I've talked often about the
looming impact of automation on labor. My concerns have long been about
the impact of robotics on jobs featuring physical labor. This impact
would likely come long before any impact on creative endeavours--or so
I thought.
Popular Science is reporting on John Koza's invention machine, which uses genetic algorithms to create ideas for patentable products:
What Koza has done is to automate
the creative process...[The machine has generated] logic circuits and amplifiers and
filters, some of them suitable for the challenging low-power
requirements of cellphones and laptops. Each took between one day and
one month to evolve, generating an electricity bill of more than $3,000
a month.
Such a machine is fascinating. On the one hand, it offers the
possibility of amplifying intelligence dramatically. The machine can't
operate on its own; it needs to work in collaboration with a human
counterpart. But this collaboration can be immensely powerful.
On the other hand, creative machines might be threatening. The idea of
automating the creative process would probably strike fear into those
who make a living from such efforts.
On the whole, though, I think that the creation of such machines will
be a benefit to everyone. We'll get better inventions and explore new
ideas that might otherwise have been off-limits.