Abstract
As artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly generate creative outputs of various kinds, questions arise about the creative potential of AI. This paper adapts Walt Disney's "imagineering" concept, a blend of imagination and engineering, as a conceptual framework for human-AI creative collaboration. Through semi-structured interviews with 10 creative professionals across visual arts, writing, film, and craft, the research investigates how practitioners define creativity and valuate AI capabilities.
The findings reveal consensus among these participants, who distinguish between capabilities involving imagination that humans provide, and engineering capabilities handled effectively by AI. The paper integrates theories from intuition, creativity and advanced skills containing cognitive capabilities that are lacking in AI. By distinguishing creative outputs (products meeting requirements for novelty/appropriateness) from creative agency (requiring consciousness, embodiment, and intentionality), the concept of "imagineering," is helpful in explaining the optimal interactions between humans acting as creative directors, directing AI engineering toward meaningful ends.