# An Ontology of Co-Creative AI Systems

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.07472 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.07472/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 13 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Oct 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Designing Creative AI Partners with COFI: A Framework for Modeling Interaction in Human-AI Co-Creative Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.07666/) (2022)
- [Explainability Pitfalls: Beyond Dark Patterns in Explainable AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.12480/) (2021)
- [Beyond Prompts: Exploring the Design Space of Mixed-Initiative Co-Creativity Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.07465/) (2023)
- [An Interaction Framework for Studying Co-Creative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.09709/) (2019)
- [Nine Potential Pitfalls when Designing Human-AI Co-Creative Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.00358/) (2021)
- [Identifying Ethical Issues in AI Partners in Human-AI Co-Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.07644/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Finance Language Model Evaluation (FLaME)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.15846/) (2025)
- [Do Language Models Agree with Human Perceptions of Suspense in Stories?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.15794/) (2025)
- [Beyond Following: Mixing Active Initiative into Computational Creativity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.16291/) (2024)
- [Intellectual Stewardship: Re-adapting Human Minds for Creative Knowledge Work in the Age of AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.18117/) (2026)
- [Cognitive Trajectory Modeling: Quantifying Human-AI Co-Creation through Cognitively Grounded Interaction Trajectories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.15358/) (2026)
- [Reconstructing Persistent Worlds from Narratives for Narrative-Grounded Interactive Experiences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.04037/) (2026)
- [BoardroomAI: Dependency-Aware Human-Steerable Multi-Agent Deliberation through Evolving Decision Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.13046/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The term co-creativity has been used to describe a wide variety of human-AI assemblages in which human and AI are both involved in a creative endeavor. In order to assist with disambiguating research efforts, we present an ontology of co-creative systems, focusing on how responsibilities are divided between human and AI system and the information exchanged between them. We extend Lubart's original ontology of creativity support tools with three new categories emphasizing artificial intelligence: computer-as-subcontractor, computer-as-critic, and computer-as-teammate, some of which have sub-categorizations.