Daniel Chavez Heras

I hope one day I get to write a theology book about iconoclasm and machine learning paganism in the early XXI century. But for now I dwell in the catacombs, writing and making films among the machines, some architects, and the occasional computer scientist.

Daniel is interested in forms of radical reciprocity between aesthetics and computation, in both creative computing and scientific discourse. He is currently trying to teach computers how to watch films, to see whether (and how) these machines and their users fit with exiting bodies of film theory and practice.

Main research interests include:

• Social and cultural machine learning in visual domains
• Computational film analysis and computational understanding of the moving image
• Critical design, data visualisation and HCI —including videogames
• Philosophy of computing; computational creativity —mainly of time-based media

Blog: http://elusivepixel.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dchavezheras

Daniel has been working with pictures and computers, in various capacities, for more than ten years. He trained as a designer, back in his native Mexico, and holds an MA in Film Studies from King’s College London, where he is now trying to teach computers to watch films for his PhD at the department of digital humanities. Daniel is currently part of a project with BBC R&Dthat uses machine learning and dark magic to automatically create a new TV programme from archive footage.