What Is Generative In Generative Artificial Intelligence A Designbased Perspective Antoine Bordas Pascal Le Masson Maxime Thomas Benoit Weil by Antoine Bordas & Pascal Le Masson & Maxime Thomas & Benoit Weil 101007/S0016302400441X instant download after payment.

Generative artifcial intelligence (GenAI) models have attracted tremendous interest since the advent of ChatGPT, raising numerous opportunities and challenges. However, their generative power has not yet been studied, leaving open the question of what is truly generated by these tools. This paper addresses this question and precisely characterizes the generativity behind GenAI models. Owing to the latest advancements in engineering design, we frst propose a framework for uncovering the various types of generativity. Then, we consider the main families of GenAI models and systematically analyze them to characterize their generativity within this framework. By doing so, we highlight the existence of two distinct generative levels in GenAI: one leading to the generation of new artifacts and the other leading to the generation of GenAI models themselves. We are also able to characterize the generativity of both of these levels, thus specifcally confrming the generative power of GenAI and opening research avenues toward human-GenAI collaboration.