CALL FOR PAPERS: MULTI-YEAR TRACK ON AI FOR GOOD (SPECIAL TRACK)

Artificial intelligence is by now pervasive in our life and is increasingly having an impact on how we live, work, and function as individuals and as a society. It is therefore very important to make sure that it is built and used in a responsible and beneficial way, so that we can exploit it to get to the future we collectively envision.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  (see https://sdgs.un.org/goals) provide a vision of the future that can be the north star of trajectories for technological and societal progress.  This track is intended to explore how AI can contribute to achieve progress on the 17 SDGs:

  1. No Poverty,
  2. Zero Hunger,
  3. Good Health and Well-being,
  4. Quality Education,
  5. Gender Equality,
  6. Clean Water and Sanitation,
  7. Affordable and Clean Energy,
  8. Decent Work and Economic Growth,
  9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure,
  10. Reducing Inequality,
  11. Sustainable Cities and Communities,
  12. Responsible Consumption and Production,
  13. Climate Action,
  14. Life Below Water,
  15. Life On Land,
  16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions,
  17. Partnerships for the Goals.

The objective is to share the current state of research and practice, explore directions for future work, and create opportunities for collaboration. We especially welcome collaborations between AI researchers and practitioners, and experts of other disciplines or specific application domains.

We invite three types of contributions related to AI and the SDGs: research papers, demo papers and collaborative project proposals. Two primary selection criteria for all kinds of contributions will be 1) the scientific quality of the work, and 2) the relevance and impact to both the SDGs and AI.  All submissions should clearly state which SDGs’ target indicators are addressed, what the impact of the work w.r.t. society, people and/or environment is, and what the contribution of and the challenges for AI are.

Important and common dates for all types of submissions in this track
  • Paper submission: February 14, 2022
  • Notification of acceptance/rejection: April 22, 2022
  • Camera-ready copy due: May 10, 2022
Note: all deadlines are Central European Time (CET), UTC +1, Paris, Brussels, Vienna.

Formatting guidelines: LaTeX styles, and Word template: https://www.ijcai.org/authors_kit

Submission site: should be submitted to https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/IJCAIaiforgood2022

Track chairs: are available at aiforgood@ijcai-22.org

Submission of Research Papers

Research papers should have the same format  (6 pages + 1 page of references) and follow the same general instructions as for the main conference (see https://ijcai-22.org/calls-papers/) but should be submitted to https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/IJCAIaiforgood2022. Papers are expected to satisfy the highest scientific standards just like regular submissions to the main track of IJCAI-ECAI 2022. Also, as the research papers submitted to the main track of IJCAI-ECAI 2022, papers in this track should be anonymous. Unlike papers in the main track, there will be no author rebuttal and no summary reject phase. Accepted research papers in the AI for Good track will be included in the IJCAI proceedings. An award will be given to honor outstanding research papers in this track.

Submission of Demo Papers

Demo papers are submitted with the same format (3 pages + 1 page of references), conditions, and process as for regular demo papers at  the IJCAI-ECAI 2022 conference (see https://ijcai-22.org/calls-demos/) but they should be submitted to should be submitted to https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/IJCAIaiforgood2022.The primary goal of demo papers in this track is to provide a platform for exchanging inspiring ideas and to showcase the applicability of AI to the UN SDGs.  Just like papers submitted to the demo track of IJCAI-ECAI 2022, demo papers in this track must not be anonymous. There will be a one step reviewing process and there will be no rebuttal. Accepted demo papers in the AI for Good track will be included in the IJCAI proceedings. An award will be given to honor outstanding demonstration papers in this track.

Submission of  Project Collaboration Ideas

This is a new mechanism that IJCAI-ECAI 2022 introduces especially for this track. The aim is to identify new ideas and facilitate collaboration between AI researchers and SDG practitioners to jointly explore possible uses of AI to advance the achievement of the UN SDGs. Project ideas describe specific and highly focused challenges related to AI and the SDGs. They are not descriptions of ongoing projects but rather proposals that appeal to AI and SDGs researchers alike and inspire them to collaborate and to contribute sustainable solutions to the challenges.  Unlike traditional technical papers, project collaboration ideas papers are expected to instigate (1) a focused program of research culminating in papers submitted to the next IJCAI  conferences  in 2023/2024 that address the project idea and summarize progress, and/or (2) a practical project leading to a showcase, evaluation, and subsequent scientific paper at the next IJCAI conferences in 2023/2024.

We suggest the following structure for project idea papers:  problem statement, target SDG(s) and clear societal benefits (e.g.  regarding measurable SDG indicator(s)),  goals, challenges, methods, evaluation criteria, mechanism for collaboration, risks, ethics considerations, expected results and long term impact on the SDGs.  The selection criteria will include feasibility (timeline, methodology, collaboration opportunities, areas of current AI research that will be leveraged, and contribution to new possible research areas), originality of the idea and proposed approach, benefit to SDGs, and risk assessment (ethical, legal, societal, economical etc.). Project collaboration ideas papers are submitted with the same format (6 pages + 1 page of references), and general instructions as for the main conference (https://ijcai-22.org/calls-papers/).

However, unlike papers submitted to the main track, project collaboration ideas papers must not be anonymous, and must include a 1 page appendix not included in the page count, with short CVs of all team members. There will be a one step reviewing process and there will be no rebuttal. Accepted project collaboration ideas papers will be published in the IJCAI proceedings just like traditional technical papers. Additionally, they will be presented at a matchmaking event during the conference, designed to help recruit participants and collaborations to further their goals and develop their projects. An award will be given to honor outstanding project collaboration ideas papers in this track.

Track chairs are available at aiforgood@ijcai-22.org.