Innovation and automation: will AI inventors replace humans?

The creative spark is one of humanity's defining features. But increasingly powerful artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing innovation and automation together to create new tools for invention. Eureka moments tend to come from the rare convergence of ideas from diverse fields, says Julian Nolan, chief executive of Iprova. However, growing specialisation among experts means this is becoming even rarer, he adds, often relying on chance meetings at conferences or a fortuitous conversation at the office coffee machine. "How crazy is it that something so key to corporations is based on human serendipity?" says Mr Nolan.