Invention and artificial intelligence

Abstract

Invention, like scientific discovery, sometimes occurs through a heuristic search process where an inventor seeks a successful invention by searching through a space of inventions. For complex inventions, such as the airplane or model rockets, the process of invention can be expedited by an appropriate strategy of invention. Two case studies will be used to illustrate these general principles: the invention of the airplane (1799-1909) and the invention of a model rocket by a group of high school students in rural West Virginia in the late 1950's, Especially during the invention of the airplane, inventors were forced to make scientific discoveries to complete the invention. Then we consider the enterprise of artificial intelligence and argue that general principles of invention may be applied to expedite the development of AI systems. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.