Hey there friends, today I want to talk about using chatGPT or other apps as a creativity tool. I view it as having a brainstorming partner in your pocket. I’ve used it on past projects successfully and repeatedly. There are various pieces of writing out there about how creative these large language models or generativity is, but I’m more interested in really using it as a tool to basically remix writing. Also, some other concerns about large language models don’t apply here, like wrong facts or inappropriate sources, because this is just generating a bunch of ideas to later pick from.
So, how do you do that? I’m gonna offer some points for you to think about based on my experience, and then I’m gonna go through one example.
First of all, it’s important to be on the same page about what creativity really means. Creativity doesn’t mean creating things out of thin air, but it always means connecting two or more pieces in new and interesting ways, particularly in ways that haven’t been done before and lead to something useful and interesting. The process I’m going to talk about is just that.
Now, let’s look at an example of how this might work. I’ve typed in ‘How could the more widespread use of generative AI models impact biodiversity? Come up with new and unusual links and make a list of 20.’ And this is what it generated:
- AI-enhanced conservation planning
- Invasive species detection
- Wildlife monitoring
- Bioacoustics research
- Biodiversity art
- Ecotourism
- AI-generated biodiversity music
- Collaborate with AI to generate music inspired by biodiversity data
- Connecting people emotionally through conservation efforts
I found the point about AI-generated biodiversity music interesting, so I asked it to come up with 20 more ideas specifically around that. It generated:
- Eco Symphonies
- Biodiversity soundscapes
- Collaborative species Jam
- Eco Musical games
- Birdsong choirs
- Museums meditation
- Biophilic workspaces design
You can iterate this process as many times as you want, generating more output and building on the interesting ideas. In the end, you can merge these ideas with your own thoughts and create your product, whether it’s a newsletter, a LinkedIn post, or a manuscript for publication.
I hope you found this useful. Happy creating!
