On September 15, 2025, Professor Wenxuan Ding, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics at emlyon business school, was interviewed by a journalist from the internationally renowned scientific journal Nature. In the interview, she provided in-depth insights into how artificial intelligence can develop creativity and contribute to scientific discovery. The full feature was published in Nature on November 5, 2025, under the title “Can AI be truly creative?” (Nature 647, 24–26).

Earlier this year, in March 2025, Professor Ding published a study in Nature Scientific Reports exploring whether generative AI can achieve Nobel Prize–level scientific discoveries similar to those made by human scientists. The paper was officially recognized by Nature as ranking among the top 5% most influential publications across all journals in the same period.

The paper, titled “Generative AI lacks the human creativity to achieve scientific discovery from scratch,” offers a profound exploration of the limitations of generative artificial intelligence in scientific research, while also presenting forward-thinking insights into the future of AI for Science and AI-driven scientific discovery.

In the experiment, the research team assigned ChatGPT-4 the role of a “scientist,” challenging it to make a Nobel Prize–level scientific discovery in the field of molecular genetics. The findings revealed that although generative AI performs impressively in knowledge synthesis and reasoning, it remains significantly limited in achieving original scientific creativity “from scratch.” Current AI systems rely heavily on data and statistical correlations, lacking the human capacity to understand causality or conceptualize the unknown, and thus struggle to break free from existing frameworks to generate truly original hypotheses.

The study also found that generative AI often exhibits a “blind confidence” cognitive bias—it may mistakenly believe that its scientific reasoning forms a logically complete argument. This characteristic underscores the need for researchers to remain cautious about AI’s limitations and potential risks when employing it in scientific research.

“If generative AI could one day make Nobel Prize–level scientific discoveries as humans do, it would revolutionize the scientific process, enhance research efficiency, and accelerate the expansion of human knowledge boundaries,” said Professor Ding. “However, that capability is not yet attainable. At this stage, generative AI serves better as a research assistant rather than a research leader.”

This study highlights the fundamental differences in creative mechanisms between artificial intelligence and human scientists. It not only broadens the understanding of human–machine collaboration in scientific exploration, but also provides valuable direction for how future AI systems might transcend their current constraints to achieve genuine originality.

In addition, Professor Ding’s research was featured by TouTiao, highlighting the boundaries of generative AI’s creative capabilities. The report presented her latest studies and experimental cases, providing an in-depth analysis of AI’s performance across scientific and artistic domains.

Professor Ding emphasized that while generative AI demonstrates significant potential in knowledge integration and supporting innovation, it cannot yet fully replace human originality. The coverage has sparked wide-ranging discussions in both the public and academic spheres on human–AI collaborative creativity and AI’s role in advancing scientific and cultural innovation.

About Prof. Wenxuan DING

Wenxuan DING

Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics
Deputy Director of Business Intelligence Center (BIC), emlyon business school
DBA Advisor at emlyon business school

Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics Deputy Director of Business Intelligence Center (BIC), emlyon business school DBA Advisor at emlyon business school Professor Wenxuan Ding, who holds a PhD in Cognitive Science and Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University, is currently a Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics at emlyon business school, as well as an AI expert affiliated with the French Academy of Sciences and the European Science Foundation. Professor Ding has long been engaged in cutting-edge fundamental AI research and interdisciplinary AI applications, including AI-driven innovation, intelligent healthcare, and risk decision-making. Her scholarly work has been published in top international academic journals and premier conferences in computer science.