The Art of Innovation: The day is near when software creates products by itself. And it's already changing the way humans design things

A group of programmers, working for Invention Machine Corp., is using software code and Internet tools to enable engineers and scientists to come up with product ideas and new services much more quickly than the old-fashioned, lightbulb-over-the-head method. A machine that can actually eliminate humans from the creative process is a ways off, but it is getting closer. The next step in the automated invention process applies biological principles. One approach, called genetic programming, creates thousands of different solutions to a given application. These virtual inventions fight for survival, with the fittest giving birth to another generation. Eventually, the ideal solution emerges with little or no human involvement. There is even a step beyond genetic programming: so-called evolutionary software, which redesigns itself, rejecting weak links and building on strengths until it evolves into the perfect process or product.