What happens when creativity is treated not as intuition, but as a system that can be studied and scaled?

In this episode of Free Form AI, Michael and Ben sit down with Nicolas Douard, Lead Data Scientist at the Virtue Foundation, to explore how AI and data science are being used to automate innovation itself. Drawing from Nicolas’ PhD research, the conversation examines TRIZ — a systematic framework for inventive problem solving — and how it can be augmented with modern AI techniques to connect ideas across disciplines.

The discussion moves through biomimicry as a model for interdisciplinary discovery, the use of knowledge graphs to represent and traverse complex domains, and the role AI may play in accelerating scientific insight. Along the way, this conversation unpacks deeper questions about creativity, discovery and whether innovation can be meaningfully formalized without losing its human essence.

Tune into episode 26 for a wide-ranging conversation about:

• TRIZ as a structured methodology for inventive problem solving
• Biomimicry as a blueprint for cross-disciplinary innovation
• How knowledge graphs enable new forms of scientific reasoning
• The role of AI in discovery, not just automation
• Whether creativity can be systematized without being diminished

Whether you work in data science, engineering or applied research, this episode offers a thoughtful look at how AI innovation itself might become a computable process.

Note: This episode was released first on YouTube as part of Free Form AI’s video-first relaunch.