A recent study by the University of Houston and Rice University shows that ChatGPT, the AI developed by OpenAI, could be a valuable tool for helping people with everyday creative tasks—tasks that many believe require a human touch, like understanding emotions or reading between the lines. The researchers found that ChatGPT outperforms traditional methods like Google Search and even human brainstorming without any AI help.

The study focused on ChatGPT’s ability to generate creative ideas. The researchers conducted five experiments with GPT-3.5, where participants were asked to come up with creative ideas using either ChatGPT, Google, or no assistance at all. These ideas were then judged by two groups—ordinary participants and experienced business professionals—who didn’t know where the ideas came from. Both groups consistently rated the ideas generated by ChatGPT as more creative.

Boosting creativity

The study found that ChatGPT can boost creativity in everyday tasks, such as thinking of gift ideas or finding new uses for common items. According to the researchers, ChatGPT’s strength lies in its ability to combine different concepts into something fresh and coherent.

“Our results show that ChatGPT is particularly good at generating ideas that are new, but not entirely out of the blue,” the authors explain. This, they argue, is because ChatGPT is skilled at remixing existing ideas from its vast database rather than inventing entirely new ones.

The study also challenges the notion that AI can’t handle tasks requiring empathy. Despite common beliefs that only humans can truly understand emotions, the researchers found that ChatGPT performs surprisingly well in these areas, suggesting it could be useful for tasks that need more than just logical thinking.