The First Truly Thinking Machines?.
Stephen Thaler is the CEO of Imagination Engines, Inc. (IEI) and has designed and patented a computer program called the Creativity Machine. His idea was simple: introduce noise in a rigid rule-based neural network. This noise disrupts the connections and helps generating new ideas. With his Creativity Machine, he invented such things as the Oral-B CrossAction toothbrush. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a long and captivating article on the subject, “The machine that invents.”
Here is the opening paragraph: “Technically, Stephen Thaler has written more music than any composer in the world. He also invented the Oral-B CrossAction toothbrush and devices that search the Internet for messages from terrorists. He has discovered substances harder than diamonds, coined 1.5 million new English words, and trained robotic cockroaches.”
As it is often the case with this kind of technology, this one creates some fears. “All of the possible applications for Creativity Machines make some people uneasy. The machines could easily supplant people for many mundane jobs, and Thaler predicts that some traditionally human-only jobs, including laboratory scientist, could be up for grabs. Or worse, sentient machines could decide that they don't need humans at all and do away with people.”
This overview contains more highlights about this thinking machine, but if you have more time, the original story is an absolute must-read! [Smart Mobs]