The application of Evolutionary Computation (EC) techniques for the development of creative systems is a new, exciting and significant area of research. There is a growing interest in the application of these techniques in fields such as: art and music generation, analysis and interpretation; architecture; and design. EvoMUSART 2005 is the third workshop of the EvoNet working group on Evolutionary Music and Art. Following the success of previous events, the main goal of EvoMUSART 2005 is to bring together researchers who are using Evolutionary Computation in this context, providing the opportunity to promote, present and discuss ongoing work in the area. The workshop will include an open panel for the discussion of the most relevant questions of the field.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a common topic of science fiction. Science fiction sometimes emphasizes the dangers of artificial intelligence, and sometimes its positive potential. The general discussion of the use of artificial intelligence as a theme in science fiction and film has fallen into three broad categories including AI dominance, Human dominance, and Sentient AI. The notion of advanced robots with human-like intelligence has been around for decades. Samuel Butler was the first to raise this issue, in a number of articles contributed to a local periodical in New Zealand and later developed into the three chapters of his novel Erewhon that compose its fictional Book of the Machines.

From 2008: "WALL-E" trailer features the stars from "Toy Story." The results are in, and the latest laureates in the Robot Hall of Fame range from the absolutely lovable WALL-E cartoon character to the positively scary BigDog robo-runner. This year's class, announced during a Tuesday night ceremony at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, also includes the pint-sized, soccer-playing NAO humanoid robot and the PackBot bomb-disposal robot. The Robot Hall of Fame was created in 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University to recognize excellence in robotics technology. More than two dozen machines, real and fictional, have been inducted over the past nine years, but the Class of 2012 is the first to be selected by popular vote instead of a panel of judges.

Using humanoid robots to study human behavior.

Over the last decade, digital cameras have radically refocused the way people capture and manipulate pictures. Today, the snap of a photo is merely a starting point for composing and manipulating an image. A photographer can make basic changes to a picture from within the camera, but also may use photoediting software on a computer to significantly alter the look, feel and composition. "We can use computation to make the process better, both aesthetically and in terms of greater flexibility," explains Frédo Durand, a professor in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT in Cambridge, MA. Researchers and engineers are now taking the concept further.

Voice-activated assistants are playing an increasingly prominent role in the technology world, with Apple's introduction of Siri for the iPhone 4S and Google's (rumored) work on a Siri competitor for Android phones. Voice-activated technology isn't new--it's just getting better because of increasingly powerful processors and cloud services, advancements in natural language processing, and improved algorithms for recognizing voice. We spoke with Nuance Communications, maker of Dragon software and one of the biggest names in voice recognition technologies, about why voice is becoming more popular and what advancements we can expect in the future. Peter Mahoney, Nuance chief marketing officer and general manager of the Dragon desktop business, told Ars one of the most significant improvements coming in the next few years is a far more conversational voice-activated assistant that remembers everything you say. This should create better responses to casual questions.

As Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader pulled out their light sabers for a deadly battle 30 years ago today, "Stars Wars" movie-goers asked themselves one thing: Where can I get one of those? The iconic movie series prompted young children to tote R2D2 lunch boxes and teenage boys to fall in love with side hair buns and gold bikinis. But in 1977, the groundbreaking fan favorite did more than just secure its place in Americana -- it also captured the hearts and minds of scientists of the '70s and a few younger, budding lab rats waiting in the wings. "I think the influence is huge," Michio Kaku, one of the world's most prominent physicists and the co-founder of string field theory, told ABCNEWS.com. "Many people don't realize that science fiction has been an inspiration for the world's leading scientists."

You can find these tales on user forums for many voice assistants: One user reports he and his wife heard Alexa's voice coming from their kitchen in the middle of the night. Another reported hearing a strange man's voice through his Echo. "What the hell?" wrote one user on Reddit who was "freaked" after Echo behaved unusually. "Can Alexa only do things when told, or does she act on her own? These stories--usually just aberrations explained by user error--externalize the unease we feel with our new roommates. They learn from the words we say and the things we do. And it's hard to know where this stream of personal information ends up. Will my chuckle at an off-color joke during a stand-up show exist for eternity in a suburban data center? Do I have any control over this multifaceted algorithmic portrait it's painting of me? A robot talking to itself in the middle of the night is funny. Easing this transition is a new field of design.

It can create digital art, write poems and now, artificial intelligence is composing music. Japanese researchers have developed an AI headset that creates tailor-made music in order to improve the wearer's mood. The AI analyzes the person's brain waves and writes tunes that match their personal sensitivity- and it only takes one minute to create the music using synthesized notes. The AI studied relationships between music and emotions in order to write tunes that coincides with a human's personal sensitivity - and it only takes one minute to create the music using synthesized notes The AI was fed information about the relationship between music and emotions before it began composing music. Volunteers were asked to listen to music while their brain waves were recorded.

When Disney released the film "Big Hero 6" in 2014, audiences immediately fell in love with Baymax, the "personal healthcare companion." Designed for no other purpose than to improve healthcare, Baymax not only appeared as non-threatening and approachable as possible (he's described as a "giant marshmallow"), but was also programmed to respond to sounds of human distress and provide care for that distress, whether it be a recommendation for more sleep, a bandage, or something more advanced. While the plot of "Big Hero 6" took Baymax to superhero levels by giving him a rocket fist and the ability to fly, the idea of artificial intelligence (and even robots) making their way into healthcare isn't quite as farfetched. In fact, in many ways, Disney and Baymax provided a glimpse into the future of healthcare, one where artificial intelligence may actually be an important part of any healthcare plan. For many people, the idea of artificial intelligence is something limited to Hollywood movies and science fiction novels, but the fact is, most of us use AI every day.