Ai co-doodler helps artists find and flex creative limits
Reflecting on Creative-Boundaries with an AI Co-Doodler
Human-Computer InteractionArtificial IntelligenceGraphics
Summary
Working with AI in creative tasks can sometimes feel like the AI is taking over. The authors studied a drawing tool where users control how much an AI contributes. They found that people’s views of the AI changed with use, and sometimes felt the AI was crossing creative boundaries. The authors suggest designs should let people flexibly control this balance to support creativity and reflection.
What this means in practice
- •For digital artists: Integrate user-controlled AI tools that allow artists to decide the degree of AI involvement to support creative exploration and reflection.
- •For user experience designers: Design co-creative AI systems that offer flexible power dynamics to help users negotiate AI contributions during creative tasks.
Authors
Samia Menon, Samyukta Jayaram, Chetan Goenka, Shm Garanganao Almeda
Abstract
In this pictorial, we consider how the negotiation of creative boundaries with a co-creative AI system can create moments for personal creative reflection. We ground this in our experiences with Froggi-Draw, a single-initiative co-doodling system that gives users power to decide when and how much an AI "collaborator" (Froggi) contributes to their drawing. From a 1-week pilot study where (n=8) novice and experienced artists doodled daily with the system, we report on ways participants navigated creative risk and uncertainty, and how their usage and perceptions of Froggi shifted over time. In moments of disruption, participants described the system as encroaching on their creative territory. We consider how the design of a supportive, co-creative AI "collaborator" might look like the design of a supportive power dynamic---and finding ways to offer users control to find, reflect upon, and flexibly negotiate the boundaries of that dynamic.