ABSTRACT
Professor Marcus du Sautoy looks at the nature of creativity and asks how long it will be before computers can compose a symphony, write a Nobel Prize-winning novel or paint a masterpiece. And if so, would we be able to tell the difference? As humans, we have an extraordinary ability to create works of art that elevate, expand and transform what it means to be alive. Yet in many other areas, new developments in AI are shaking up the status quo, as we find out how many of the tasks humans engage in can be done equally well, if not better, by machines. But can machines be creative? Will they soon be able to learn from the art that moves us, and understand what distinguishes it from the mundane? Du Sautoy asks how much of our emotional response to a great work of art is down to our brains reacting to pattern and structure and explores what it is to be creative in mathematics, art, language and music. Could machines come up with something creative, and might that push us into being more imaginative in turn?
