Is it possible that ChatGPT is not creative at all

Question

As a non-expert, ChatGPT appears to me to be a compression of the internet with interesting mash ups. Am I wrong? Creativity to me is about going outside a given search space, about disruptive, non-linear change. ChatGPT is about a constrained search space that is unbelievably large. I would love to hear the reasoning for why my thinking is incorrect so I can better understand the creative potential and limitations of ChatGPT.

iwanttocomment · Accepted Answer

Assuming the definition of creative as being "related to original ideas", of course ChatGPT isn't creative. It is quite literally a mechanism to rehash previously expressed words, and thus ideas.Now, ChatGPT is able to rehash previously expressed ideas - and possibly combine those with other previously expressed ideas - at a velocity and with broader sources, not previously imaginable.

sp332 · Answer

Have you tried it?

ajuc · Answer

[delayed]

mindcrime · Answer

It's a very interesting question. I'm not sure I think that there is a "creative" / "not creative" binary dichotomy though. Seems more like a continuum to me. In which case, I think I'd say ChatGPT (and its ilk) are creative... to some degree. Quantifying that would be tough though.This whole thing does though, as we see in other threads here already, lead to some interesting questions around "what even is creativity" and "how creative are we humans", etc. One might also fairly ask to what extent creativity is truly a desirable thing at all! I'm sure we've all sat in meetings where a co-worker presented a truly "creative" approach to a problem, where said solution was as mind-numblingly stupid as it was creative. :-)

RetroTechie · Answer

If everything in the training data is black or white, and ChatGPT is producing shades of gray, I'd call painting blue creative.Sure it may output never-seen-before shades of gray, b/w polka dots & interesting dithering patterns. Does it paint yellow, purple, IR or UV, blow glass art, sculpture clay or spray graffiti on concrete? Doubtful.