I'm done with artificial intelligence. I will settle for human intelligence. Our access to human intelligence -- let's call it HI -- is increasingly limited in our online environment. Humans have become a rare species, accessed only after hours wasted waiting on the phone. Recently, I applied online for the Power Smart rebate on my new, energy-efficient heat pump that purrs away on the wall in my Saturna Island home.

This online IQ quiz promises to challenge even the brightest players with its mind-boggling brainteasers. Indeed the 10-question test is so tricky that creator Cody Cross claims only those who hold a PhD will be able to score full marks. The test, which was shared on Playbuzz, combines word puzzles with general knowledge questions, covering topics ranging from maths to art. Commenting on the quiz, Mr Cross said superior analytical and memory skills were needed to figure out the correct response. However he does offer players some help - providing multiple-choice answers beneath each question.

Intelligence is a sometimes effusive concept. In the natural world, for example, intelligence appears in different ways, such as a bat deploying echolocation to navigate in the dark; or an octopus adapting to survive when a predator is nearby. In the silicon world, there are debates as to how "intelligent" machines are, and there are clearly different forms of artificial intelligence are emerging. How do these concepts of natural world intelligence and computer science intelligence inform us about human intelligence. This is something cognitive neuroscientists have been pondering.

Artificial intelligence could make it a lot simpler to edit photos and videos--but could creativity get lost in the shuffle? Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to create art, such as images or music composed with machine learning. One of the prototypes, called Project Scene Stitch, illustrates how an algorithm could be used to replace ugly buildings in the foreground of a photo--a user would enter some key words, and the algorithm would find another image that would fit naturally into the space the user wanted to fill. Another prototype, Project Sky Replace, uses a deep-learning algorithm to remove the sky in a photo and replace it with other images of skies that match the one in the photo geometrically. It also considers the color balance of the foreground image and matches the foreground color to the sky color, making it possible to turn a photo of, for instance, the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day into a properly lit sunset image. While the tools could be seen as antithetical to the creative process, Miller noted that they could add to overall creativity by freeing people from a lot of tedious work artists have to do today.

Technology is an integral part of composer Kate Simko's work. As well as writing for film and television, she founded the London Electronic Orchestra, which combines classical instruments with electronic music. Every conference this year contains a dead human genius reincarnated as software system or a robot. Yes, there is a lot of hype, but there is real worth in AI and Machine Learning. Read our counseling on how to avoid adopting "black box" approach.

I got suckered into watching "The Robot Will See You Now" during Channel 4's November week of robot programmes. Shoddy though it was, it conveyed more of the truth than the more technically correct offerings. Its premise: a family of hand-picked reality TV stereotypes being given access to robot Jess, complete with a "cute" flat glass face that looked like a thermostat display, and they consulted he/she/it about their relationship problems and other worries. Channel 4 admitted Jess operates "with some human assistance", which could well have meant somebody sitting in the next room speaking into a microphone, but Jess was immediately recognisable to me as ELIZA in a smart new plastic shell. ELIZA, for those too young to know, was one of the first AI natural language programs, written in 1964 by Joseph Weizenbaum at MIT – and 16 years later by me while learning Lisp.

The rise in automated solutions – especially in various finance functions – initially led to concern among financial professionals that their positions might be replaced by robots. With automation becoming more commonplace, however, it's clear that humans are undoubtedly still needed in the enterprise. Indeed, small businesses say they are actually demanding more from their accountants and bookkeepers than ever before. In addition to the standard numbers-crunching and tax filing, accountants are expected to serve as strategic advisors to small business clients. A survey last year from Seed found that small businesses are increasingly frustrated that their banks aren't providing advisory services they need, and separate research suggests that demand is now falling onto the accountant.

The mere mention of artificial intelligence (AI) often conjures up images of ultraintelligent robots that process millions of gigabytes of data, before spitting out insights that would have taken humans months of laborious work. But a US-based start-up believes that humans still need to be at the centre of it all. San Francisco-based Unanimous AI has developed artificial intelligence technology based on swarm intelligence – known as the collective behaviour often displayed when groups of people or animals amplify intelligence by working together as a group. The company blends human decision-making processes with AI algorithms to determine the best solution in a question posed to a group of human participants, referred to as a swarm. The swarm is tasked with collectively finding the best answer to the question posed to them, while Unanimous AI's algorithms assess everything from the amount of time it takes for a participant to come to a decision and even the level of conviction they have in their choice.

Much is made of AI augmenting human intelligence with simple automation, but might higher order human creativity go the same way? Technology is an integral part of composer Kate Simko's work. As well as writing for film and television, she founded the London Electronic Orchestra, which combines classical instruments with electronic music. Although she may start composing with paper, pencil and piano, she switches to Avid's Sibelius notation software to write a full score: "From there, you're able to take the notation and export it as Midi data or the actual sheet music," she says, referring to the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (Midi) technical standard. Software also lets Simko listen to her compositions before rehearsals start.

CREATIVITY: IT'S AT THE HEART OF WHO WE HUMANS ARE… WE HUMANS ARE SPECIAL, RIGHT? Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece? OVER SOME 40,000 YEARS, HUMAN CREATIVITY HAS EXPLODED – FROM DRAWINGS ON CAVE WALLS THROUGH THE GREAT ART OF CENTURIES TO COME…. NOW, SCIENTISTS -- AND ARTISTS –ARE ASKING CAN A ROBOT TRULY IMAGINE AN ORIGINAL MASTERWORK? COMPUTATIONAL CREATIVITY IS LEADING US TO ASK NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT HUMAN CREATIVITY. IS THIS ESSENTIAL HUMAN TRAIT TRULY UNIQUE? WILL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BE A COMPETITOR? OR CAN IT BE A COLLABORATOR, HELPING US TOWARD STILL UNIMAGINED CREATIONS? SCHAEFER: My first guest is a member of Google Brain's Magenta team. He is currently working on neural network models of sound and music and recently produced a synthesizer that designed its own sounds. SCHAEFER: Also with us, is an Assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He focuses on several surprising creative domains including the culinary arts and fashion and the theoretical foundations of creativity. SCHAEFER: Also with us is an Associate Professor of psychological and brain science at Dartmouth College. He's interested in the neural basis of imagination and in the evolution of human creativity. A former research fellow at MIT's Media lab and artist in residence at Google, please welcome Sougwen Chung.