The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed on August 5 that only a natural person--not an artificial intelligence system--can be an inventor. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is widely applied as a tool in different technical areas, such as machine learning, image processing, and speech recognition. More complex AI technology can create new products or processes with little or no human help. If an AI system can independently create something new, can it be designated as an inventor? The Federal Circuit finally settled this issue--affirming decisions of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Eastern District of Virginia that an AI system cannot be an inventor.

Comment Future AI could be a challenge for US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) officials, who need to wrap their heads around complex technology that's perhaps not quite compatible with today's laws. Under the Department of Commerce, the USPTO's core mission is to protect intellectual property, or IP. Creators file patent applications in hope of keeping competitors from copying their inventions without permission, and patents are supposed to allow businesses to thrive with their own novel designs while not stifling wider innovation. Fast evolving technologies, such as deep learning, are pushing the limits of today's IP policies and rules. Clerks are trying to apply traditional patent approval rules to non-trivial machine-learning inventions, and bad decisions could result in a stranglehold on competition among public and private AI creators.

It was the veritable search for a needle in a haystack. With drug-resistant bacteria on the rise, researchers at MIT were sifting through a database of more than 100 million molecules to identify a few that might have antibacterial properties. Fortunately, the search proved successful. But it wasn't a human who found the promising molecules. It was a machine learning program .

It may be smart, but it's not that clever. Artificial intelligence is nothing without human input. The algorithms that drive AI rely on the expertise of programmers and it's still no more than a tool – albeit a powerful one – that scientists and engineers can use to solve problems. Yet this is not to say that AI isn't the fastest-growing deep technology in the world, with the potential to transform people's lives and boost nations' economies. Facilitating AI innovation has even become a priority for the UK government, as laid out in the National AI Strategy it published in September.

The European patent authorities have rejected an attempt to register an AI as an official inventor. The possibility's been a subject of debate for some time, and last summer a group of legal experts decided to force the issue. The group, led by Professor Ryan Abbott of the University of Surrey, submitted designs developed by an AI to the authorities in the US, UK and Europe, and later Germany, Israel, Taiwan and China. The AI concerned, named Dabus, was created by Stephen Thaler, and is described as a connectionist artificial intelligence. A second system of neural networks detects critical consequences of these potential ideas and reinforces them based upon predicted novelty and salience.'

The world's first artificially intelligent "inventor" has been rejected by British and European patent authorities, marking an historic moment in an ongoing debate around the role of creative machines. In July last year, an international squad of legal experts challenged patent authorities around the world to recognise the "inventorship" of artificial intelligence, arguing that the current regimes were outdated and do not protect machines' creative output. The nine-strong group, led by University of Surrey professor Ryan Abbott, made headlines after submitting patents designed by an artificially intelligent machine with the US, UK and European authorities. They have since filed more applications in Germany, Israel, Taiwan and China. The team is battling for recognition of a particular AI inventor called Dabus.

The multi-disciplinary international team is led by Professor Ryan Abbott at the University of Surrey. The AI inventor, named "DABUS" by its creator Stephen Thaler, relies upon a system of many neural networks generating new ideas by altering their interconnections. A second system of neural networks detects critical consequences of these potential ideas and reinforces them based upon predicted novelty and salience. Professor Adrian Hilton, Director of the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing, said: "Modern AI may fundamentally change how research and development takes place. In some cases, AI is no longer a tool, even a very sophisticated tool; in some cases, AI is automating innovation."