The computational creativity continuum

Abstract

This paper argues that the construction of creative systems is motivated by –what sometimes seems to be–, diverse, even contradictory, viewpoints and understandings about the goals of computational creativity. To analyse those differences I introduce the Computational Creativity Continuum (CC-Continuum), which can be pictured as a line or band flanked by two poles; I refer to one of the poles as the engineering-mathematical approach and I refer to the opposite pole as the cognitivesocial approach. Thus, creative agents are located along the Continuum based on their main goals as systems. Through the text I explain the general characteristics of each approach, how they complement each other, and some of the difficulties that arise when systems are misclassified. I finish pointing out the utility of frameworks like the CC-continuum.