
Dr Daniel Chávez Heras
Senior Lecturer in Computational Humanities and AI Media
Biography
Daniel's work combines critical frameworks in the history and theories of cinema, television, and photography, with advanced technical practice in creative and scientific computing, including applied machine learning technologies (AI). He has over a decade of experience as a technologist in the cultural and creative industries with a focus on the screen sector, including projects and collaborations with the British Film Institute, the BBC, and the British Council.
At King's Daniel is part of the Computational Humanities Research Group, the Creative AI Lab, and an affiliate of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
Access Daniel's website here.
Research interests and PhD supervision
- Screen Culture + Creative Computing
- Generative approaches in computational humanities
- Complex and dynamic systems in cultural domains
- Critical technical practice with a focus on machine vision and aesthetically sensitive algorithms
- Interdisciplinary design
Daniel welcomes PhD applications related to the above, ideally from applicants with interdisciplinary backgrounds and strong technical skills across the arts and sciences.
Teaching
Daniel teaches in the areas of creative AI, computational humanities, human-computer interaction and interdisciplinary design.
Research

Computational Humanities Research Group
Computational Humanities research group
Intelligent Systems for Screen Archives (ISSA)
ISSA aims to develop critical and technical exploration of AI in the screen sector, focusing on moving image archives in the UK.
Project status: Starting

Centre for the Ecologies of Attention and Perception
Forging new responses to the foundational digital age crisis: distraction
King's Institute for Human and Synthetic Minds
Stronger scientific, historical, social and cultural understanding of intelligence
News
BFI National Lottery Fund supports King's project exploring AI for screen archives
BFI National Lottery Innovation Challenge Fund awards £192,500 to a King’s project to explore how AI technologies could be used to unlock potential with...

Digital Futures Institute announces four Institute Fellowship projects for 2024-25
Four interdisciplinary projects awarded Institute Fellowships from the Digital Futures Institute for the 2024-25 cohort, each of which is led by a pair of...

New publication explores the intersection between cinema and artificial intelligence
In his new book, Dr. Daniel Chávez Heras investigates the entanglements between the history and theories of cinema and the technologies of computer vision, an...

'Inspirational, informative and thought-provoking': King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence
King’s opened its doors to the public to explore the latest AI developments at this five-day festival.

The Creative AI Lab
Read about King's work how AI is used in creative fields, as featured in the Bringing the Human to the Artificial exhibition.

Events

Creative AI Lab presents: 'Vector Media' Book Launch
Join us to discuss the recently published ‘Vector Media’, which looks at image generation and multimodal models, and reads them inspired by Marx as capital...
Please note: this event has passed.

On the Semiotics of AI representations
This workshop is a deep dive into contemporary model architectures and pipelines following the semiotic question of meaning making linked to text, images as...
Please note: this event has passed.

Mapping Culture using Complex Networks: Entangling Science and the Humanities
The talk uses Wikipedia links as cultural networks to measure hidden relationships and reveal historical patterns and new insights.
Please note: this event has passed.

Chains of Value & Tools of Attribution: Data Provenance in the Cultural and Creative Industries
This is a landmark one-day event exploring data provenance, copyright, and licensing frameworks in the creative industries.
Please note: this event has passed.

TiLiA (TimeLine Annotator) Developer Summit
Lead developers of TiLiA (TimeLine Annotator) host an in-person summit.
Please note: this event has passed.

Cinema and Machine Vision
An event where the science and technologies of artificial intelligence meet the arts and theories of cinema.
Please note: this event has passed.

SESSION 4: Attention and AI
Please join us for the fourth session of the Attention Reading Group organised by the Centre for Attention Studies at King’s College London.
Please note: this event has passed.
High-dimensional cinema
Discover how Artificial Intelligence and related technologies are reshaping the production and understanding of audiovisual culture.
Please note: this event has passed.

Creative AI: Theory and Practice
Creative AI Lab host a one-day symposium on Creative AI supported by the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Visual Science of Art Conference 2026 brings interdisciplinary innovation to King's
An international conference exploring how art, science, and engineering shape human experience.

Meet: Dr Daniel Chávez Heras
Dr Daniel Chávez Heras teaches machines to watch films – not to replace human viewers, but to help archives, researchers and artists understand screen culture...

Spotlight
10 years of King's Digital Lab
This Spotlight article looks at ten of King’s Digital Lab’s most impactful projects as the lab marks its 10th anniversary.

Research

Computational Humanities Research Group
Computational Humanities research group
Intelligent Systems for Screen Archives (ISSA)
ISSA aims to develop critical and technical exploration of AI in the screen sector, focusing on moving image archives in the UK.
Project status: Starting

Centre for the Ecologies of Attention and Perception
Forging new responses to the foundational digital age crisis: distraction
King's Institute for Human and Synthetic Minds
Stronger scientific, historical, social and cultural understanding of intelligence
News
BFI National Lottery Fund supports King's project exploring AI for screen archives
BFI National Lottery Innovation Challenge Fund awards £192,500 to a King’s project to explore how AI technologies could be used to unlock potential with...

Digital Futures Institute announces four Institute Fellowship projects for 2024-25
Four interdisciplinary projects awarded Institute Fellowships from the Digital Futures Institute for the 2024-25 cohort, each of which is led by a pair of...

New publication explores the intersection between cinema and artificial intelligence
In his new book, Dr. Daniel Chávez Heras investigates the entanglements between the history and theories of cinema and the technologies of computer vision, an...

'Inspirational, informative and thought-provoking': King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence
King’s opened its doors to the public to explore the latest AI developments at this five-day festival.

The Creative AI Lab
Read about King's work how AI is used in creative fields, as featured in the Bringing the Human to the Artificial exhibition.

Events

Creative AI Lab presents: 'Vector Media' Book Launch
Join us to discuss the recently published ‘Vector Media’, which looks at image generation and multimodal models, and reads them inspired by Marx as capital...
Please note: this event has passed.

On the Semiotics of AI representations
This workshop is a deep dive into contemporary model architectures and pipelines following the semiotic question of meaning making linked to text, images as...
Please note: this event has passed.

Mapping Culture using Complex Networks: Entangling Science and the Humanities
The talk uses Wikipedia links as cultural networks to measure hidden relationships and reveal historical patterns and new insights.
Please note: this event has passed.

Chains of Value & Tools of Attribution: Data Provenance in the Cultural and Creative Industries
This is a landmark one-day event exploring data provenance, copyright, and licensing frameworks in the creative industries.
Please note: this event has passed.

TiLiA (TimeLine Annotator) Developer Summit
Lead developers of TiLiA (TimeLine Annotator) host an in-person summit.
Please note: this event has passed.

Cinema and Machine Vision
An event where the science and technologies of artificial intelligence meet the arts and theories of cinema.
Please note: this event has passed.

SESSION 4: Attention and AI
Please join us for the fourth session of the Attention Reading Group organised by the Centre for Attention Studies at King’s College London.
Please note: this event has passed.
High-dimensional cinema
Discover how Artificial Intelligence and related technologies are reshaping the production and understanding of audiovisual culture.
Please note: this event has passed.

Creative AI: Theory and Practice
Creative AI Lab host a one-day symposium on Creative AI supported by the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Visual Science of Art Conference 2026 brings interdisciplinary innovation to King's
An international conference exploring how art, science, and engineering shape human experience.

Meet: Dr Daniel Chávez Heras
Dr Daniel Chávez Heras teaches machines to watch films – not to replace human viewers, but to help archives, researchers and artists understand screen culture...

Spotlight
10 years of King's Digital Lab
This Spotlight article looks at ten of King’s Digital Lab’s most impactful projects as the lab marks its 10th anniversary.
