Career: generative friction: a new paradigm for the design of AI assistants to foster creative reflective practice

The National Science Foundation Division of Computing and Communication Foundations awarded Northwestern University $323,046 on June 15, 2026, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) to design and study a set of generative AI assistants that amplify rather than replace human creativity in creative industries.

The project will develop four novel open-source AI assistants that employ generative friction—an oppositional force arising from difficulty, surprise, and technical constraints—to foster reflection during creative practice. These tools will critique and reframe ideas or generate surprising outcomes to push creative workers toward expansive thinking and high-quality innovation. The investigators will conduct iterative research-through-design and a within-subjects study with 80 digital media artists to investigate how generative friction impacts artists' creative processes, sense of agency, and ownership over their work. The project will also produce novel curricula to build AI literacy among students pursuing creative careers, broadening access to AI that supports creative practice and providing insights into how to center human creativity as AI integrates into creative industries.

Performance occurs in Evanston, Illinois, with a period of performance from June 15, 2026, through May 31, 2031. Northwestern University, a non-profit private research institution, serves as the recipient.

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly being integrated into creative industries. While generative AI has enormous potential to transform creative work, current tools pose significant risks. For example, use of AI assistants can lead to less innovative ideas, fewer opportunities for skill-development, and reduced feelings of ownership over creative products. To prioritize human creativity and increase human capacity for innovation, this project will design and study a set of generative AI assistants that amplify, rather than replace, human creativity, pushing creative workers to think expansively and develop high quality ideas. This project will achieve this aim by designing tools that employ ?generative friction? To foster reflection during the creative process; for example, by critiquing and reframing ideas or generating surprising outcomes. The project will result in a set of novel open-source AI assistants, broadening access to AI that supports creative practice, and novel curricula to build AI literacy among students pursuing creative careers. This work will provide critical insights into how to RE-center human creativity as AI is integrated in creative industries. This project advocates for a novel paradigm for designing generative AI assistants for creative practice. The investigators will engage in iterative research-through-design to create a set of four novel AI assistants that leverage generative friction, an oppositional force that emerges from difficulty, surprise, and material or technical constraints that lead a creator to insight, as a mechanism for fostering reflection in creative practice. A within-subjects study will be conducted with 80 digital media artists to investigate how generative friction impacts artists? Creative processes and sense of agency and ownership. In addition, the investigators will conduct a longitudinal diary study with 2 digital media artists to iteratively develop a theoretical model of how generative friction impacts creative choices in long-term naturalistic creative reflective practice with AI. This project will additionally produce curricula to build AI literacy among students in creative careers and a public gallery show of artworks created with the AI tools to expand public discourse surrounding AI and creativity at a critical juncture. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.