Prof O'Neill

Attending GECCO 2017 in Berlin this July was a real treat, an opportunity to immerse myself for five full days in all things genetic and evolutionary computation, and to catch up with the over 600 delegates. Having not personally attended a GECCO since Amsterdam in 2012, it is inspiring to see so many new researchers enriching our community, and a new sense of energy and urgency with the current wave of interest in all things Artificial Intelligence. Of course we all know, Artificial Intelligence != Deep Learning, mind you Deep Learning got a mention at almost every single session I attended! GECCO 2017 was in part a sentimental journey for me. It put into focus my personal journey as a researcher in evolutionary computation who over the past five years has been dedicated to, and distracted by, senior management roles in academia, in addition to the pleasure of being a husband and a father to three wonderful young children.  The knock on consequence has resulted in less EC co