Plan undermines human innovation

When it comes to the specific field of hypothetical “AI-generated” inventions, the question that needs to be answered is whether this type of inventions is compatible with the theoretical foundation of the patent system described above. There are several reasons why this compatibility is not attainable from different perspectives. First, it can be stated that software developers would have non-economic incentives to justify the creation of computational computers.135 For instance, they would implement creative machines to enhance their reputation, or simply to satisfy a scientific curiosity and build up collaboration with other scientists.136 Therefore, from the perspective of creators, patents would not be needed to incentivise the development of this AI. Secondly, if patents are conferred for AI-generated inventions there could be an impairment of human innovation, since human creativity would be substituted and weakened by autonomous (not automated, for the difference see 2.3) algorithms.137 This leads in turn to the almost complete elimination of human talent and the easier availability of the inventive process to people who are not so skilled or full of resources.138 As the last relevant reason why AI inventions are not compatible with this justification of the patent system, although it is clear that innovation increases economic growth, if there is too much innovation, as it would happen in case of the fast development of always new “AI-generated” inventions, there would eventually be a lack of value for those inventions, since the consumers would fail to recognise real and true ground-breaking technologies.139 As can be observed, both the patent holder and the public at large would be deeply influenced by the patentability of AI-generated inventions, not in the sense of an unbalance between the different interests at stake (something that in the end could be accepted), but because there would be an impairment of all these interests. Therefore, from both perspectives, this incentive justification of the patent system does not seem compatible with creative machines.