The shadow component of creative thinking, or can intuition be programmed?

The light and shadows of digital reality. Living intelligence and its avatars

Abstract

Contemporary discussions about modeling human creativity in artificial systems largely revolve around the problems ofinsufficient conceptualization of phenomena such as imagination, understanding, inspiration, etc. Most researchers emphasize the key role of intuition in the creative process. However, interpretations of the specifics of this ability seem to be far from unity in understanding its essence, intuition is referred to conscious or unconscious phenomena, rational or sensory aspects, etc. This conceptual diversity appears to stem from the differences between intuition and consequent discursive thinking, as the former actsas a “momentary” holistic comprehension of the essence, while insights often occur during rest or when switching to other activities. Contemporary researchers tend to increasingly address the role of unconscious processes in creativity and raise questions about the fundamental possibility of artificially simulated intuition. The present article attempts to clarify the grounds and systematize the conditions for intuitive thinking using the existential-phenomenological approach, which enables the exploration of such ambiguous phenomena in all their entirety and paradoxicality. Within this framework, we have conducted a conceptual and hermeneutic analysis of intuition, comparing it with other elements and “layers” of creativity. The article provides conclusionsregarding the “localization” of intuition among the individual, collective, conscious, unconscious, rational, and irrational aspects of mental life and also regarding the conditions under which intuitive thinking occurs. This, in turn, allows for assessing the potential for modeling intuition in artificial intelligent systems.