Jerusalem, 21 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Artificial intelligence can now generate paintings, music, poetry and designs in seconds, raising questions about the future of human creativity. But a new study by an Israeli researcher argues that the value of art lies not only in the finished work, but also in the experiences, skills and personal growth involved in creating it.

The findings have implications for ordinary people, artists and technology developers alike. As AI makes it easier for anyone to produce sophisticated artwork without years of training, people may need to rethink what makes creativity valuable. Artists may place greater emphasis on experimentation and the experiences their work creates, while AI developers may need to look beyond speed and output quality when designing creative tools.

Rather than measuring success solely by what AI can produce, Dr. Amit R. Zoran of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem argues that generative artificial intelligence is separating the ability to produce sophisticated art from the process of learning the skills traditionally needed to create it. The paper, published in the peer-reviewed journal AI & Society, suggests that this change offers an opportunity to rethink what makes human creativity meaningful.

For centuries, artists developed their abilities through years of practice, experimentation and study. Painters learned to observe the world, while musicians trained their bodies and refined their ability to express emotions through sound. Generative AI can now produce impressive results without requiring users to undergo comparable training.

Zoran calls this shift the “decoupling thesis,” which describes how artistic production can become detached from the personal development traditionally associated with it.

“For centuries, creating art meant going through a process of learning, experimenting, and changing as a person,” Zoran explains. “Today, AI allows us to produce sophisticated works without necessarily undergoing that journey.”

However, he argues that the ability to generate art more easily does not mean human creativity has become less valuable. Instead, it changes where that value can be found.

“The real potential of AI is not simply to help us produce more images, music, or designs, but to open new possibilities for how we experience, understand, and engage with the world around us,” Zoran says.

Beyond the Artwork

One example in the paper shows what this approach might look like in practice. Rather than treating AI as a tool for producing a standalone artwork, a project turns a tree into the focus of a multisensory experience. Participants encounter its natural scents and recorded sounds alongside AI-generated music performed by a human musician and visual projections revealing otherwise hidden features.

The project aims to encourage people to experience the tree in new ways and deepen their connection with the natural world. Zoran cautions, however, that such projects demonstrate what AI-assisted art might make possible, rather than provide measured evidence that participants’ perspectives have changed.

The broader implication is a shift in how creative work is evaluated. Zoran argues that schools, museums and cultural institutions should look beyond the finished product to consider what people learn, discover and experience through the creative process. AI developers, meanwhile, could assess their tools not only by the quality of the images or music they generate, but also by whether they encourage experimentation and help users move beyond familiar ideas.

That distinction matters because making art easier to produce does not necessarily make people more creative. Tools that generate polished results in seconds may expand access to artistic expression, but they can also leave users repeating familiar styles rather than discovering new ones.

For Zoran, the central question is therefore not simply whether a person or a machine made an artwork. It is what the work allows people to experience and understand. AI may remove some of the traditional effort involved in making art, but the challenge is to ensure that greater ease of production also creates opportunities for discovery.