Survey: 62% of Americans want AI as creative tool, not replacement

A new survey reveals that most Americans want AI to serve as a creative tool rather than replace human artists entirely. The findings suggest people value the human experience in art and prefer AI systems that amplify artistic vision rather than generate content autonomously.

What you should know: The survey of 150 U.S. residents found that 62% would like their favorite artwork less if they learned it was created by AI without human involvement.

• Only 13% considered people using AI to be artists, while 42% said “yes, but only if they are providing significant guidance to the AI; otherwise, no.”
• When asked about the emotional value of human versus AI art, 81% said there was a meaningful difference between the two.

The big picture: People appear more accepting of AI as a creative tool when human artists maintain significant control over the process.

• Survey participants were most open to AI-generated digital art, poetry, and fiction—forms that early commercial AI systems like ChatGPT and Midjourney popularized.
• They showed the least acceptance for AI-generated podcasts, TV shows, and movies, which still struggle to convincingly replicate human authenticity.

What they’re saying: Respondents emphasized the importance of human experience in artistic expression.

• One participant called Good Will Hunting “a masterpiece of the human experience” that “no AI could ever come close to replicating.”
• Many described AI art as “manipulative, inauthentic and, of course, artificial,” while others took a pragmatic view that good art matters regardless of its creator.

Why this matters: The results highlight a potential path forward for AI companies focused on democratizing creative expression rather than replacing human creativity.

• Art creation often faces barriers including expensive supplies, studio space costs, geographic limitations, physical disabilities, and industry gatekeepers.
• Director Darren Aronofsky, who created films like Black Swan, founded AI film studio Primordial Soup specifically to “lower barriers for emerging storytellers and to develop scripts that remain unproduced because of high costs and technical limitations.”

Key insights: The survey suggests people still view art primarily as human communication, echoing philosopher John Dewey’s description of art as “the most universal and freest form of communication.”

• Research shows people use “effort as a heuristic for quality,” valuing handmade items and challenging creative processes over mass-produced alternatives.
• The popularity of podcasts, where audiences prefer seeing speakers’ facial expressions and connecting with clear personalities, reinforces the desire for human authenticity in creative content.

Important considerations: The researchers emphasize that creators using AI tools must navigate copyright concerns and ethical standards.

• They recommend investing in platforms with safeguards, citing video-generation platform Moonvalley as an example of a company that trains models using only licensed data.
• As AI capabilities advance, public acceptance may shift, but the fundamental human desire for connection through art appears likely to persist.