The creative agency of large language models: a philosophical inquiry

Abstract

This paper explores the difficult question of whether Large Language Models (LLMs) are intrinsically creative. Because they can independently create original content, LLMs are often seen as creative agents. Contrary to the belief that LLMs are creative, this paper argues that LLMs are not creative for two reasons. First, LLMs are not creative because they lack an essential component of creativity, which is the first-person experience of the world. Secondly, LLMs are not creative because they are not the principal authors of their creative output, for they lack the subjective awareness and intentionality necessary to be regarded as authors, and their output is a collaborative effort of the AI model, data providers, and other stakeholders. Since they are not full-fledged authors in a traditional sense, they are not creative.