# The Role of Human Creativity in the Presence of AI Creativity Tools at Work: A Case Study on AI-Driven Content Transformation in Journalism

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.05347 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.05347/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 7 Feb 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Facilitating Longitudinal Interaction Studies of AI Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.10252/) (2025)
- [Priming, Path-dependence, and Plasticity: Understanding the molding of user-LLM interaction and its implications from (many) chat logs in the wild](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.05767/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As AI becomes more capable, it is unclear how human creativity will remain essential in jobs that incorporate AI. We conducted a 14-week study of a student newsroom using an AI tool to convert web articles into social media videos. Most creators treated the tool as a creative springboard, not as a completion mechanism. They edited the AI outputs. The tool enabled the team to publish successful content that received over 500,000 views. Human creativity remained essential: after AI produced templated outputs, creators took ownership of the task, injecting their own creativity, especially when AI failed to create appropriate content. AI was initially seen as an authority, due to creators' lack of experience, but they ultimately learned to assert their own authority.