This is exactly what I have been trying to do on my own (well, sort of). I am so happy I found this thread. For me it is the ability to adapt and learn. I want the “game” (though it may not be a game as such) to be able to sense real world information, from sensor networks, cameras, other peoples inputs, etc… and provide a representation we can learn from and tailor to our needs as it learns from user input (us and the external sources).
Hard to explain fully, but it builds on a previous industrial project that gave me the idea, but most of the basics were out of my reach (cost) or not invented yet. I definitely want to see if this can fit. I will probably start with a game. 
Edit to add: In this sense, I am a hardware guy… forced to be a programmer because I design my own hardware or hardware combinations. My favorite programming language is solder with a bit level access to the internals. Yeah… sick mind. 