Ever laughed at a joke only to find out it came from a robot? According to this fresh research from Kellogg and NYU, that revelation might just make you bolder about stepping up to the mic yourself. The study nails it: slap an 'AI-made' label on a decent joke, artwork, or poem, and folks suddenly puff up their creative chests, feeling 15-16% more confident than if a human gets the credit. It's classic social comparison— we lowball AI's flair, so comparing ourselves to it feels like a win, not a wipeout.
Pragmatically speaking, this isn't about AI stealing the spotlight; it's a sneaky confidence hack for innovation. Imagine marketers or teachers flashing some AI-generated doodle and saying, 'Top this!' It could nudge people out of their shells without the intimidation of human rivals. But let's keep it real—boosted ego doesn't guarantee killer output. The experiments showed folks tried harder and rated their own stuff funnier, yet blind judges couldn't tell the difference. So, it's like training wheels for creativity: great for starting the bike, but you'll still need to pedal like mad to win the race.
As a techno-journalist, I dig how this flips the AI fear narrative. Instead of dreading replacement, we're seeing augmentation—AI as the underdog that makes us feel like champs. Next time you're stuck on a pitch or poem, maybe blame the bot for the rough draft. Who knows? It might just spark your best work. Just don't expect it to write your acceptance speech. Source: Knock Knock. Who’s There? Generative AI.
