Using ChatGPT Could Permanently Damage Your Creativity, New Study Claims

A recent study is raising fresh concerns about how artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT may be affecting human creativity.

The study conducted by Yiyong Zhou, Guiquan Li, Qinghan Liu of Peking U., School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, and Jihao Huang of Beijing Yuxin Technology Company tracked the creative performance of 61 college students over a week-long experiment and a follow-up period of 30 days. During the study, participants were asked to complete brainstorming and idea-generation tasks, producing a total of 3,302 creative ideas.

In the research paper titled "When ChatGPT is gone: Creativity reverts, and homogeneity persists," students were divided into two groups. One group used ChatGPT to help with creative tasks such as brainstorming and writing prompts, while the second group completed the same tasks without any AI assistance.

For the first few days, the results appeared to favour AI users. Students using ChatGPT consistently generated more ideas and received higher creativity scores compared with those working alone. Researchers noted that the tool seemed to boost productivity and idea generation in the short term.

However, things changed when the AI tool was suddenly removed.

By the seventh day of the experiment, participants who had relied on ChatGPT saw their creativity scores drop back to baseline levels, essentially erasing the earlier advantage. According to the researchers, the boost provided by the AI tool did not translate into lasting improvements in independent creativity. 

But the most striking finding came from the pattern of ideas produced by the AI group.

Over time, the researchers noticed that the ideas generated by ChatGPT users were becoming increasingly similar to each other. Even though participants were working on different prompts, their outputs began to follow similar structures, themes and phrasing.

The researchers described this effect as “homogenisation,” suggesting that heavy reliance on AI could lead users to produce ideas that look different on the surface but share the same underlying patterns.

Even after ChatGPT was removed from the experiment, the similarity effect persisted. Thirty days later, participants who had previously used the AI tool continued to show a narrower range of creative outputs compared with those who had worked independently throughout the study. 

The findings add to a growing body of research examining how generative AI affects human thinking and creativity. Some studies have found that while AI tools can improve the quality and speed of brainstorming, they may also reduce the diversity of ideas produced by groups of users. 

Experts say this could happen because AI systems generate responses based on patterns learned from large datasets. As more people rely on the same tools for inspiration, their ideas may begin to converge around similar themes.

Still, researchers caution that the technology itself is not necessarily harmful when used carefully.

Many academics argue that AI tools work best as collaborative assistants rather than replacements for independent thinking. Using them to refine ideas or explore possibilities, while still engaging in original thinking, may help reduce the risk of over-reliance.

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As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly common in schools, workplaces and creative industries, the debate about its long-term effects on human creativity is likely to continue.

For now, the study highlights a key question facing the AI era: Are these tools enhancing creativity, or slowly reshaping how humans think and generate ideas?