Artificial Intelligence Systems: the Influence on Human Entrepreneurial Creativity

This article explores the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) systems on the generation of new venture ideas, answering a direct call from entrepreneurship scholars (Chalmers, MacKenzie, & Carter, 2021). A conceptual framework is built to unearth the underlying mechanisms, drawing on cognitive theories of creativity. The conceptual framework is tested experimentally with 90 participants. Findings show that the use of AI during new venture idea generation is a double-edged sword. Humans can enhance their cognitive flexibility, which leads to generate more high-quality ideas (number of creative, novel and useful ideas) at the expense of average novelty of ideas. Practical implications, academic contributions and future research opportunities are discussed.