Perceptions of embodiment and creativity in human-technology co-creation

In this paper, we present the results of a quantitative survey that reveals the relationship between perceived creativity and embodiment in the context of digitally-native artwork. This research contributes to the Human-Computer Interaction lit- erature on the role of embodiment in the relation between humans and computational applications and is especially rel- evant given the increased speculation about the artistic role and creativity of digital systems since the rise of generative AI tools. This study compares how participants respond to a video of a human illustrator drawing by hand on a touch- screen tablet with how the same participants respond to a video of a human technologist coding an algorithmic system that is subsequently used to produce artwork. In both cases, perceived embodiment was significantly correlated with per- ceived creativity. This suggests that the level of embodiment of a creative process should not be discounted, but is instead an essential element in creativity perceptions.