“The Cat Sat on the …?” Why Generative AI Has Limited Creativity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17897418 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David H Cropley (0000-0002-7964-6538, UniSA STEM University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia Australia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Creative Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0175 • E-ISSN: 2162-6057 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jocb.70077 |
| OpenAlex | W7105067839 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
Since the introduction of Generative AI several years ago, there has been much debate regarding the capacity of this technology for creativity. This paper applies the standard definition of creativity to the output of Large Language Models (LLMs) and shows not only that this can be calculated ex ante, but that LLM output creativity has a fundamental upper limit. This upper limit, determined by the mechanism used to produce LLM outputs, moreover, is constrained to a level equivalent to the boundary between little‐c and Pro‐c creativity. Consequently, LLM creativity is mathematically constrained to a level equivalent to the boundary between amateur and professional human creativity. This has significant implications for claims about AI autonomy in creative tasks
Amateur · Autonomy · Boundary (topology) · Creativity · Generative grammar · Artificial Intelligence in Games · Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
Taking the U.S. Patent Office Criteria Seriously
Classroom contexts for creativity
Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure of the Creative Achievement Questionnaire
Assessing creativity with divergent thinking tasks
The Standard Definition of Creativity
Divergent thinking is linked with convergent thinking; implications for models of creativity
The Language of Creativity
On the creativity of large language models
Human‐ AI Co‐Creativity
Beyond Big and Little
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |