Evostar 2018

Invited Speakers

Abstract: The world abounds with adversarial relationships - opponents squaring off in contests and disputes. They are found in nature (predator vs prey) and in human society (gaming, wars, cyber security). They shape important outcomes and influence the character of our existence. I will describe my research agenda on the dynamics of adversarial relationships and understanding how optimization and evolutionary computation comprise a useful lens through which they can be examined.

Bio: Una-May O'Reilly leads the AnyScale Learning For All (ALFA) group at MIT. She has expertise in scalable machine learning, evolutionary algorithms, and frameworks for large-scale, automated knowledge mining, prediction and analytics. She educates the forthcoming generation of data scientists, teaching them how develop state of art techniques that address the challenges spanning data integration to knowledge extraction.

Abstract: Applying the techniques of Evolutionary Computation to artistic expression in both the visual arts and music over a period of several years has generated a timeline of what might be termed cultural artefacts. This suggested to me that the field - its past and current methodology, its trends and challenges - could be viewed through the prism of archeology. We will focus on one of the most intractable problems in the field: fitness assignment, analysing this challenge from the perspective of a human user interacting with an evolutionary system. How do Machine Learning, Evolutionary Computation and HCI techniques combine to create a Computer Aided Creativity system that responds to the artistic intentions of the user?

Bio: Penousal Machado leads the Cognitive and Media Systems group at the University of Coimbra. His research interests include Evolutionary Computation, Computational Creativity, and Evolutionary Machine Learning. In addition to the numerous scientific papers in these areas, his works have been presented in venues such as the National Museum of Contemporary Art (Portugal) and the “Talk to me” exhibition of the Museum of Modern Art, NY (MoMA).