People are increasingly wondering what creativity means now that generative artificial intelligence is becoming a part of everyday life. With smart technologies rapidly entering creative spaces like art, writing, and music, a group of experts from the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI) joined forces to explore how humans and machines can work together creatively. Led by Professor Giovanni Emanuele Corazza from the University of Bologna, the team laid out ten major domains that need attention to better understand what they call “cyber-creativity,” covering all possible forms of collaboration between humans and machines in creativity. Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Intelligence, offering a timely roadmap for a world where machines are becoming artificial artists, co-authors, and creative partners.
Scholars involved in this study come from many countries and backgrounds, bringing different viewpoints to the conversation. To underline the fact that humanity is at a crossroad, they described two starkly different futures for creativity in the age of AI. One is a utopian future where AI helps people express themselves in unprecedented ways and with real-time responsiveness, a world where technology helps people connect with their feelings, personalize their education, and protect their creative rights. The other is a dystopian future where AI-generated content floods society, and creative jobs and ideas become controlled by machines and large companies. It’s a stark warning, where AI tools produce vast amounts of content with little soul, leaving human artists feeling left out and powerless. The study presents these two extremes to urge society to focus on better choices and avoid harmful paths.
Thinking about creativity today requires a broader perspective. The group suggests that creativity isn’t just something that belongs to humans; rather, it is a phenomenon that spans four interconnected layers: material, such as tools and media; biological, referring to the brain and body; psycho-social, covering thoughts, emotions, and group dynamics; and artificial, introducing digital systems and intelligent machines. As AI tools and agents become more advanced, they have a legitimate role in the creative process, hopefully not replacing humans, but working alongside them. These new tools can support and interact with people in making art, solving problems, or inventing new ideas. The team refers to any joint work between people and smart machines as cyber-creativity, a term that describes a continuum from purely human to purely artificial creativity. They encourage others to study this growing area more closely, forecasting that it might evolve into a discipline of its own.
“Surprisingly, Gen-AI has demonstrated creative capacities that apparently nearly match the level of professional human creatives on specific tasks,” said Professor Corazza, noting both the promise and the unease surrounding how powerful these tools have become. Gen-AI, short for generative artificial intelligence, refers to systems like ChatGPT or multi-modal generating tools that can produce text, images, music, or video on their own based on patterns learned from data. His comments point to the need for balance, using AI to support human imagination without taking it over.
Seeing how quickly AI is changing the way people create, the team emphasizes the need to rethink how we understand, manage, and guide creativity in this new era. To that end, they identified a decalogue, ten essential research areas summarized in the figure above, that span from the theoretical roots of cyber-creativity to how humans and machines collaborate, and to the broader cultural and ethical impacts. These include understanding the foundational ideas that guide human–AI creativity; the cultural and social environments in which it develops; and the shifting roles and identities of both human and artificial creators. The researchers also explore how collaborative work unfolds within hybrid teams, how audiences react to AI-assisted content, and how creative professions are adapting to these technologies. Finally, the decalogue highlights the need to rethink creative education, address ethical challenges such as fairness and transparency, and consider the darker possibilities, where creative tools might be misused for manipulation or harm. The team calls for collaboration across fields—technology, psychology, design, education, philosophy—, to ensure this transformation benefits humanity as a whole.
Turning attention to the next steps, the team outlines key questions that researchers need to explore. These range from how AI changes the way people see themselves as creative thinkers, to how schools and universities should teach creativity now, and even how teams can function when some members are machines. They also raise concerns about fairness, bias, meaning built-in preferences or exclusions in AI behavior due to the data it learns from, and the importance of being honest about where creative content comes from. These questions are not abstract; they affect the future of learning, identity, and meaningful work.
“Whereas AI holds the promise of increased efficiency in the creative process, we must ensure this does not come at the expense of the quality and authenticity of creative outcomes,” Professor Corazza explained. Authenticity here refers to whether creative work expresses a personal, cultural, or emotional truth, something more than just novelty or usefulness. This statement captures the heart of the research, ensuring that as technology advances, it continues to protect and amplify what makes creativity deeply human.
Setting the stage for the future, Professor Corazza and the ISSCI team call for action. They want researchers, educators, decision-makers, and the public to work together in shaping how creativity and technology will interact. If this collaboration succeeds, the result could be a future where both humans and machines contribute to creative work in a way that keeps the human spirit at the heart of creation.
Journal Reference
Corazza, G. E., Agnoli, S., Jorge Artigau, A., Beghetto, R. A., Bonnardel, N., Coletto, I., Faiella, A., Gerardini, K., Gilhooly, K., Glăveanu, V. P., Hanson, M. H., Kapoor, H., Kaufman, J. C., Kenett, Y. N., Kharkhurin, A. V., Luchini, S., Mangion, M., Mirabile, M., Obialo, F.-K., Phelps, C., Reiter-Palmon, R., Puryear, J. S., Sarcinella, E. D., Tang, M., Vavassori, M. G., Vinchon, F., Viskontas, I., Weiss, S., Zbainos, D., Lubart, T. (2025). “Cyber-Creativity: A Decalogue of Research Challenges.” Journal of Intelligence, 13(8): 103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13080103
About the Authors
Giovanni Emanuele Corazza is a Full Professor at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, founder of the Marconi Institute for Creativity (MIC), Member of the Board of the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI), Core Faculty Member of the Bologna Business School (BBS). He holds a PhD in Telecommunications and Microelectronics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and a PhD in Psychology from the Université Paris Cité. His research interests are focused on creativity studies, foresight, anticipation, next generation telecommunications.
He was President of the Fondazione Guglielmo Marconi in the years 2019-2023, President of the CINECA consortium for supercomputing in the years 2017-2019, Head of the Department of Electronics, Computer Science and Systems (DEIS) in the years 2009-2012, Member of the Partnership Board of the 5G Infrastructure Association in the years 2013-2018, Member of the Board of Directors of the University of Bologna in the years 2012-2018, Chairman of the School for Telecommunications in the years 2000-2003, Chairman of the Advanced Satellite Mobile Systems Task Force (ASMS TF), Founder and Chairman of the Integral Satcom Initiative (ISI), a European Technology Platform devoted to Satellite Communications.
Sergio Agnoli is Associate Professor and Director of the Dynamics of Creativity Lab at the University of Trieste. He is also Senior Scientist at the Marconi Institute for Creativity. His research focuses on the cognitive, emotional, and neurophysiological foundations of creative thinking and achievement. He has led and participated in major national and European projects, is co-chair of the MIC Conference, serves as Associate Editor for The Journal of Creative Behavior and is editorial board member for leading journals in creativity research.
Ronald A. Beghetto serves as Pinnacle West Presidential Chair and Professor at Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation. He is the founder and director of the AI-Possibility Lab. His research focuses on the psychology of human creativity, generative artificial intelligence, and the possible within educational settings. More information about Ron’s work can be found at www.ronaldbeghetto.com
Nathalie Bonnardel is a Full Professor of Cognitive and Ergonomics Psychology at Aix-Marseille Université in France (Aix-en-Provence). She is the director of the Institute for Creativity and Innovations (InCIAM) and is responsible for a master’s degree in psychology and ergonomics and a postgraduate degree in creativity and innovation. She is also a member of the board of directors of the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI). Her research focuses on understanding the processes involved in creative activities, as well as new methods, techniques, and digital support for these activities.
Irene Coletto is a member of the executive board of Forwardto – Studi e competenze per scenari futuri, supporting organizations and communities in defining long-term strategies. She is a visiting professor at Politecnico di Milano and Politecnico di Torino, focusing on images and imaginaries of the future, and a former research collaborator at the MIC – Marconi Institute for Creativity. In 2021, she received the Next Generation Foresight Practitioner – Europe Award from the School of International Futures and was named among the 35 designers under 35 shaping the future of design by ADI and Fondazione Symbola.
Angela Faiella is a Research Fellow at the Marconi Institute for Creativity, a research lab at the University of Bologna (Italy). She obtained her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Trieste (Italy) in 2023. Her research focuses on the cognitive correlates of creativity and imagination, with a particular interest in human–AI interaction. She investigates how individuals perceive their creative self-beliefs in the context of AI, exploring ways to enhance them. Furthermore, she examines the role of creativity in future thinking, emphasizing its importance for imagining transformative and long-term futures in an era of accelerated responses and decision-making.
Katusha Gerardini is a Ph.D. candidate at the Doctoral School in Psychology at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics, Innovation, and Digital Entrepreneurship from the same institution. Her research investigates group creativity and human–AI collaboration, focusing on how generative artificial intelligence shapes collective ideation, affective experience, and creative performance. She is particularly interested in the role of AI-based tools in organizational and business contexts, exploring their impact on group dynamics, creative processes, and entrepreneurial practices.
Ken Gilhooly is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, England, UK. His area of research is the cognitive psychology of thinking and problem solving and he has published extensively and held numerous grants in this area. Currently he is focussing on conceptual analysis of creative processes.
Vlad Glaveanu is Full Professor of Psychology in the Business School at Dublin City University and Adjunct Professor at the Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology, University of Bergen. He is founder and director of the DCU Centre for Possibility Studies, president of the Possibility Studies Network and editor of Possibility Studies & Society (Sage).
Michael Hanchett Hanson teaches theories of creativity and case-study method at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a founding board member of the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI), head of its educational initiatives, and member of the Chair Homo Creativus, Fondation de l’Université Paris Cité. Michael has advanced frameworks to study creativity as a function of complex, distributed social and material interactions. He has conducted research on educational practices; the history of the construct of creativity; the ideological uses and dangers of the concept; and the relations of power to creative work.
Dr. Hansika Kapoor is a Research Author at the Department of Psychology, Monk Prayogshala, Mumbai, India. She holds a PhD from IIT, Bombay in the area of dark creativity aka how people get good ideas to do bad things. She is the recipient of the Fulbright-Nehru Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship (2019-2020) and is an Affiliate at the University of Connecticut. She won the 2025 Daniel E. Berlyne Award from Division 10 of the American Psychological Association for outstanding research by an early career scholar.
She is a published author, practising psychologist, and has diverse experiences in research consultancy in behavioral and cognitive science.
James C. Kaufman is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. He has co-authored more than 500 papers, including the Four C’s theory (with Ron Beghetto), and has won many awards, including Mensa’s research award, NAGC’s Torrance Award, WCGTC’s International Creativity Award, and APA’s Berlyne, Arnheim, and Farnsworth awards. He has written or edited more than 50 books, including The Creativity Advantage (Cambridge), books on animal creativity and pseudoscience with his wife, Allison, and a book about terrible baseball pitchers with his father, Alan.
Dr. Yoed Kenett is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. His research investigates the role of knowledge in high-level cognition, focusing on creativity, associative thinking, memory search, and question asking, in typical and atypical populations. To investigate these issues, he applies computational tools from network science, natural language processing, and machine learning, coupled with empirical cognitive and neural research. Prof. Kenett won the 2021 Berlyne award for excellent research by a junior scientist, and in 2025 was recognized as a rising star in creativity research by the European ISSCI.
Anatoliy V. Kharkhurin, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Laboratory for Linguistic, Intercultural, and Creative Competencies at HSE University. His research examines creativity through multilingual and intercultural experience. He developed the Plurilingual Creativity framework and the PICK educational system to nurture linguistic, intercultural, and creative competencies. His work integrates cognitive, affective, and reflective dimensions of creativity, with a particular focus on the authenticity of creative processes in the age of AI. He has published widely in leading journals and edited volumes. In addition to his academic work, he is a practicing poet and an exhibiting multimedia artist. His scientific work and artistic practice inform and inspire each other.
Todd Lubart is a full professor of psychology at University Paris Cité. Co-director of an applied psychology laboratory, he has approximately 300 scientific publications. His research concerns the identification and development of creative potential, creativity assessments, creative giftedness, environmental support for creativity and the impact of generative AI on creativity. Todd Lubart serves on the editorial board of several creativity journals, received the Berlyne award from the American Psychological Association, the NAGC Torrance Award, the WCGTC international creativity award and was a member of the Institut Universitaire de France. Todd Lubart is president of ISSCI (the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation, issci.online).
Simone Luchini is a postdoctoral researcher at the Paris Brain Institute. His research combines techniques from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and natural language processing to explore the nature of creativity in humans and AI. Simone’s work has been published in several academic journals and has been recognized with the Frank X. Barron Award by the American Psychological Association for his contributions to creativity research.
Professor Margaret Mangion is Associate Professor and Director of the Edward de Bono Institute for Creative Thinking and Innovation at the University of Malta. Her work focuses on creativity, innovation, and possibility thinking, with recent studies exploring how educators can foster creative self-perceptions through possibility thinking training. She is particularly interested in the role of creativity in education and in developing pedagogies of the possible, contributing to both academic debate and practical applications in schools.
Mario Mirabile is a Research Fellow at the University of Bologna and a PhD Student in Information Technology at the University of Santiago de Compostela. His research focuses on trust-aware multi-agent systems, with applications to financial literacy and individual and collective empowerment. His academic interests include Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, socio-technical governance, human-AI interaction, and computational approaches to finance and creativity. He has held research and policy-oriented positions in European Technical AI governance initiatives, contributed to studies for the European Commission, and previously advised the Italian Ministry of Culture on large-scale digital transformation initiatives.
Dr. Connie Phelps graduated from Texas A&M-Commerce, the University of Arkansas, and Emporia State University with graduate degrees in Elementary Education and Gifted Special Education. After teaching gifted students in the Wichita Public Schools, she directed the Gifted Education program at Emporia State University in Kansas where she received the inaugural Dr. John E. King Endowed Professor Award for teaching. Her research interests include international collaborations on creative giftedness and creative problem solving. She presently teaches K-12 gifted children in the Flint Hills Special Education Cooperative, and she serves as the National Association for Gifted Children Global Awareness Network Chair-Elect.
Jeb S. Puryear is Associate Professor and the Suzanne and Dave Peterson Endowed Chair of Gifted Education at the University of Montana. His research explores the intersection of creativity, talent development, and education, with publications in leading journals across gifted education and creativity.
Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon is the John Holland Distinguished Professor of I/O Psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research focuses on creativity and innovation in the workplace at the individual and team level and AI/creativity link. She has published over 200 papers, book chapters, and edited books on the topic of creativity. She has received the Nebraska University System Award for research in 2017, and the Arnheim Lifetime Achievement Award from Division 10 of APA in 2024. She currently serves as the president of Division 10 of APA.
Eleonora Diletta Sarcinella is a psychologist (Order of Psychologists of Lombardy, no. 26774) and PhD candidate in Psychology at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan). She is Adjunct Lecturer at Campus Ludes (Lugano) and Teaching Assistant at Università Cattolica (Milan), contributing to courses on communication, creativity and virtual experience design. Vice President of the scientific non-profit The Way, her research explores nostalgia and complex emotions elicited by art and VR, focusing on music, nature/virtual nature, collaboration and creativity. She works on PRIN E-MOTIONS, INSIDE ACT, XRM Tele-Rehabilitation and Erasmus+ NQ-Adult, and publishes in peer-reviewed journals.
Min Tang is Professor of Psychology of Creativity and Innovation Management at the University Institute of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and Director of the Institute for Creativity & Innovation, University of Applied Management, Germany. She is the initiator and manager of various intercultural and interdisciplinary creativity projects and serves on the board of the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI). Her research focuses on the systems approach to creativity, implicit theories of creativity (including biases), innovation management, team creativity (including human-AI teams), innovation and entrepreneurship as well as the intersection of culture and innovation.
Giulia Maria Vavassori is a designer and a research collaborator bridging traditional craftsmanship, digital design, and AI tools to enhance creative processes. She is a freelance designer specializing in leather goods and jewelry for brands across Asia, US and the EU. Previously, she was a designer at Raven+Lily and Strathberry and design intern at Etro and Chloé. As a research collaborator at Università di Bologna, she contributed to different projects experimenting with AI applications in industrial and fashion design sector. She has been a tutor for the Creativity & Innovation Course at Bologna Business School in 2024 and 2025.
Florent Vinchon is a researcher at the Institute of Psychology at Paris Cité University. He obtained his PhD in psychology in 2025, focusing on creativity in the age of artificial intelligence. His research focuses primarily on collaborative and ethical perspectives that place humans at the center of new creative interactions and enable them to increase their capabilities.
Dr. Indre Viskontas MM, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology and director of the Creative Brain Lab at the University of San Francisco. Dr. Viskontas serves as the President of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the NeuroArts Blueprint and was formerly the Director of Communications for the Sound Health Network, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. She is also the Chief Science Officer at Reverberation, a company co-founded by musician Peter Gabriel, with a mission of helping everyone do everything better with music. She has written and filmed 98 lectures for the public, hosted several TV shows and more than 450 podcast episodes. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, PBS NewsHour, and major radio stations across the US.Her first book How Music Can Make You Better, was published by Chronicle Books. She has recently released a LinkedIn Learning course titled “Building Creativity from the Brain Up,” which has been watched by more than 25,000 professionals.
Selina Weiss is a Professor of Psychological Assessment. Her main research interest is in the area of creativity assessment with a focus on the assessment of creative abilities and methodological developments in the area of creativity assessment, item selection and person selection.
Felix-Kingsley Obialo is a priest in the Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is a creativity practitioner and an Associate Professor of Creativity and Entrepreneurship at the Dominican University, Ibadan. He currently serves as the Director of the university’s Centre for Creativity and Entrepreneurial Studies. His research focuses on harnessing the benefits of creativity to improve the human condition. He has examined the pivotal role of creativity across many contexts, including business, religion, education at all levels, and mental health. He is a business coach, mentor, and mental health advocate. His creativity practice has led to local and international collaborations.
Ana Jorge Artigau is a Dr in Communications from the Universidad Austral. She is currently a full-time professor at this University and devotes her time to doing research and teaching Creativity. She participates on several labs such as the Participatory Creativity Research Group, The Worldbuilding Lab and the development of CIFRA devoted to Innovation. In addition, she is a member of the board of the ISSCI (International Society of Studies of Creativity and Innovation).
