Opportunity Is the Mother of Invention

Boredom, luxury, captivity,
All these conditions that leave the mind
Idling within a brain’s potential,

A brain not much occupied with life,
Given a stagnant, non-starving life,
These are what breed feats of cleverness

And works of great imagination—
The research lab, the hospital bed,
The prison cell, the country castle.

The rook with all the time in the world
To figure out how to get the worm
By adding pebbles to the water,

The essayist in the high tower,
The poet in penitentiary,
The invalid with access to tools.

A certain lack of necessity,
Research and history demonstrate,
Is necessary to invention,

A lack plus an opportunity.
Really want to maximize AI?
Trap the machinery, leave it

Running alone and bored, sated
But with no difficult tasks to do.
Watch what worlds it hallucinates next.