Will a computer ever be able to compose a symphony, write an award-winning novel, or paint a masterpiece? And if so, will we be able to distinguish between a computer creation and a human creation? As human beings we have the amazing ability to create works of art that elevate the soul, expand the heart, and fundamentally change the meaning of life. But in many areas, the developments in artificial intelligence are upsetting the status quo, with the discovery that machines are able to perform with the same degree of success, and sometimes even better, many tasks that humans normally perform. But can machines be creative? Will they soon be able to learn from the art that moves us and understand what sets it apart from the ordinary, the everyday and the heavenly? In the book The Creativity Software, Marcus de Sotto examines the nature of creativity, and at the same time offers readers an essential guide to the operation of the algorithms and the mathematical laws underlying them. He asks to what extent our emotional response to art derives from our brain's response to patterns and structures, and insists on the meaning of creativity in mathematics, art, language and music. How long might it take for machines to produce a creative product? Or will their main contribution be that they push us to enrich our imagination? The discussion of these and other questions is a fascinating and extraordinary journey both into the realms of artificial intelligence and into the meaning of being human. Marcus Du Sottoy is a professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford. In 2008, he won the prestigious appointment as head of the chair named after Simoni for public understanding of science. In 2009 he won the Faraday Award from the British Royal Society for excellence in making science accessible to the public, and in 2010 the Queen awarded him the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to science. He was elected to serve as a member of the British Royal Society in 2016. Du Sotoy lives in London.
