The Relationship between Affect and Creativity

About the seminar topic

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly its accelerating cognitive capabilities, has confronted humanity with arguably one of the most profound and unsettling questions of our time: What does it truly mean to be human in the age of AI? I contend that 2 fundamental qualities continue to define the essence of our humanity: our capacity to feel (affect) and our ability to create (creativity). In this talk, I will invite you, my distinguished colleagues here at Cambridge, to join me in exploring the relationship between the 2. Drawing on an integrative review of research across multiple disciplines, I will demonstrate that affect and creativity are not independent forces but are inherently interconnected, their relationship more complex and nuanced than traditionally assumed. Although creativity is often conceptualised as a cognitive process in which we create by thinking, this view obscures its equally vital emotional dimension. By revealing how we also create by feeling, I hope to use this talk as
an opportunity to engage in a rich, collaborative conversation with some of the world’s leading minds here at Cambridge, deepening our collective understanding of how these 2 fundamental human capacities shape one another.

Speaker bio

Dr Xiaoran Hu is an Assistant Professor of Management at the LSE’s Department of Management. His research focuses on the role of emotions, power dynamics and culture within organisations, with a particular interest in understanding how leaders and organisations can foster creativity, innovation and well-being among employees.

Dr Hu’s research has been published in leading academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science and the Academy of Management Annals, among others. His work has also been featured in practitioner-oriented platforms such as Harvard Business Review and the Financial Times. He has also received several teaching and research awards from LSE and the Academy of Management. He currently serves as the PhD Programme Lead for the Organisational Behaviour faculty group at LSE.

Dr Hu earned his PhD in Organisational Behaviour from London Business School, an MA in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from Columbia University in the City of New York and a BA in Finance from Southeast University in China.

Register

No registration required. If you have any questions about this seminar, please email Luke Slater.