Is AI Making Us Less Creative?

Full script

Read the whole talk.

All slides in one place. Read it through once, then practice slide by slide.

1. 01Is AI Making Us Less Creative?

   Good evening. These days, AI can write stories, draw pictures, and even compose music in seconds. This raises an important question: is AI making us less creative? Tonight, I'd like to explore both sides of this debate.

   晚上好。如今，AI几秒钟就能写故事、画画，甚至作曲。这就引出了一个重要的问题：AI是不是让我们变得没那么有创造力了？今晚，我想从正反两个方面来探讨这个问题。

2. 02What AI Can Do Today

   Let's start with what AI can already do. Today's tools can write essays, suggest ideas, create images, and compose music. Tasks that once took hours can now be done in seconds.

   我们先来看看AI已经能做到什么。现在的工具可以写文章、提供点子、生成图片，还能作曲。过去要花好几个小时的工作，现在几秒钟就能完成。

3. 03The Worry

   Many people worry that relying on AI will weaken our own skills. If we always ask a machine for ideas, we may stop thinking for ourselves. There is also a concern that AI-made content will make everything look and sound the same.

   很多人担心，依赖AI会削弱我们自己的能力。如果我们总是让机器替我们想点子，我们可能就不再自己思考了。还有人担心，AI生成的内容会让一切看起来、听起来都一模一样。

4. 04A Lesson From History

   History gives us a useful perspective. When photography was invented in the 1800s, some artists and critics worried that it would harm painting. Instead, many artists developed new styles that a camera could not copy. New tools often change creativity rather than destroy it.

   历史给了我们一个有用的视角。19世纪摄影术发明的时候，一些艺术家和评论家担心它会冲击绘画。结果，很多艺术家反而发展出了相机无法模仿的新风格。新工具往往是改变创造力，而不是摧毁它。

   Source: Charles Baudelaire, "The Salon of 1859" (criticism of photography)

5. 05AI as a Creative Partner

   In my view, the key is how we use AI. When we treat it as a partner, not a replacement, it can actually boost creativity. We come up with the idea, AI offers options, and we make the final decisions.

   在我看来，关键在于我们如何使用AI。当我们把它当作伙伴，而不是替代品时，它其实能激发创造力。我们提出想法，AI提供选项，最后由我们做决定。

6. 06The Real Risk

   So the real risk isn't AI itself, it's using it passively. If we simply copy the first answer, our skills will fade. But if we question the output and keep practicing, AI can make us sharper.

   所以，真正的风险不在于AI本身，而在于被动地使用它。如果我们只是照搬第一个答案，我们的能力就会退化。但如果我们对它的输出提出质疑，并且坚持练习，AI就能让我们变得更敏锐。

7. 07Three Simple Habits

   Here are three simple habits. First, think on your own before asking AI. Second, always add your own voice to the final result. And third, keep making some things completely by hand.

   这里有三个简单的习惯。第一，在问AI之前，先自己思考。第二，一定要在最终成果里加入你自己的声音。第三，坚持完全用手去做一些东西。

8. 08Conclusion

   To conclude, AI won't make us less creative on its own. It all depends on how we choose to use it. The tool is new, but the question is old: will we let it think for us, or with us? Thank you.

   总而言之，AI本身并不会让我们失去创造力。一切都取决于我们选择怎样使用它。工具是新的，但问题是老问题：我们是让它替我们思考，还是和我们一起思考？谢谢。