Beyond idea generation: The importance of idea evaluation in Human-AI collaborative creativity

Dual-process theories of creativity posit that idea generation and evaluation are distinct but equally important phases in creative thinking, yet research has focused substantially more on generation. This trend toward generation extends to human-AI cocreativity, which has shown that generative artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly alter how people generate ideas. However, the evaluation phase becomes especially critical with AI, requiring human expertise to assess the originality, effectiveness, and credibility of AI-generated ideas. This chapter explores the role of idea evaluation in human-AI cocreativity, with a focus on expertise. Recent empirical research suggests that while AI can enhance human creativity, domain expertise and knowledge remain crucial for effective evaluation. Expertise is necessary for selecting/refining ideas and avoiding emerging issues with generative AI, such as hallucinations and homogenization effects. Through these considerations, we aim to foster successful human-AI collaboration that amplifies human creativity, preserves autonomy in the creative process, and highlights the continued importance of domain-specific knowledge and expertise in educational and work settings.