Lately, I've been using generative AI to come up with ideas -- but not in the way that I expected. When I first saw the power of generative AI, I assumed I would use it as a brainstorming tool and then turn those ideas into creative work. But I'm convinced we need to become really good at what AI can't do and really different at what it can do. So, if I want to create something distinct, I can use AI to get past the initial set of ideas and move toward more divergent thinking. Here are two ways I'm doing this. #1 - Avoiding the cliché I start with a prompt and ask the AI to come up with ideas. Then, I look at the ideas and ask: 1. Which of these seem cliché and overdone? 2. Which of these ideas can I modify to make something interesting? 3. Whose perspectives aren't represented? What approach or organizational perspective might be missing? 4. What is something totally original that the AI didn't generate? I'm challenging myself to come up with something truly different than what the AI generates. I've been creating a series of visual writing prompts and I often take the initial set of images and make it a challenge to draw something entirely different from what it generated. For example, when I created a prompt related to superheroes, it generated an image of a muscular white male with a cape. So, I chose to draw a girl who was African-American and had a steam punk outfit. Similarly, I've taken some of the initial writing prompt ideas and said, "Let's turn this into something a little more quirky." Thus the prompt, "Create a new sport" becomes "Redesign fantasy football with actual elements of fantasy." I took the prompt, "Tell the story of an alien ship that lands in your school" and modified it to be, "Use this line: To our surprise, the aliens weren't angry or scared so much as bored. And that made them all the more dangerous." This process is forcing me to think more divergently about my writing prompts. #2 - Use it as a thought partner I start with brainstorming a series of ideas on my own. Then, when I've exhausted all ideas, I go to a tool like ChatGPT and use the prompt, "What am I missing?" Often, seeing just a few new ideas pulls me away from my previous line of thinking and into a new domain, where I can brainstorm ideas again. Another option is to type, "Can you come up with a mash-up of multiple ideas?" AI can be a great tool for synthesizing multiple ideas and these mash-ups can spark new ideas as well. I then challenge myself to add my own element to this mash-up. I'm not sure if this helpful to anyone. However, I thought I would share my process of using AI as a tool to be more creative in my work.