Evolutionary Generative Models
Webpage: https://sites.google.com/view/egm-2025
Description
Generative Models has become a key field in Artificial Intelligence. Evolutionary generative models refer to generative approaches that employ any type of evolutionary algorithm, whether applied on its own or in conjunction with other methods. In a broader sense we can divide evolutionary generative models into at least three main types:
(i) Evolutionary Computation (EC) as a Generative Model focuses on exploring how EC techniques that serve directly as generative models to produce data, designs, or solutions that fulfill specific criteria or constraints;
(ii) Generative Models Assisting EC consists in modern generative models, such as Generative Adversarial Networks or diffusion models, that enhance the performance and capabilities of EC methods (e.g., using generative models such as surrogate).
(iii) EC Assisting Generative Models discusses the role of EC techniques in enhancing generative models themselves, particularly through optimization and exploration. This includes approaches where EC is used to evolve or optimize the parameters of generative networks, help address generative models issues, or introduce adaptive mechanisms that improve model flexibility and resilience. It also delves into topics related to EC population dynamics such as cooperative or adversarial approaches.
The workshop on Evolutionary Generative Models (EGM) aims to act as a medium for debate, exchange of knowledge and experience, and encourage collaboration for researchers focused on generative models in the EC community. Thus, this workshop provides a critical forum for disseminating the experience on the topic using EC as a generative model, generative models assisting EC and EC assisting generative models, presenting new and ongoing research in the field, and to attract new interest from our community.
Topics:
. Evolutionary Generative Models
. Generative Models in Evolutionary Computation
. Evolutionary Machine Learning Generative Models
. EC-assisted Generative Machine Learning training, generation, hyperparameter optimisation or architecture search.
. Co-operative or Adversarial Generative Models
. Evolutionary latent and embedding space exploration (e.g. LVEs)
. Interaction with Evolutionary Generative Models
. Real-world applications of Evolutionary Generative Models solutions
. Software libraries and frameworks for Evolutionary Generative Models
Organizers
João Correia is an Assistant Professor at the University of Coimbra, a researcher of the Computational Design and Visualization Lab. and a member of the Evolutionary and Complex Systems (ECOS) of the Centre for Informatics and Systems of the same university. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from the University of Coimbra and an MSc and BS in Informatics Engineering from the same university. His main research interests include Evolutionary Computation, Machine Learning, Adversarial Learning, Computer Vision and Computational Creativity. He is involved in different international program committees of international conferences in the areas of Evolutionary Computation, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Art and Computational Creativity, and he is a reviewer for various conferences and journals for the mentioned areas, namely GECCO and EvoStar, served as remote reviewer for the European Research Council Grants and is an executive board member of SPECIES. He was also the publicity chair and chair of the International Conference of Evolutionary Art Music and Design conference, currently the publicity chair for EvoStar - The Leading European Event on Bio-Inspired Computation and chair of EvoApplications, the International Conference on the Applications of Evolutionary Computation. Furthermore, he has authored and co-authored several articles at the different International Conferences and journals on Artificial Intelligence and Evolutionary Computation. He is involved in national and international projects concerning Evolutionary Computation, Machine Learning, Generative Models, Computational Creativity and Data Science.
I am a Marie Skłodowska Currie Postdoctoral Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA, at the MIT CSAIL Lab. I obtained my Ph.D. in Computer Engineering at the University of Malaga (Spain). The dissertation, Natural Computing for Vehicular Networks, was awarded the 2018 Best Spanish Ph.D. Thesis in Smart Cities. My dissertation focused on the application of Machine Learning methods inspired by Nature to address Smart Mobility problems.
My current research explores the combination of Nature-inspired gradient-free and gradient-based methods to address Adversarial Machine Learning. The main idea is to devise new algorithms to improve the efficiency and efficacy of the state-of-the-art methodology by mainly applying co-evolutionary approaches. Besides, I am working on the application of Machine Learning to address problems related to Smart Mobility, Smart Cities, and Climate Change.