I'm rather inexperienced in woodworking, but my day job is a software
designer.

In a computer, the fundamental building blocks are completely mechanical
and absolutely predictable. Barring hardware problems the computer does
*exactly* what you tell it to. However, I think it's still possible to
have "soul"--it just means that the "soul" comes in at a higher level of
abstraction.

Consider the examples you gave--part layout based on "what looks best",
modification based on how it "feels" when being worked. Given a
sufficient amount of time and effort this could be at least partially
mechanized. In this hypothetical case, the rules by which the machine
operated would have to have been created by someone. Thus, the machine
would be carrying out (at one level removed) the wishes of the original
designer.

You could eventually get this machine to be pretty good (almost
certainly better than I), but it would likely be impossible to get it as
good as the real artists, simply because not all of the artistic
decisions are amenable to reduction to rules of logic. (Although they
do have software to generate artwork and musical compositions.)

What I'm trying to say is that even if you have something completely
machine-made it would still be possible for it to have "soul"--it's just
that the soul doesn't come from the machine, but the machine *designers*.

I don't think we're anywhere near that level of sophistication yet, but
I wouldn't be surprised to see layout software eventually get hooked to
a digital camera and given some basic understanding of desirable grain
directions.

Chris