Can AI Become Creative?
We configured a Large Language Model to come up with creative ideas.
Throughout the evolution of Artificial Intelligence we’ve often asked ourselves questions about what machines are capable of in humanistic terms. Indeed the entire field of AI was jump-started with a single question: “Can machines become intelligent?”
As AI has progressed we’ve moved on to similar questions of increasing sophistication, including the now infamous ask of whether machines can become sentient. In marketing and advertising, the biggest question feels like some variation of: “Can machines become creative?”
But rather than wading into philosophical debates about meaning - e.g. “what is it to be creative” – a practical approach to this question is evaluating whether AI is capable of doing work that requires such an attribute. Assign it creative tasks and see how it performs.
To explore the limits of what Large Language Models are capable of when it comes to creativity, we configured a GPT-3-based system that generates creative ideas.
Here’s how it works:
We pulled a sampling of award-winning ideas from this year’s D&AD Annual – widely recognized by the industry as creative work of the highest caliber.
We reverse engineered each idea into a ‘Brief’, e.g. “Come up with an experiential idea for Adidas.”
The ‘Briefs’ are paired with a written description of the idea to form input / output pairings.
A wide range of these high-quality examples are fed to the model to improve its performance.
Once complete our system can generate creative ideas on demand. Not all of them are good, and to some extent it’s imitating the conceptual format of other ideas, but for anyone who’s worked in a creative department this is par for the course. And given that it’s just a quick experiment there’s still ample room for improvement.
Here are some of our favorites. The following ideas were 100% written by a 🤖
Brief: Come up with an idea for Dollar Shave Club
The Shave-Along
Dollar Shave Club will launch the world's first 'shave-along' TV spot during the Super Bowl. The ad will feature actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis in the Dollar Shave Club bathroom shaving in real-time alongside the viewers at home. Galifianakis will be shaving with the Dollar Shave Club's newest razor and will be giving viewers a chance to win the same razor by tweeting out a picture of their own shave.
Brief: Come up with brand partnership idea for Spotify
Spotify Heartbeats
Spotify will partner with the American Heart Association to bring awareness to the importance of heart health. The campaign will feature top heart doctors and cardiologists sharing their favorite Spotify playlists for a healthy heart. These playlists will be compiled into a 'Heartbeats' playlist on Spotify and will be promoted on the American Heart Association's website and social media channels.
Brief: Come up with a Twitter idea for Coinbase
Coinbase Crypto Tips
Twitter is a powerful platform for sharing information and ideas, and Coinbase wants to help its users take full advantage of it. So Coinbase will launch a Twitter tip bot that allows users to send tips in cryptocurrency to other users for tweets they find valuable. The tip bot will be integrated into the Coinbase Wallet app, making it easy for users to send tips with just a few taps.
Brief: Come up with a viral video for Ben & Jerry’s
Stranger Scoops
Ben & Jerry's will release a new flavor of ice cream inspired by the popular Netflix show Stranger Things. The flavor will be a mix of chocolate, waffle cone pieces and a mystery flavor that will be revealed when you watch the Netflix show. The video will be a parody of the show's opening credits, with the ice cream instead of the characters.
Brief: Come up with a campaign for Nike to run during the 2022 World Cup
Nike Fans’ Cup
Nike will be the first brand to run a World Cup campaign that doesn't feature a single player. Instead, the campaign will focus on the fans in the stands who are the true heartbeat of the game. The campaign will be a celebration of the passion, energy and joy that these fans bring to the game, and it will feature a mix of user-generated content and Nike's own iconic visuals and storytelling.
Brief: Come up with an ad for the Apple Watch
The Blank Watch Challenge
The Apple Watch is the most personal device we've ever created, so we're going to promote it with the most personal ads ever created. We'll partner with some of the world's most popular YouTubers and Instagrammers and give them a blank Apple Watch to design however they want. They'll show off their one-of-a-kind design in a short video that will be posted on their social media channels.
Brief: Come up with an idea for Amex targeted to Gen Z consumers
Amex World Explorers
Amex will partner with social media platform TikTok to create a first-of-its-kind virtual reality experience that will allow Gen Z consumers to explore different places and cultures around the world. The experience will be fully immersive, and users will be able to choose different paths to explore different areas. The goal is to show young people that there is a whole world out there to explore, and Amex can help them do it.
If you have any ‘Briefs’ that you'd like to run past the AI, reply to this email and we'll send you back its response.
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