The great leap forward theory proposes that, approximately fifty thousand years ago, our species experienced a boom in terms of cognitive abilities, such as bounds in technological ingenuity, social savvy and artistic creativity. For almost three decades, SFU professor Steve DiPaola has studied such traits with an eye to incorporating close approximations of them into 2D, 3D and Virtual Reality software tools.

A cognitive scientist and computer based scientist, DiPaola joined SFU’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology in 2002 where he has since led the Interactive Visualization lab (iVizLab), a team of computer science-oriented artists, programmers, postdocs and PhDs who strive to create computational systems that reflect human facial expressions, body gestures, emotions, behaviours and creativity by incorporating research on biological, cognitive and behavioural traits. DiPaola is also known for his artificial intelligence-based (AI) computational art which has been exhibited internationally, including at The Whitney in New York City and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

“I have never seen the schism between science and art. To me, they both involve a search for truth and beauty,” he says.  “And my lab’s techniques for computer modeling is the best way I know of to have significant art-science research conversations via interdisciplinary research.”

One of the main through lines of DiPaola’s research has been the exploration of computational creativity as a technique for demystifying how cognitive based human creativity works.  For example, by using AI-based deep learning algorithms to “teach” software what a human face is, what a background is, how light and color work, and so on, his lab has developed tools that enable people and computers to co-create new digital works in the style of artists from Picasso to the Futurists. The software is currently being prototyped with Fraser Health for use in hospitals to help patients experience the relaxation that comes from creating.

In February 2008, images created by DiPaola appeared in the journal Nature to illustrate an article honouring the Father of Evolution, Charles Darwin. To create DarwinsGaze, he programmed software to “evolve” artistic renderings from a digitized portrait of Darwin. The Java-based AI program works by applying genetic algorithms such as crossover, mutation and survival to create abstract artworks, while simultaneously learning about the processes of evolution and creativity.

The lab is also known for 3D facial simulation research and tools which have taken on many forms over the years, including Electronics Art’s perennially popular game “The Sims”, first launched in 2002. In 2014, DiPaola and collaborator Dr. Liane Gabora of the University of British Columbia launched FaceFries, an app that features a 3D, animated avatar that can help users express themselves, empathize with others, and even see themselves morphed into different genders or ethnicities. Beyond the amusement factor, it can foster creativity and has potential to help autistic children better recognize communication cues.

DiPaola’s lab has also worked with “spaces” other than the human face: in 2006, the Vancouver Aquarium asked them to create a virtual beluga whale exhibit as a tool to teach the public how beluga families behave in the wild. Developed in collaboration with NASA researcher Bill Kraus, AI was merged with marine mammal research data to create real-time animation and organic movement that enabled visitors to “feel the rush of scientific discovery and reflect on the life of these amazing animals,” DiPaola told SFU News at the time.

These snapshots represent only a fraction of DiPaola’s past, current and, inevitably, future research projects. He says, “We’ve barely begun to see the potential held by computational modeling and AI techniques to illuminate the modern human’s creative and expressive cognitive abilities."