Creativity in the age of AI
- Mia Palmiero
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
It’s no secret that reading skills are critical to functioning in our fast-paced society. From exit signs to tax documents to well-paying, degree-requiring careers, reading and reading comprehension are non-negotiables for kids and emerging professionals alike. Neuroplasticity is at its highest in the earliest stages of brain development, so encouraging reading, creativity, and critical thinking at this age is imperative for success later down the line.
But the National-Achievement Level Results as of 2024 showed slight decreases in performance compared with 2022, and statistically significantly lower than in 2019. Additionally, the National Literacy Institute reported that 21% of adults in the US are illiterate and 54% of adults have literacy below the 6th-grade level. With so many factors at play, it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly is causing the decline in reading skills and literacy rates.
One factor that can’t be ignored is the increasing amount of tools to aid in essay composition, editing and reading comprehension sourced from the rapid development of AI. Students are required to write in their own words less frequently. Faculty in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering note that the use of AI causes students and adults think critically less frequently, and a study by Qirui Ju of Duke University found that candidates using AI for reading comprehension when asked follow-up questions regarding the material they’d read scored statistically significantly lower than those who did not use AI. AI also is known to perpetuate inaccurate biases which is a major concern in an already polarized world.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Angus Fletcher of Ohio State University describes how reading inspires creativity and passion in adults as well as children, and explains that even bigtime companies in data ruts can learn from reading children’s books. “One of the things we do to help is give them children’s books about rule-breaking children, like Pippi Longstocking, the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. Immediately everyone remembers what it was like to be a kid. They remember how you learn as a child to be a little bit brave and bold and to mess up sometimes. You get rid of the fear you have as an adult that you need to be certain all the time,” he says in an interview with Ross Bishoff for The Ohio State University blog. The Kids Picture Book Review lauds children’s books for improving children’s imagination due to the use of vivid descriptions which encourage visualization, introducing empathy and perspective, incorporating problem-solving scenarios, challenging readers to “fill in the gaps” of character backstories and between plot points, setting the stage for play, and introducing a global perspective. Along with increasing imagination, books help children develop problem solving skills, empathy, manage stress, and gain self-awareness (kidspicturebookreview.com). Alexandra Akinchina of the World Literacy Foundation describes how reading is “one of the best ways to foster imagination,” but calls attention to the fact that not all children have access to the books that will engage “magical thinking,” (Akinchina).
If you have children’s books to spare, consider donating to OTSPB’s campaign to keep creativity growing in our youngest generation.
Works Cited:
The National Literacy Institute. Literacy Statistics 2024-2025 (Where We Are Now). https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-statistics-2024-2025-where-we-are-now#:~:text=On%20average%2C%2079%25%20of%20U.S.,to%202.2%20trillion%20per%20year.
National Assessment of Education Progress. NAEP Report Card: Reading. Explore Results
for the 2024 NAEP Reading Assessment. 2025.
Florence Gonsalves, Jama Green, Alex Parrish, Tonia Moxley, Chelsea Seeber, and
Ashley Williamson. AI - The Good, the Bad, and the Scary. Virginia Tech Engineer.
Ju, Qirui, Experimental Evidence on Negative Impact of Generative AI on Scientific Learning Outcomes (September 10, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4567696 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4567696
How Reading Improves Your Child’s Imagination. Kids Book Review.
Bishoff, Ross. Sparking Creativity Through Reading. The Ohio State University. 2021.
Akinchina, Alexandra. Reading Enhances Imagination. World Literacy Foundation. 4/08/2021.
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