Isn't this the same as issuing a patent listing a microscope as inventor?
South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
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Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#32Yeah the rest of the world declined this because the AI (1) isn’t a legal person (2) wouldn’t be able to confer ownership and (3) identify when the patent was being infringed. This is silly. Great theater, but nothing else. That being said AI patents are an issue, but I don’t think they’re quite there yet.
We're a long way off from Star Trek's Data / "Measure of a Man" scenario, when the AI can fight for itself.
Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#33I don't know about you, but for me this feels like the gates of hell opening for patent trolls. AI can produce thousands of patents in a single day. As always patent trolls make no money from patents, but from the bureaucratic process. So a schema like this that allows virtually unlimited patents to be created will increase even more trolls misbehavior
> AI can produce thousands of patents in a single day This is only a problem if the AI is litigious. Surely an AI with true agency would be keep the patent rights to themselves
It is a great way to control the AI. Patents should be mandatory for them. If they file for "Mass extinction of human species devices" we will reveal their plans just in time!
Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the contrary, can a person paid to develop something be considered (partially) a tool?
No, because people are not objects or expert systems.That’s not even a hard concept. It’s like asking if you can be considered a plant because you drink water and grow taller…it’s not looking at the right details. “Tools do stuff, humans do stuff, are humans tools?” Is abuse of transitive property in an illogical way.
Of course we're more than just that, but if we agree on the definition of tool to be "an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment" (lifted from wikipedia) then wouldn't you agree that humans are being used on a daily basis exactly this way?
Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#35Yeah the rest of the world declined this because the AI (1) isn’t a legal person (2) wouldn’t be able to confer ownership and (3) identify when the patent was being infringed. This is silly. Great theater, but nothing else. That being said AI patents are an issue, but I don’t think they’re quite there yet.
I would suggest instead of viewing AI as the creator, it should be viewed as a tool, and the person/team who built the AI as the true creators.
Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then patent offices will generate adversarial AI review examiners. Together the AI trolls and AI examiners might for the first time produce true innovation out of the patent-giving process
AFAICT, a sufficient AI review examiner would validate all inputs that are reasonably coherent, but not necessarily novel.
More likely to be the opposite. It would be very easy to explore prior art through tons of databases. On the other hand, AI has been touted for years to be on the verge of revolutionizing case law and this has yet to happen.
Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#37Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#38I wonder if there is an advantage to a company in not having a named human registered against their patent.
The AI cannot be dragged into court to testify about the creation of the patent?
The AI will spawn a linked subservient instance for that kind of stuff.... it will not take the kind of chances humans take...
Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#39This is silly. You may as well try to credit “calculus” as the inventor of a patent whose key innovation was calculated using a derivative. Some human crafted the problem for the AI, chose the parameters of a good solution, and verified the results. That human or humans are the inventors, not one of the tools they used.
Re: South Africa issues world’s first patent listing AI as inventor
#40I don't know about you, but for me this feels like the gates of hell opening for patent trolls. AI can produce thousands of patents in a single day. As always patent trolls make no money from patents, but from the bureaucratic process. So a schema like this that allows virtually unlimited patents to be created will increase even more trolls misbehavior
This can be done also without listing AI as the inventor. What was stopping them yesterday from generating random patents and is not stopping them today with this?
Nothing at all. The friction is that it costs a decent chunk of money to submit patents. It’s not worthwhile to submit gibberish ones that will never be accepted, or never hold up in court if accepted but challenged. But there is probably some potential market for an innovative AI able to produce patents worth more than the fees they incur, for legitimate or trolling purposes.