AI can offer a starting idea. How do you decide whether the result still expresses what you wanted to say?
What a short-story experiment found
Researchers Anil Doshi and Oliver Hauser asked participants to write short stories. Some could request AI-generated starting ideas; others wrote without that assistance. Separate readers evaluated the stories.
Access to AI ideas improved average ratings of novelty and usefulness. The researchers also found greater similarity among stories in the AI-assisted groups. These results describe both a benefit to individual work and a reduction in variety across the collection. See the authors’ research paper and its published-study link.
The task involved eight-sentence stories and restricted access to generated ideas. It did not establish what happens across every art form, every AI tool, or years of creative practice. It also does not justify assuming the same outcome for everyone over 40.
Decide what you want from the project
Originality is not the only reason to make something. You may want to enjoy an afternoon, learn a technique, thank a friend, or capture a memory. Decide which of those matters before judging the result.
A familiar card layout might suit a simple thank-you. A personal essay about a major life change may need details and language that are distinctly yours. The amount of help you want can differ between those projects.
For example, imagine two fictional retirement cards. One says, “Enjoy your next chapter.” The other recalls a colleague’s habit of repairing everyone’s broken umbrella. Neither needs to be a masterpiece, but the second has a specific observation at its center. AI cannot supply that real observation unless someone provides it.
Try preserving your first idea
Here is a practical exercise to explore your own preferences. It is a suggestion for comparing drafts, not a method proven by the study.
- Write or sketch your first idea before asking for help. Keep that version.
- Ask AI to identify an unclear part or suggest a different approach to one element.
- Make a second version while keeping the details that matter to you.
- Compare both versions against your original purpose.
For a short piece of writing, ask yourself which version sounds like something you would say. For a drawing, consider which decisions you enjoyed making. An unfamiliar word or smoother sentence is not automatically an improvement.
Ask questions that leave choices open
You can give AI the role of an interviewer or critic instead of asking it to finish the whole project. For example:
Here is my idea for a short personal essay: [brief outline with private details removed]. Ask me three questions about details only I could supply. Then identify one place where the outline is unclear. Do not invent memories, write the essay, or decide what the experience meant to me.
You can also ask for alternatives that change one decision: a different viewpoint, a quieter ending, or a simpler layout. Compare them with your own version and explain to yourself why you would keep or reject each.
That explanation is useful even if you choose the AI suggestion. It records your intention and gives you a way to judge the next draft.
Keep room for your own judgment
If every revision sounds less like you, return to the original notes. If a suggestion helps you express something clearly, keep the part that works. You can decide the role of the tool separately for each project.
To put these choices into practice, try a small creative project with AI, or return to a hobby you used to enjoy.
Reviewed October 3, 2026. Featured photograph: Mike Tinnion / Unsplash; for illustration.
AI disclosure: This article was drafted and revised using AI. Read our full disclaimer.
