EP 267 Does AI Make you More or Less Creative? (Paintbrush vs Photocopier)

AI can feel like a creativity cheat code… or like the death of originality. In this short, punchy solo episode, Susan argues the truth is simpler: AI doesn’t create creativity. It creates options. Creativity still belongs to the driver—your taste, courage, and point of view.

Episode summary

Susan tackles a question she hears constantly: does AI expand creativity or flatten it?

Her answer: it depends on how you’re using it. If you use AI like a photocopier—generate a first draft and ship it unchanged—you’re not becoming more creative. You’re becoming more efficient at being generic.

But if you use AI like a paintbrush—as a sparring partner, a possibility engine, a constraint generator, or a remix assistant—it can shorten the distance between blank page and something you can shape.

The episode is a practical reset on what creativity actually requires in the AI era: taste, discernment, point of view, and the courage to be a little weird on purpose.

 

Key takeaways

• AI doesn’t create creativity. It creates options.
  Creativity still requires intent, judgement, and discernment.
  
  

• Paintbrush vs Photocopier is the core distinction.
  
  

• Photocopier: you accept the default output and publish it.
  
  

• Paintbrush: you use AI to generate raw material, then you curate and shape.
  
  

• People can “spot AI writing” when there’s no point of view.
  Generic writing usually means the human outsourced the messy parts: emotional clarity, lived experience, and risk.
  
  

• Creativity needs both taste and courage.
  AI doesn’t do courage.
  Taste is what you choose—and what you reject.
  
  

• Better prompts aren’t about asking for “the answer.”
  They’re about asking for raw material: angles, metaphors, structures, constraints, and pushback.
  
  

Ways to use AI like a paintbrush

Try these modes when you feel stuck:

• Sparring partner: “Push back on this.” “Argue the opposite.” “What am I not seeing?”
  
  

• Possibility engine: “Give me 20 angles.” “Give me metaphors.” “Suggest surprising structures.”
  
  

• Constraint generator: “Make this an 8-word active headline.” “Explain it for a 12-year-old.” “Turn it into a story with a clear villain.”
  
  

• Remix assistant: “Turn this into a framework.” “Make it a checklist.” “Turn it into a debate.”
  
  

The mini exercise Susan gives you

Pick something you’re working on (a post, pitch, talk, plan). Then ask AI:

1. What’s the most boring version of this?
   
   

2. What’s the boldest version of this?
   
   

3. What’s the truest version of this for me?
   
   

Then you decide what to keep, amplify, or reject.
That’s the creative act.

 

Episode highlights

 

00:02.36 — The core question: does AI make you more or less creative?

00:18.46 — “It depends who’s driving” (AI amplifies you)

00:55.04 — Core belief: AI creates options, not creativity

01:23.10 — Paintbrush vs photocopier framing

01:38.81 — The photocopier trap: shipping first drafts unchanged

02:16.38 — Why people can “tell it’s AI” (patterned, POV-less output)

03:03.35 — Creativity requires taste + courage (AI doesn’t do courage)

03:19.86 — Choose the paintbrush path

03:37.29 — Use AI as a sparring partner (push back / argue opposite / what am I missing?)

03:47.10 — Use AI as a possibility engine (20 angles, metaphors, surprising structures)

04:18.08 — Use constraints to force originality (8-word headline, etc.)

05:16.92 — What “taste” actually is: what you choose (and reject)

05:45.66 — Ask for raw material, not “the answer”

06:05.56 — Mini exercise setup (post, pitch, talk, plan)

06:21.82 — Three-question prompt: boring vs bold vs true

07:27.10 — When AI makes you less creative: avoiding the thinking

07:38.96 — Don’t quit AI—change the prompt

07:51.10 — Ask for “stranger / truer / mine”

08:03.45 — Wrap: creativity is in the driver’s hands

08:19.29 — Quick ask: rating + review

 

If you’re feeling creatively stuck, don’t ask AI to be creative for you.

Ask it to help you explore—then use your taste to choose.

And if you’re enjoying this 30-day podcast-to-book sprint, leave us a quick rating + short review to help more people find the show

Connect with Susan Diaz on LinkedIn to get a conversation started.

 

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