Interdisciplinary Methods in Computational Creativity: How Human Variables Shape Human-Inspired AI Research

TL;DR

This paper investigates how human psychological and social sciences influence computational creativity research, emphasizing the importance of contextual understanding and documentation of interdisciplinary influences to improve AI systems inspired by human creativity.

Contribution

It highlights the limited investigation into human-inspired processes in AI and recommends better documentation and reflexivity in interdisciplinary practices within CC.

Findings

Human literature influences AI research but often loses context.

Researchers lack documentation of their interdisciplinary decision-making.

Reflexive commentary could enhance understanding and integration of human concepts in AI.

Abstract

The word creativity originally described a concept from human psychology, but in the realm of computational creativity (CC), it has become much more. The question of what creativity means when it is part of a computational system might be considered core to CC. Pinning down the meaning of creativity, and concepts like it, becomes salient when researchers port concepts from human psychology to computation, a widespread practice extending beyond CC into artificial intelligence (AI). Yet, the human processes shaping human-inspired computational systems have been little investigated. In this paper, we question which human literatures (social sciences, psychology, neuroscience) enter AI scholarship and how they are translated at the port of entry. This study is based on 22 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, primarily with human-inspired AI researchers, half of whom focus on creativity as a major research area. This paper focuses on findings most relevant to CC. We suggest that which human literature enters AI bears greater scrutiny because ideas may become disconnected from context in their home discipline. Accordingly, we recommend that CC researchers document the decisions and context of their practices, particularly those practices formalizing human concepts for machines. Publishing reflexive commentary on human elements in CC and AI would provide a useful record and permit greater dialogue with other disciplines.