ChatGPT, our go-to AI buddy. Helping us daily, whether it’s drafting reports, creating presentations, brainstorming ideas, generating recipes, or even becoming our therapist on stressful days. It is quick, smart, and surprisingly human at times.
But here is a thought-provoking question: Is this digital marvel quietly dimming our creative spark?
The line between helpful and habitual is thin. Today, we can’t imagine our routine without asking ChatGPT for “just a quick idea” or “a better way to say this.” But this tool that enhances our productivity might also be subtly altering how we think, solve problems, and imagine.
From Brainstorming Partner to Creative Crutch?
According to a study (June 2024) conducted by researchers at MIT in collaboration with Harvard and Princeton, it offers a deeper look into this concern. The study evaluated how people brainstorm ideas with and without using ChatGPT. It revealed a fascinating yet slightly worrying trend: while ChatGPT-assisted ideas were more polished and useful, they were significantly less novel.
MIT Publication- Source: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872
In the study, over 300 participants were split into groups, some brainstormed freely, others used ChatGPT. The results?
1. Usefulness of Ideas: ChatGPT helped generate more useful ideas. Participants using ChatGPT produced 19.8% more useful ideas compared to those who did not use it.
2. Novelty of Ideas: It dropped by 10–15% with AI assistance. Instead of using the AI as a support tool, they lean on it as a crutch, producing fewer original ideas themselves.
3. Confidence: Participants reported higher satisfaction and confidence in their performance when using ChatGPT, even when their output was less novel and less creative.
4. Cognitive Load: Participants spent less mental energy, showing clear signs of cognitive offloading. People tend to offload creative thinking onto ChatGPT. The study describes this behavior as “creative substitution”, where AI ideas replace human creativity.
5. Reduced Individual Exploration: By using ChatGPT, users were less likely to explore unconventional directions or question assumptions, the tendencies that are crucial to creative thinking.
6. Performance & Time: People using ChatGPT generated more ideas overall, and in less time, indicating increased efficiency, but at the cost of quality and originality. Users showed narrower idea diversity compared to human-only groups.
7. Behavioral Insight: Users were not just passively assisted; they were “cognitively nudged” to follow ChatGPT’s directions, making them less likely to diverge from its suggestions.
So yes, ChatGPT made the process feel easier, but at the cost of raw creativity.
The Cognitive Offload Trap
Cognitive offloading isn’t new. We use calculators instead of doing math in our heads. We use Google Maps instead of remembering routes. But when offloading reaches our imagination, that’s when things get tricky.
The MIT paper observed that users who leaned on ChatGPT too early in the process tended to:
- Mirror AI-generated patterns, losing their own originality.
- They stop exploring alternate perspectives once the AI gives a satisfying response.
- Reduce mental flexibility by following a more structured, predictable line of thought.
In simple words, when we hand over thinking to AI, we might stop thinking altogether.
Creativity: Process, Not Just Output
Let’s be honest. Creativity isn’t just about “coming up with ideas.” It’s about struggling through them, tweaking, failing, and starting over. That painful yet powerful process of thinking deeply is where real creativity lives.
With AI, the path gets too smooth.
Instead of sitting in the discomfort of a creative block, we’re now typing “Give me five catchy slogans for my campaign.”
Instead of brainstorming different angles, we prompt ChatGPT and pick the one that sounds the best.
Useful? Absolutely.
Creative? Not always.
As the MIT study highlighted, AI shifts our role from “creator” to “editor.” We go from inventing to curating. That may sound subtle, but the mindset shift is real and risky.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
We are living in an era where creativity isn’t just for artists. It is for everyone, marketers, educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, and every profession now rewards those who can think differently.
According to LinkedIn’s 2024 Future of Work report, creativity remains one of the top 3 in-demand skills globally.
A World Economic Forum report predicts that by 2030, creative thinking will be more valuable than complex problem-solving.
Meanwhile, AI adoption in the workplace has grown over 300% since 2022, meaning more people are leaning on tools like ChatGPT every day.
This is not just about whether you used ChatGPT for your Instagram caption; it’s about how it’s slowly reshaping the muscles of thought.
Reflection Time: Are We Still Thinking?
Let’s ask ourselves:
- When was the last time you solved a problem without Googling or prompting AI?
- Do you still sketch rough ideas on paper before jumping to a polished solution?
- Have you ever accepted the first AI suggestion just because it “sounded smart”?
These are not judgments. They are reminders.
By using AI tools, we are outsourcing not just labor but thinking, and that, over time, could come at a cost.
How to Use ChatGPT Without Losing Your Spark
So, the question is, should we ditch ChatGPT altogether? Not at all. Like every coin has two sides, it’s all about how we use it. Here are some ways to keep your creativity alive while still benefiting from AI:
1. Use it Later, Not First
Start with raw ideas of your own. Sketch, scribble, think. Then use ChatGPT to refine, not generate, your work.
2. Challenge the Output
Don’t just accept the first result. Ask: “Is this the most original way?” “How would I say it differently?” “Can I twist this idea?” Use your ideas to twist the output.
3. Co-Create, Don’t Copy
Use ChatGPT as a collaborator. Mix its suggestions with your thoughts, without completely relying on AI. Play with the results. Add your voice. Add your ideas.
4. Schedule “AI-Free” Time
Create zones of human-only brainstorming. Invite your own thoughts to the table without a digital guest.
5. Relearn Discomfort
Let your brain sweat. Sit with uncertainty. Creativity grows in the moments when things don’t come easily.
Final Thoughts: Friend or Friction?
There is no doubt in saying that ChatGPT is indeed brilliant. It saves our time, boosts our productivity, and sometimes even gives amazing insights we hadn’t thought of. But while admiring its smartness and speed, we must remember:
The best ideas don’t always come quickly. They come when we explore more, read more, question, stumble, and imagine. Creativity is not just what you make, it’s how you think. And if that process gets too automated, we risk losing the very thing that makes us human.
So next time you open ChatGPT, pause for a second.
Ask yourself: “Is this helping me think, or replacing my thinking?” Because your creativity deserves more than just shortcuts, it deserves space, time, and your unique spark. After all, we humans created AI; it wasn’t AI that created us.
