Neurocognitive assessment of generative AI on designers’ creative cognition: evidence from biologically inspired design tasks

ABSTRACT: Designers use GenAI tools during bioinspired design (BID) process to understand biological inspiration. We investigate the influence of using ChatGPT with BID on their creative thinking. We present BID stimuli to 30 designers in three modes: BID only, ChatGPT only, and BID + ChatGPT; and record their EEG data across four design phases. Their creativity is analyzed through convergent and divergent thinking (CT and DT), measured by average β and α TRP, respectively. Results show that BID stimuli’s influence on CT and DT is mode and phase dependent, indicating CT and DT as continuous processes.