Perceiving Human–AI Creative Competition: An Exploratory HCC Discourse Study

Abstract

As organizations confront accelerating waves of digitalization, a central question emerges: how does generative AI reshape work, roles, and value creation in ways that challenge established understandings of creativity and human contribution? The rapid diffusion of generative AI has intensified debates about how creative work is being reorganized, redistributed, and increasingly automated in contemporary organizations. While Human–Computer Co‑Creativity (HCC) research has emphasized collaboration between humans and machines, emerging evidence suggests that AI also introduces new competitive tensions that challenge existing assumptions about creative agency, role boundaries, and the future of creative labor. In response to these developments, this study explores how practitioners articulate these tensions in everyday sensemaking. Specifically, we address the following research question: How does public online discourse extend or challenge existing Human–Computer Co‑Creativity frameworks when interpreting AI’s growing role as a potential creative competitor? Drawing on a qualitative discourse analysis of naturally occurring conversations on social media we identify how participants make sense of shifts in creative processes, professional identities, and labor dynamics as generative AI becomes embedded in organizational practices. Three thematic configurations emerge: Constrained Co‑Creative Agency, where AI remains tool‑like and limited; Advancing AI Co‑Agency, where AI begins to shape creative decisions and elevate competitive pressures; and AI‑Dominant Creative Substitution, where participants report or anticipate the displacement of human creative roles. Our findings show that public discourse both reinforces and extends HCC theory by revealing how practitioners negotiate not only collaboration but also competition and substitution as AI systems assume greater generative initiative. The study contributes to ongoing conversations on AI and digitalization by illuminating how creative workers interpret the reconfiguration of creative labor, the redefinition of skill requirements, and the restructuring of value creation in AI‑enabled organizations. We argue that understanding these emergent interpretations is essential for anticipating how generative AI will reshape work practices and roles.