I was hovering over this thread with the following. Your boredom insight galvanized me. :P

The problem with a boredom factor, as good an idea as it is, is the problem with any and all training and configuration parameters. If they are artificial—human chosen, without ongoing and cascading feedback from all the other factors—they only represent a refinement, acceleration, or automatization of problem solving a human can achieve. The answer to jumping out of this cage is not artificial intelligence but artificial life. The boredom factor, the rewards, the punishments, the breeding cycle, and even the choice of the problem to solve must be a function of the environment and the domain. Humans have a terrible track record of managing nature, even when having the best intentions, and that is what the attempts at AI are, management.