Perth, Australia computer scientist Graham Mann is developing algorithms to simulate “free thinking” and emotion.

“I’ve reached the conclusion that an intelligent system must have emotions built into it before it can function….I believe that it is possible — if we start to model the way human beings reason about things — to achieve much more flexible processing of storylines, plans, even understanding how human beings behave,” he said.

Mann has developed a conceptual parser that identifies the “feel” of Aesop’s Fables. He said entertainment content providers could use the algorithm to suggest and deliver related movies, and the algorithm could also improve computer games by automatically providing a cultural context for characters.