Associate Professor, Director of China Programs, Goldring Institute for International Business, Peter W. and Paul A. Callais Professorship in Entrepreneurship
Shuhua Sun is an expert in organizational behavior, Generative AI in the workplace and studies how people and teams use social and technological systems—especially AI—to enhance creativity and performance at work.
A new Tulane-led field experiment, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, reveals a surprising finding: generative AI, such as ChatGPT, can significantly boost workplace creativity—but only for certain types of employees.
In one of the first real-world studies of its kind, the researchers found that generative AI, such as ChatGPT, can supercharge creativity—but only for employees with strong metacognitive skills. Researchers urge educators and policymakers to teach metacognitive skills to better prepare students and workers for the age of AI.
The research—conducted within a tech consulting firm and led by Tulane Associate Professor Shuhua Sun—shows that generative AI helps employees who actively consider how they work. It’s not tech skills or job role that matters. The real differentiator is mindset—employees who used AI to reflect, adjust, and problem-solve saw a significant boost in creativity. Others saw little to no effect.
“Even the most advanced generative AI systems won’t enhance creativity if employees are passive consumers of their output and lack the metacognitive strategies needed to engage with them effectively. To unlock AI’s potential for boosting workplace creativity, organizations must go beyond simply deploying new tools—they also need to invest in developing employees’ metacognitive skills and promote thoughtful, strategic use of AI to acquire the cognitive job resources that support creative thinking,” Sun said.
For interviews, contact Roger Dunaway at roger@tulane.edu or 504-452-2906.
Associate Professor, Director of China Programs, Goldring Institute for International Business, Peter W. and Paul A. Callais Professorship in Entrepreneurship
Shuhua Sun is an expert in organizational behavior, Generative AI in the workplace and studies how people and teams use social and technological systems—especially AI—to enhance creativity and performance at work.
