I think in theory interesting automated content should be possible to achieve, for example by simulating a "real" world. Most MMORPGs I have seen so far don't seem to simulate much at all (some prices for goods at the most).<p>The counterargument is probably that it is too difficult to emulate the entities in a MMORPG well enough to make it interesting. To which I reply: Conway's game of life is interesting, and it is just a very simple cellular emulator.<p>One of the game ideas I have considered: imagine the players have landed on a huge alien planet, and somehow must figure out how to survive. To survive, they have to cooperate with the alien life forms, for example figure out how to farm them, prevent their extinction, mutate them to become nice herd animals, and so on. So the life forms wouldn't have to display human intelligence - they could be plants and animals, and perhaps it could still be interesting. Besides, players should be allowed to program robots to work for them. Maybe they would have to struggle with environmental hazards and what not.<p>Personally I think I would be interested in such a game, probably seeing it more as a platform for research and experimentation than a mere game. But I grant that it might never get a following remotely as big as WoW :-)