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Department of  Computing

DoC Academic awarded a prestigious EPSRC Leadership Fellowship


Dr Simon Colton, a Reader in Computational Creativity here in the Department of Computing, has been awarded a prestigious EPSRC Leadership Fellowship for the project "Computational Creativity Theory". Simon is a recognised expert in Computational Creativity, and has been working in the field since 1996. He is unique in having been involved in successful applications of creative software to four different domains, namely mathematical invention, video game design, graphic design and the visual arts. The Computational Creativity group (ccg.doc.ic.ac.uk) that he leads at Imperial College has been responsible for results published in the mathematical literature which were found by computer; are helping video games companies to design the next generation of adaptive, personalised games; and are undertaking an ambitious project to build The Painting Fool: software they hope will one day be taken seriously as a creative artist in its own right (www.thepaintingfool.com).

The formalisations resulting from Simon's fellowship project will comprise a series of theoretical models, each of which contains some conceptual definitions, some calculations which can be used to compare and contrast the creativity of software, and some advice about how the calculations can be used in different domains. The foundational models will make more precise the notion of a creative act by software, the impact such creative acts can have, and the more acute models will cover aspects of creative behaviour including intentionality, interpretation, imagination, appreciation and affect.

The programme of research has the development of Computational Creativity Theory at its heart. This will be informed by a series of practical projects involving applications to creative language, music, visual arts, mathematics and games, and covering modes of creativity including realtime generation, assistive technologies and creative collaborations. By building and disseminating CCT, Simon and his team will help to bring Computational Creativity research into a new era, where formal notions of creativity underpin software systems which really enrich our cultural lives.



Date published: 2011-10-21



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