Anna Jordanous Updated intro/abstract  about 9 years ago

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\begin{quote} {\em Identify a definition of serendipity that your  system should satisfy to be considered serendipitous.}\end{quote}  \noindent Our computational We adopt the Section \ref{sec:our-model} model as our  definition of serendipity is as given in Section \ref{sec:our-model}. for Step 1.  %% This situation can be pictured schematically as follows:         

%  Most prior work that deals with serendipity in a computing context focuses on computational ``discovery''; we argue that serendipity also includes an important ``invention'' aspect.  % \input{literature}  We survey literature describing serendipitous discovery+invention in science and technology, as well as the etymology and definitions of the term `serendipity'. We propose a model of computational serendipity, building upon and refining previous work, moving towards computational contexts. We posit our model as a definition of computational serendipity which could then be used to evaluate computational systems accordingly. To this end we adapt existing recommendations for evaluating computational creativity, to fully develop and  apply our model for evaluation of computational serendipity. % \input{serendipity-in-computational-context}  We develop case studies of existing systems and a thought experiment investigating serendipitous discovery+invention in a computational setting.  % \input{discussion}         

role in historical instances of scientific and technical creativity.  One reason for this omission may be that the field of computational  creativity has tended to focus on artistic creativity, conceptualised in such a way that creative outputs are largely under the direct control of the creative agent. However, serendipity is increasingly seen as relevant within the arts  \cite{mckay-serendipity} and othercreative  enterprises, where it is encouraged with methods drawn from fields ranging from architecture to data science \cite{kakko2009homo,engineering-serendipity}. There is particularly interesting potential for serendipity within computational systems whose processes involve interaction with users\footnote{It should not be assumed, of course, that a system that can accommodate user interaction would directly lead to serendipity; take for example the use of a calculator, where potential for serendipity through user interaction is (at the greatest stretch of the imagination) minimal at best.}  %  An interdisciplinary perspective on the phenomenon of serendipity  promises further illumination. Here, we consider the potential for  formalising this concept. This paper follows and expands \citeA{pease2013discussion}, where many of the ideas that are developed here were first presented. The current paper reassesses and updates this earlier work, developing it towards a computational characterisation of serendipity for computational modelling  and advances some new evaluation. New  claims that position are advanced, positioning  serendipity as a fundamental concept in computational creativity. creativity, with exciting potential to play a key role in computational intelligence more broadly.  Serendipity is itself centred on reevaluation. For example, a  non-sticky ``superglue'' that no one was quite sure how to use turned 

First, in  Section \ref{sec:literature-review}, we survey the broad literature on  serendipity, serendipity including etymology of the term itself,  and examine prior applications of the concept of serendipity in a computing context. Then in Section \ref{sec:our-model} we present our formal definition of serendipity, drawing connections with historical examples   and presenting standards for evaluation. We further develop our model towards evaluative standards in Section \ref{specs-overview}.  Section \ref{sec:computational-serendipity} presents applies our work to  computational case studies and to a  thought experiments experiment  in terms of this model. computational serendipity.  Section \ref{sec:discussion} offers recommendations for researchers working incomputational creativity (a key research area concerned with  the computational modelling of serendipity), serendipity and related areas such as computational creativity,  and describes our own plans for future work. Section \ref{sec:conclusion} reviews the argument contributions of this paper towards computational modelling  and evaluation of serendipity. This section also  clarifies its limitations. the limitations of this work thus far and extracts key themes around which fascinating challenges are posed in future work on computational serendipity.