11 mar The end of creative loneliness: how AI is reinventing brainstorming 

Creative loneliness, that white ghost disguised as paper, can no longer haunt those who believe in it and let themselves be influenced. Who you gonna call? Artificial intelligence.
Brainstorming is fundamentally a collective ritual: people not always at ease, sticking Post-its on the wall, laughing, and exchanging ideas like a game of ping-pong, with the advantage that the ball preferably returns bigger and rounder than when it was hit. That’s when people are engaged, focused on the process, and, more importantly, know the modus operandi. Simply gathering a bunch of people in a room hoping good ideas will magically emerge is like putting a cow in a room and expecting a barbecue to come out. You need an open mind, respecting all the rules of brainstorming. Yes, creativity requires a very special kind of discipline and structure that doesn’t stifle ideas but instead makes them flourish. One of these rules is allowing free speech, respecting all ideas that arise, even the supposedly stupid ones. In fact, the stupid ones have more creative potential than the pretty ones. Often, we consider an idea stupid simply because it’s original, never thought of to solve that problem, which for our nervous system, especially the brain, is a leap into that void called the discomfort zone. But isn’t that the purpose of brainstorming?

The creative multiverse

It’s precisely this clash of singular universes, this exchange of realities, perceptions, and evolving thoughts—transforming in real time, visibly—that makes brainstorming, beyond witnessing the miracle of an idea’s birth, one of the best tools for generating creative ideas. An old metaphor explains this dynamic better. Two people meeting with an apple each, exchanging them, leave with one apple each. Two people meeting with an idea each, exchanging them, leave with two ideas each.

Just hope

Another advantage of brainstorming is that diversity also aids in evaluating ideas. As a collective, the best ideas are expected to be democratically chosen, based on criteria like understanding, acceptance as a potential solution, and, more importantly, charisma—that seasoning you can’t explain but carries a different energy, somehow captivating us, enchanting us, and provoking an inexplicable sense of excitement. It’s somewhat ironic. Many ideas that, logically, have all the qualifications for success but lack charisma inevitably fail. Conversely, ideas that aren’t necessarily logical or tasteful but, for unknown reasons, connect unexpectedly with the audience carry that strange force called charisma. That’s what makes the creative process such a seductive casino. You know all the rules of poker, blackjack, roulette, you’re a skilled and experienced player, but you’ll never have a guaranteed victory. The variables are so numerous and naturally indecipherable that even the brightest minds wouldn’t dream of knowing them, let alone consolidating them. Not even chess masters can scratch the surface of a near-infinite set of possibilities. I always say that in idea generation, there’s no certainty—only hope. And this hope strengthens when humanity is conjugated in the plural.

Ah, look at all the lonely people

It’s clear that when alone, creative work becomes far more challenging. You have no dialogue, no way to expand your references beyond your personal limits, your Google skills, or your talent for crafting prompts in ChatGPT. Moreover, you can’t evaluate a work from which you lack critical distance. No matter how competent you are at associations, your perspective is monochromatic, ideas scale with more difficulty, and conceptual leaps are smaller and less intense. More than that, decisions are autocratic. You decide what you yourself create. It’s like evaluating your own children without the natural attachment caused by emotional bias. The necessary coldness and objectivity are hardly achieved in solitude. Especially when the idea is seemingly original. When there’s no criteria to evaluate. No similar visions to mirror. No ground to stand on.

Someone to trust

For me, the best way to handle this often desperate scenario is to rely on someone you trust to help evaluate the solutions you’ve developed. Trust in the person, of course, but primarily—and necessarily—in their judgment and ability to abstract ideas that aren’t fully formed yet but have potential, something most people unfamiliar with the creative process can’t do. This special person should be called upon at two moments in the journey: when you have ideas you consider promising but aren’t sure which to develop, and obviously when the idea is in its final version, ready to be presented to your target audience. Ideally, they’ll say with reasonable confidence, “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it,” and, of course, explain why.

Two is better

Technically, at least two people are needed to form a brainstorming session. Well, they were. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the concept of brainstorming has been redefined. Dictionaries will need to update their entries. Now there’s a solitary alternative with a virtual creative duo. You can have everything a human partner offers but with several advantages. You can exchange ideas without restrictions. You’ll be the leader of the duo, with no arguments, jealousy, or ego clashes. It’ll be a single-ego duo. You won’t need to debate the quality of an idea. You can work anytime, day or night, without fatigue or complaints. Moreover, you’ll never fight, as is common even in professional couples. AI is turning the creative monologue into a never-ending dialogue.

Imagine throwing out any thought without fear of judgment? That’s where AI shines. While you’d hesitate to share a half-baked idea with colleagues, with AI, that doesn’t happen. It accepts everything. Plus, if you want a touch of criticism or a more analytical eye, just ask. But the real charm lies in the total freedom to share without the weight of “what will they think of me?”.

The key is that this creative process becomes a real chat. You throw out an idea, and the AI responds with another perspective or counterpoint that makes you rethink. Every response, no matter how unexpected, propels the next idea. It messes with your neurons. Stimulates your nervous system. Even when AI takes a shot in the dark, missing the target, its response serves as a springboard for new directions. I call these shots inductors. In short: you’re in the middle of a brainstorming session.

The difference is that in traditional brainstorming, human sensitivity can be an obstacle—nobody likes seeing their idea torn apart in front of everyone. But AI? It listens to everything, responds without judgment, and withstands as many repetitions or topic changes as you want. This makes the process not only smoother but also bolder. In this safe space, you’re free to explore even the most out-of-the-box ideas. Freedom you’ll never get in human interaction.

Almost perfect pair

In the end, working with AI isn’t a guarantee of instant or perfect solutions, but it certainly drives constant evolution of your ideas. Every interaction, every unexpected response, and every collaborative refinement shows that when creativity stops being a solitary act, innovation potential skyrockets.

And here’s the irony: despite talking to a machine, the experience ends up being superhuman. It doesn’t matter if AI has emotions or understands your sentimental nuances—it creates a safe space for you to be completely honest with your thoughts. And that freedom is essential for brainstorming to truly work, allowing chaotic ideas to eventually turn into brilliant solutions.

So, next time the ghost of the blank page tries to haunt you, remember: you’re not alone. With the advantage that only one of the creators will get all the credit for the ideas. Your ego remains intact. And if the idea is poorly received, you can confess you were influenced by AI, promising not to make that mistake again.

Final tips

• Forget the perfect prompt. Talk to AI like you’re chatting with a colleague.
• Expand possibilities by using different chatbots. Like people, each has unique perspectives.
• Ask them all for a more critical stance, because their default is ass-kissing and seeing the good in everything you type.
• To make it feel more like brainstorming, use voice chat.
• Don’t take AI’s “opinions” as truths. Unlike a trusted human friend, it lacks refined judgment based on human perception nuances and tends to homogenize thoughts and be politically correct. To compensate, use your own wisdom.