rothen@ifi.unizh.ch ("Thomas E. Rothenfluh") (03/11/89)
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Announcement
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ACAI'89
3rd Advanced Course in Artificial Intelligence
Neuchatel, Switzerland
8 - 16 August, 1989
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An ECCAI (European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence)
event organized by SGAICO (Swiss Group for Artificial Intelligence and
Cognitive Science), a special interest group of the SI (Schweizerische
Informatiker Gesellschaft)
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Topic
Advanced Knowledge Representation
and
Methodology of Knowledge Engineering
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Lecturers
Hector J. Levesque University of Toronto, Canada
Paul Smolensky University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
John F. Sowa IBM Systems Research Inst., Thornwood, New York, USA
Luc Steels Free University of Brussels, Belgium
Yorick Wilks New Mexico State University, USA
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Date Tuesday, 8 August - Wednesday, 16 August 1989
Location Neuchatel, Switzerland
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Course Director Thomas Rothenfluh,
University of Zurich, Switzerland
Local Organizing Chair Philippe Dugerdil,
University of Neuchatel, Switzerland
Program Committee Pierre Bonzon, Rolf Pfeifer, Johannes Retti,
Oliviero Stock, Bob Wielinga, Yorick Wilks
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The course
ECCAI (European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence)
organizes biannual Advanced Courses in Artificial Intelligence open to
researchers and practitioners of AI from all countries. The level of
presentation is aimed at a highly capable and well prepared audience.
After the first two Courses (Vignieu, France in 1985; Oslo, Norway in
1987), the Swiss Group for Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive
Science (SGAICO) is happy to announce that the third course in 1989
will take place in Neuchatel (Switzerland).
With respect to evaluations of previous courses, ACAI'89 will focus on
two major topics, namely advanced knowledge representation and the
methodology of knowledge engineering.
Knowledge engineering and its related topics are not restricted to
expert system development methodology exclusively but to the
development of AI systems in general. It is well recognized that the
lack of an established theory and methodology is one of the most
crucial issues within AI and pertinent to most of current research and
development efforts.
The course in 1989 will try to highlight different approaches to those
problems and should lay the grounds for interesting and productive
discussions.
The course is structured into the following main components
A series of lectures are to cover advanced concepts in the field of
knowledge "handling" in general as well as in its various subfields,
e.g. knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, knowledge
verification, and the entire development of "intelligent" systems,
etc. Tutorial-style lectures, hands-on training, and case-studies
should expose methodology and techniques together with pertinent
problems, solutions, and limitations. These detailed, practical and
even technical lectures and workshops should provide the opportunity
to gain insights and experiences with current "hot topics" in AI and
allow participants to evaluate these new trends with respect to their
own work.
Theory lectures will also cover the general philosophical and
epistemological background of AI. The topics relevant to that
discussion, e.g. the relation of logic or of empirical methodology to
AI, the deep questions about the "nature" of mind, etc., need to be
discussed and reflected by the community of advanced AI workers. In
general, there is not enough time to cover these issues in congresses
and workshops. Also, hopefully these lectures could provide some means
of integration for people working within the many different subfields
of AI.
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Course site
Neuchatel, the beautiful course site in the French speaking part of
Switzerland, is within easy reach of public transportation from all
over Europe. It is located at the border of Lake Neuchatel and at the
foot of the Jura mountains. It is part of the charming littoral with
its picturesque villages, old boroughs, vineyards, fields, and woods.
Together with its university, Neuchatel is well prepared to provide
the participants with a pleasant working atmosphere as well as
enjoyable surroundings for sports, leisure, and weekend journeys.
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The lectures
The speakers are all well known within AI and a fair description of
their work cannot be given within the limited space of this
announcement. A large number of reference points may be found in
books, scientific journals, conference proceedings a.s.o. (preparatory
reading lists will be sent to the participants).
Some of the topics to be presented and discussed at ACAI'89 within the
general perspective of advanced knowledge representation and
methodologies of knowledge engineering are:
Belief Systems, Conceptual Graphs, Connectionist Principles of
Knowledge Representation, Deep Reasoning, Development Strategies for
Knowledge-based Systems, Foundations of AI, Functional Approach to
Knowledge Representation, Learning, Metaphors, Natural Language
Issues, Philosophical Issues, Role of Logic, Second Generation Expert
Systems, Situations and attitudes, Statistical Inference, Symbolic and
Neural Modeling Paradigms.
The lectures will be held in a tutorial style, the necessary
prerequisite to follow the classes is some background and knowledge of
the basic themes and techniques of AI (e.g. inference mechanisms,
search), basic representation formalisms (e.g. logic, semantic
networks), and some experience with the more applied side of AI,
namely research traditions (e.g. solved and unsolved problems) as well
as applications of AI (e.g. implementation, programming).
The structure of the course is based on the lectures, which will be
held mainly in morning and afternoon sessions. For special interest
groups, evening sessions may be organized on request (e.g. mini-
tutorials, demonstration of software, presentation of whole research
groups).
Another part of ACAI'89 will be devoted to discussions, round tables,
demonstrations, and expositions. There will also be space and time to
present and discuss the participants own work with lecturers and other
participants. In this respect, the organizers will try to arrange
informal meetings in small groups having common interests.
In order to facilitate discussions and the exchange of ideas, a
"poster exhibition" will allow participants to present their own work
in the pertinent fields. Participants who are willing to give
demonstrations should contact the organizers to provide the necessary
infrastructure.
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The Small Print
Organization
ECCAI (European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence)
SGAICO (Swiss Group for Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive
Science)
Course Location
University of Neuchatel, Switzerland
Dates
Deadline for application: 15 April 1989
(reception of application form)
Notification of acceptance: 1 May 1989
Payment of course fees: 1 July 1989
Arrivals: Participants will arrive Monday, 7 August in the evening
Lectures start at Tuesday, 8 August and last until Wednesday, 16
August.
Departures: Participants will leave Wednesday, 16 August in the
afternoon.
Participants
The course is open to practitioners and researchers of AI from all
countries. The level of presentation will be aimed at an advanced
audience, i.e. all participants should have good knowledge of the
basics of AI as well as practical experience. To preserve the
character of such a course and due to space limitations, the number
of participants will be limited. Applicants should complete the
attached form and return it to the address given below at their
earliest possible convenience.
Course Fee
Course fees include:
- admission to all lectures and workshops
- accommodation for 9 nights (Nights of Monday, 7 August until
and including Tuesday, 15 August, extended stays are possible)
- breakfast; lunch (except Sunday), refreshments
- reductions for evening meals (if desired)
- documentation, working material
On the basis of double rooms, the overall course fee is ECU 900 or
the equivalent in a convertible currency; for single rooms, the fee
is ECU 1000
For applicants without a need for hotel etc. other arrangements are
possible; contact the organizers in advance.
In most countries, funding for participation of such educational
events is possible. Please contact your local authorities and
national AI-societies for details. A limited number of reduced fees
are available for graduate students/assistants. Please enclose with
your application a request for financial support which is well
justified and which proves your current status (photocopy of
student ID, letter of recommendation, or similar).
Payment
Please remit the fee only upon receipt of admission notice and
invoice by the organizers. The acceptance letter will indicate the
paying modalities.
Final admission to the course may be guaranteed after the reception
of the payment only.
Accommodation
Costs for accommodation are included in the course fee (see above).
The rooms have already been reserved by the organizers. Double
rooms are standard, a limited number of single rooms is available.
Some hotels are located outside Neuchatel in its beautiful
surroundings. If you intend to come with your private car, you may
also want to check a hotel out of town on the application form.
Cancellations
If an (admitted) registration is cancelled, there will be a
cancellation charge of 10% after 1 July 1989, unless you name a
replacement.
Language
The language of the course is English.
Sponsors
Ascom Tech (Switzerland)
Cables Cortaillod S.A.
City of Neuchatel
ECCAI
Electricit Neuchateloise S.A.
IBM (Switzerland)
NEWIS S.A.
Schweizerische Kreditanstalt
SGAICO and SI
Texas Instruments (Switzerland)
UNISYS (Switzerland)
University of Neuchatel
University of Zurich
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Contact Address
To get more information and application forms, please contact:
ACAI'89
Zurichbergstr. 43
CH-8044 Zurich
Switzerland
Phone +41 1 257 30 98
Telex 817 260 uniz ch
Fax +41 1 257 23 04
E-mail rothen@ifi.unizh.ch
rothen@unizh.UUCP
K715311@CZHRZU1A.BITNET