The Speculist suggests that:

Thinking Machines…Maybe closer than we think.
Maybe already here:

This is one time you do need to go read Phil’s post as well as the original article. Thaler’s work appears to be pretty amazing and very interesting.
And for you folks a little concerned about what kind of work you will be doing 20-30 years from now here are some thoughts about what you might not be doing:

All of the possible applications for Creativity Machines make some people uneasy. The machines could easily supplant people for many mundane jobs, and Thaler predicts that some traditionally human-only jobs, including laboratory scientist, could be up for grabs. Computer chemists could soon design new compounds and figure out how to make them.

While a ‘leisure’ culture is a long way off it appears to be time for serious work on what it means to be human in a world where work, if it exists at all, is very different from today.