GenAI dynamics

The rapid rise of AI chatbots, promises immediate and effective help with a range of cognitive tasks, from studying and writing to image generation and brainstorming. And so, idea generation powered by AI chatbots can provide a wide variety of example designs which designers use for inspiration. But what happens to users’ own abilities when the AI is not available? A study* provided causal evidence for two key consequences of AI assistance: reduced persistence and impairment of unassisted performance. Across a variety of tasks, including mathematical reasoning and reading comprehension, the research found that although AI assistance improves performance in the short-term, participants perform significantly worse without AI and are more likely to give up. Notably, these effects emerge after only brief interactions with AI (∼10 minutes). However, another study** found the question is not only what AI can do but how it can help designers think, create and collaborate more effectively. And so, when participants were shown AI-generated suggestions for designing virtual cars they spent more time on the task, produced better quality designs and felt more involved. That is, AI was not just about efficiency. It was about creativity and collaboration.  *https://arxiv.org/pdf/2604.04721  **https://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/news-events/news/2025/11/can-ai-make-us-more-creative-new-study-reveals-surprising-benefits-of-human-ai-collaboration.php