Data can fuel creativity, but cannot really replace it. Arthur S. De Vany‘s great book about the movie industry makes this quite obvious. A quote from “Extreme Uncertainty Shapes the Film Industry“:
None of our results are more surprising than finding that hard-headed science puts the creative process at the very center of the motion picture universe. There is no formula. Outcomes cannot be predicted. There is no reason for management to get in the way of the creative process. Character, creativity and good story-telling trump everything else.