Empower or Disempower: The Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on College Students' Creativity

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) is profoundly reshaping the educational ecosystem, driving the transition of education into a new era characterized by "human-machine" collaborative evolution. In this context, cultivating innovative talents with "machine-irreplaceable" capabilities has become increasingly imperative, as critical thinking, creativity, and related competencies are now regarded as essential attributes for college students in the intelligent era. Nevertheless, the impact of GAI on students' creativity remains a subject of debate within academia, with no consensus on whether it enhances or undermines creative potential. To address this gap, this study investigated the influence of the generative AI tool Kimi AI on creativity among 113 college students, utilizing a single-factor between-subjects experimental design. Creativity was operationalized through scores obtained from an alien-drawing task, a widely recognized measure of divergent thinking. The results demonstrate that GAI, when employed as a "learning companion," facilitates sustained interaction with students, thereby effectively fostering the development of their creative abilities. As the transition from weak AI to strong AI progresses, a critical challenge in the intelligent era lies in determining how to effectively integrate GAI into educational frameworks to enhance not only creativity but also other core competencies essential for future-ready graduates.