Developing Creativity: Artificial Barriers in Artificial Intelligence

The greatest rhetorical challenge to developers of creative artificial intelligence systems is convincingly arguing that their software is more than just an extension of their own creativity. This paper suggests that “creative autonomy,” which exists when a system not only evaluates creations on its own, but also changes its standards without explicit direction, is a necessary condition for making this argument. Rather than requiring that the system be hermetically sealed to avoid perceptions of human influence, developing creative autonomy is argued to be more plausible if the system is intimately embedded in a broader society of other creators and critics. Ideas are presented for constructing systems that might be able to achieve creative autonomy

'Option recognition' in later life: variations in ageing in place

During the 1970s, American gerontologist M.Powell Lawton and colleagues saw the person-environment system as fundamential to defining the quality of later life. They proposed the environmental docility hypothesis that weighed the more competent the person, the less dependent they are on environmental circumstances. This work was later advanced to show that environmental pro-activity, including adaptation, could reinfroce control and autonomy. While that theoretical development focused on the micro-environment of accommodation, it can be applied to the macro-environment of community living. This paper, which utilises data from an empirical study 'Environment and Identity in Later Life', examines both the micro and macro scales, develops the theoretical content of the person-competence model, considers the complexity of person- environment interaction, and argues that over time some people find that their attachment to particular environments are compromised by declining competence or changes in the environment, or both. The point at which change impacts on an individual's independence and wellbeing is reached when adaptive behaviour cannot rebalance the macro- and micro-environmental press. This point, termed 'option recognition', leads to a range of strategic responses including: modification of the behaviour or environment; structural support using formal and informal services; and relocation; all of which impact on self-identity