explains that AI doesn't automatically enhance creativity if employees don't know how to use it effectively. The study suggests that organizations should consider pairing AI deployment with metacognition training to maximize its creative potential.
Sabrina H. Williams, a creativity researcher at the University of South Carolina, affirmed that AI does not automatically make people more or less creative. She noted that the outcome depends on how well users examine and respond to AI-generated information, highlighting that strong metacognitive skills help workers use AI as a brainstorming partner without becoming overly reliant on its initial outputs.