When AI Steals Our Creativity, Is That a Feature… or a Bug?

In this solo episode, James Taylor explores a timely question: when AI seems to take over creative work, is that progress or a problem? From a reflective moment on the beach at San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado to research on “cognitive offloading,” James examines how generative AI (ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E) can both supercharge and stunt our creative muscles. You’ll learn where AI outperforms humans (divergent and convergent thinking), where humans still shine (emotionally resonant storytelling), and a simple system for making AI your trampoline—not your crutch. Walk away with three practical habits—“No-AI time,” voice-and-values checks, and owning the “why”—to keep your imagination strong while you collaborate with machines.

Key takeaways

• AI can amplify or atrophy creativity. Heavy reliance risks “creative muscle” loss via cognitive offloading; intentional use expands your range.

• Strengths split: AI often scores higher on divergent (many ideas) and convergent (selecting) thinking, while humans lead in meaning-making and emotionally rich storytelling.

• Use AI as a collaborator, not an autopilot. Treat it like a trampoline that helps you jump higher, but you still do the jumping.

• Adopt “No-AI time.” Schedule regular sessions where you sketch, write, and brainstorm without digital assistance to keep creative muscles active.

• Own the context and the ‘why.’ Let AI assist with the what and how, but humans must retain judgment, values, and meaning.

Memorable quotes

• “AI is like a trampoline. It can bounce you higher—but you still need to do the jumping.”

• “Use AI like a trampoline, not a crutch.”

• “The future belongs to those who can imagine first, and engineer later.”

• “AI can draw our monsters faster, but we shouldn’t stop imagining them ourselves.”

Timestamps (approx.)

• 00:09 — Opening question: Is AI stealing our creativity—or refining it? Beachside reflection at Hotel Del Coronado.

• 01:xx — From curiosity to core tool: How generative AI moved into everyday creative workflows.

• 02:xx — Cognitive offloading warning: Why heavy AI use can weaken the “creative muscle.”

• 03:xx — What AI does better vs. worse: Divergent/convergent thinking vs. emotionally resonant writing.

• 04:xx — Partnering with AI: How James uses AI to prototype, research, and explore client angles—without handing over the reins.

• 05:xx — The trampoline metaphor: Collaborate with AI while preserving judgment and voice.

• 06:xx — Three practices: No-AI

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
When AI steals our creativity, is that a feature or a bug?
Last week I was in San Diego speaking at a fintech conference and staying at the historicHotel Del Coronado.
If you've never been, the Del, as locals like to call it, is one of those grand old hotelswith a past so rich it could fill a Netflix series.
It's where presidents have stayed, where Hollywood stars hid from the paparazzi, and wheresome of the great creative minds of the last century came to think, write, and dream.

(00:38):
One morning after the keynote, I sat on the beach in front of the hotel, coffee in hand,watching the Pacific crash into the shore in long, lazy intervals.
To my left, surfers bobbed in the water like patient punctuation marks, waiting for theperfect sentence of a wave.
And just a few feet from me, a six-year-old child knelt in the sand, entirely absorbed indrawing a monster.

(01:02):
She didn't have a tablet or a device.
She wasn't copying from a screen.
Every wobbling eye, jagged tooth and lopsided grin came straight from her own mind.
It reminded me, creativity isn't just about producing something.
It's a muscle that we need to train, stretch and strengthen.
And right now, we're in a moment where AI is both building and weakening that muscle.

(01:26):
In the last 18 months, generative AI tools like ChatGBT, Mid Journey and Dali have gonefrom curiosities to core creative utilities.
Entire ad campaigns, concept designs, and even TED-style talks are being co-created withmachines.
But a recent MIT-backed study sounded the alarm.
Heavy AI use can cause what researchers call cognitive offloading, the tendency to lettechnology do the thinking for us.

(01:53):
And over time, this can lead to a form of creative muscle atrophy.
The AI draws the monster for us.
It even adds shading, texture, and style.
But in doing so, it quietly robs us of the joy and the neural workout of making somethingfrom scratch.
A fascinating academic paper published earlier this year compared AI-generated outputswith human creativity across multiple tests.

(02:19):
Divergent thinking, which is about creating lots of ideas.
Convergent thinking, which is about narrowing to the best idea and open-ended creativewriting.
The results?
AI often scored higher than humans in divergent and convergent thinking tests.
It can generate lots of options faster and filter them very efficiently.

(02:40):
But when it came to creative writing and emotionally resonant storytelling, humans stillhad the edge.
Why?
Well, because true creativity isn't just about recombining what's been done before.
It's about meaning making, lived experience, emotional subtext,
AI can approximate, but not authentically inhabit those things.

(03:05):
This is not a manifesto for rejecting AI though.
Quite the opposite.
I use it in my daily work, spark ideas for keynotes to explore creative angles for clientsto accelerate research.
When I work with AI as a partner or collaborator, it extends my reach.
I can prototype concepts faster, test scenarios at scale, and open creative doors I maynot have thought to knock on.

(03:30):
But when I hand over the reins entirely, I stop exercising my own creative judgment.
Think of it this way, AI is like a trampoline.
It can bench you higher than you could jump alone, but you still need to do the jumping.
So here's what this means for you.
Number one, use AI like a trampoline, not a crutch.

(03:52):
Leverage it to get fresh perspectives faster, but always inject your voice, your judgment,your values.
Schedule no AI time.
One afternoon a week, ban the bots.
Sketch, brainstorm, or write without any digital assistance.
You'll be surprised how creative muscles actually respond to this.

(04:14):
Thirdly, focus on context over execution.
Let AI handle the what and the how, but own the why, the meaning behind the work.
But let's get back to the beach.
That child's monster wasn't perfect.
The proportions were off, the perspective didn't make any sense.
Sand isn't the most forgiving medium.

(04:37):
But none of that mattered.
It was hers, an unfiltered, undiluted piece of her imagination made real.
As I watched her scroll another crooked tooth into the creature's mouth, I thought thefuture belongs to those who can imagine first, and then engineer later.
AI can draw our monsters faster.

(04:59):
but we should not stop imagining them ourselves.