The “10,000 bowls of oatmeal” refers to the issue of generating 10,000 completely unique bowls of oatmeal with each oat in a unique position and orientation but having the user perceive it as all the same. Mathematically, the generative artworks (bowls of oatmeal) are all different, but to the user, all those artworks look the same, losing their uniqueness.
The lack of perceptual uniqueness may become a problem if the user or audience expects a more personal approach to a product or artwork. One example the article mentions is the creatures in “No Man’s Sky,” which generates new creatures every time but nothing “too surprising.” An example where the lack of perceptual uniqueness doesn’t become a problem is when the user wants a similar outcome to what they were expecting. In my previous Looking Outwards assignment, for example, the artist used a mathematical concept called the Voronoi Diagram. This algorithm produced artworks that were physically unique every time but still similar to what users were expecting.
A strategy for overcoming this may be to use an algorithm that replicates patterns within our environment. This would ensure that the artwork/product will generate different permutations every time.