We can all agree that doctors and computers are smart. But as brainy as they are, both have yet to master the art of handwriting. The world has just learned, thanks to Alex Grave at the University of Toronto, that computers (or, more specifically, neural networks) have the ability to write by hand and in script.

Okay, the “by hand” suggestion is a bit of a stretch, but they can be trained to spit out words and letters in a font that looks like handwriting. Graves uses the IAM Online Handwriting Database to train neural networks how to replicate human writing. And anyone can take part. All you have to do is type in a sentence or two on this site, and it begins to predict the structure of each letter as it’s written by hand.  If humans let the long loved art go extinct as a result of machines, then wouldn’t it be ironic if the very same machines were the ones to save it?

Via Fast Company