Does AI Make Us Less Original? Why Your Perfect Answer May Be Someone Else’s Too
The Strategic Newb Editorial Team
Translated from the original; figures and sources have been preserved. Read the original →
You ask ChatGPT to write a cover letter. You request an original gift, a holiday destination or a strong idea for your business. Within seconds, you receive an answer that sounds surprisingly good.
But how many other people are getting roughly the same advice?
That is the uncomfortable question behind social scientist Sandra Matz’s TED talk Is AI Turning Us All into the Same Person? Her warning: as we hand more choices over to AI, we may discover less and leave less room for what makes us unique. TED talk
The most interesting downside of AI may therefore be something you barely notice. Your text improves. Your choice becomes easier. Your idea sounds more professional.
Yet something may be disappearing: your own, unexpected perspective.
Does AI make us less creative?
AI can improve individual creative performance while making different people’s results more alike. That pattern emerged in a short-story experiment published in Science Advances. It does not prove that AI changes your personality, but it suggests that better output and greater originality are different things. Study in Science Advances
That distinction matters.
A text can become clearer without offering a more surprising viewpoint. A campaign can look professional yet feel like something you saw from another brand yesterday.
Imagine ten business owners all giving the same instruction:
“Come up with an original campaign for my coffee shop.”
They may receive different answers. But if everyone accepts the first usable suggestion, their campaigns risk revolving around similar themes: a welcoming atmosphere, craftsmanship, a morning ritual.
This is an illustrative example, not a research finding. It does show the tension: a usable idea is not yet a distinctive idea.
What research into AI and creativity actually shows
Researchers Anil Doshi and Oliver Hauser studied what happens when people writing short stories gain access to ideas from generative AI.
On average, AI-assisted stories were rated as more creative, better written and more enjoyable. Participants with lower creativity scores measured beforehand benefited particularly. At the same time, the content of AI-assisted stories was more similar than that of stories written without such help. Study in Science Advances
AI therefore gave some writers a better starting point, but also steered them towards similar ideas.
There are clear limits to this finding. The study involved a specific writing task and used GPT-4. It did not investigate personality changes over many years and does not prove that every AI model has the same effect on every creative task. Study in Science Advances
The practical question remains relevant: if everyone receives help from similar systems, where will the differences come from?
Why personalised advice can still narrow your world
You might think personalisation solves the problem. Tell AI who you are, what you like and how you write. Surely something unique will follow.
But advice that suits you does not necessarily take you further.
Someone who always reads the same kind of books may receive another recommendation from that category. Someone who enjoys quiet beach holidays may be directed towards another similar destination. That can be pleasant. It just leaves little room for an interest you have not yet discovered.
In her TED talk, Matz focuses on precisely that danger: systems can limit what you see, try and discover when you increasingly let their recommendations guide you. Her message is also that AI can be used to encourage curiosity. TED talk
The difference lies in what you are trying to achieve.
“Find something that suits me” is a different instruction from “Help me discover something outside my usual preferences.”
The business downside: everyone sounds professional
For business owners and creators, this raises an interesting economic question.
If many companies can use AI to quickly produce polished texts, product descriptions and campaigns, how much distinction does polished communication still provide?
My interpretation: a polished presentation becomes more accessible. The difference may therefore depend more on what you bring yourself: experience, knowledge of your customers, your own judgment and concrete examples.
An estate agent, for example, can have a neat text written about a “vibrant neighbourhood”. But someone who knows the area can explain which street gets congested during the school run and where residents drink coffee on Saturday mornings.
A financial platform can publish a general explanation of investing. It becomes more interesting when it explores a real question, shows calculations and makes its assumptions verifiable.
AI can help present that knowledge clearly. The value then lies in the material you add.
If you use the same tools as everyone else, you have even more reason to bring your own information.
AI and personality: are we really becoming the same person?
That conclusion goes too far.
Research into similarities between texts or choices does not prove that people lose their entire identity. Columbia Business School also describes Matz’s work as research into the risk that AI reduces the individuality and diversity of human choices. That is a narrower claim than “AI makes everyone the same”. Columbia Business School
For everyday use, a more concrete question is useful:
Which parts of my thinking am I outsourcing?
Having a text corrected differs from having a viewpoint chosen for you. Asking for ideas differs from automatically carrying out the first one. Requesting a comparison differs from adopting a choice without further consideration.
You can use AI frequently and still think actively. But that requires space between the answer and your decision.
How to use ChatGPT without losing your own voice
The following approaches are practical suggestions, not proven guarantees against losing originality.
1. Write down your own rough idea first
Start with a few sentences before opening AI.
What do you think yourself? What experience is relevant? What are you unsure about?
That initial material need not be polished. It gives AI something specific to work with and helps you notice when a rewrite changes your meaning.
2. Ask for different directions
Ten variations on the same approach offer less choice than three genuinely different approaches.
For example, try:
Suggest three directions for this idea: a practical one, an unusual one and one that challenges my main assumption. Explain how they differ.
Then decide for yourself which direction is useful.
3. Ask AI to point out gaps
Ask for criticism before asking for a more polished text.
Which claim lacks evidence? Which example is too general? Where is a conclusion expressed more strongly than the information supports?
That way, you use the system to examine your work rather than merely smooth it over.
4. Add concrete experiences
Replace general sentences with details relevant to your subject.
“Many customers find this difficult” says little. A real customer question, a checked calculation or a recognisable situation makes your meaning clear.
Use only experiences and data you actually have. Invented personal stories do not make a text authentic.
5. Deliberately look beyond your preferences
Use AI for discovery too:
I mostly read about technology and economics. Suggest three subjects outside those fields that could broaden my view of innovation. Explain the connection.
This gives you a starting point for further exploration. Discovery happens only when you read, watch, try things and assess them yourself.
What does this mean for blogs, marketing and social media?
For content creators, the temptation is clear: move from topic to publication faster.
But a useful editorial check is to ask before publication:
- What information does this article offer that readers cannot find everywhere?
- Which claims have been checked?
- Which example makes the subject concrete?
- Where is there original analysis, and is it clearly identified as analysis?
- Could this text appear on a competitor’s website without changes?
That last question is particularly pointed. If only your company name needs replacing, the text probably still lacks something specific.
This does not mean every sentence has to be spectacular. A clear explanation can be very valuable. But clarity becomes more meaningful when it rests on knowledge, evidence or a considered choice.
Frequently asked questions about AI and creativity
Does ChatGPT make you less original?
It can happen with certain tasks, but it is not an inevitable consequence of use. In one experiment, AI-assisted stories received better ratings while also showing more similarities to one another. Study in Science Advances
Can AI improve your creativity?
Yes, AI can suggest ideas and help develop a text. In the study discussed here, participants with lower creativity scores measured beforehand benefited particularly. The outcome also depends on the task and how you use the suggestions. Study in Science Advances
Does AI change your personality?
The sources discussed here do not prove a general, lasting personality change. They give us reason to examine critically how AI influences choices and creative output.
How do you preserve your own writing style?
Start with your own material, provide concrete examples and check every rewrite for meaning and tone. Accept a phrase because it conveys your thought well, not simply because it sounds professional.
The best answer does not have to be yours
AI can help you create something you would not have started without help. That is valuable.
But a convincing answer can also become an early stopping point. You stop searching because it already sounds good enough. You abandon an unusual angle because the polished version reads more easily.
That is why the first, uncomfortable thought sometimes deserves a little more time.
Ask AI for help. Then compare the answer with your own experience, knowledge and judgment.
AI can make a text better. What makes it worthwhile can still come from you.
Sources
- Sandra Matz — Is AI turning us all into the same person? — TED
- Doshi & Hauser — Generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the collective diversity of novel content — Science Advances, 12 July 2024 — DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn5290.
- AI Is Turning You Basic — Columbia Business School, 26 September 2025