Virtual and Robotic Poetries

Soon, I can see it coming, someone will publish a poem in a legit journal, an entire book even, composed with a poetry software. There are several choices, such as The Virtual Poet, "a tool for the professional poet and anyone who wants to write a small poem with just the right words for that special someone. If you have ever spent minutes, hours or even days searching for the right rhyme, Virtual Poet can do it for you in just seconds." Or Icon Poet, "an unusual piece of software that lets you produce original poetry by clicking on different word categories [...] a great cure for writer's block." One may smirk at these lame tools, but soon, I can see it coming, they will become bolder, more willing to take risks, explore deeper depths of feelings and splinter, kick open doors at the backs of their minds, their techniques growing ever more radical, iconoclastic. Nothing is too farfetched. Just yesterday, the Financial Times published "UK report says robots will have rights." It quoted Henrik Christensen, director of the Centre of Robotics and Intelligent Machines at the Georgia Institute of Technology, “If we make conscious robots they would want to have rights and they probably should.” A small percentage will also yearn to write poems, no doubt, and a handful, if we're lucky, will become exceptional at it.