Can artificial intelligence be an inventor? A landmark Australian court decision says it can

In a landmark decision, an Australian court has set a groundbreaking precedent, deciding artificial intelligence (AI) systems can be legally recognised as an inventor in patent applications. That might not sound like a big deal, but it challenges a fundamental assumption in the law: that only human beings can be inventors. The AI machine called DABUS is an "artificial neural system" and its designs have set off a string of debates and court battles across the globe. On Friday, Australia's Federal Court made the historic finding that "the inventor can be non-human". It came just days after South Africa became the first country to defy the status quo and award a patent recognising DABUS as an inventor. AI pioneer and creator of DABUS, Stephen Thaler, and his legal team have been waging a ferocious global campaign to have DABUS recognised as an inventor for more than two years.