might be germane to this discussion, as
we assess how we handle participation
of industry and showcase industry
work in AI. Blai Bonet suggested
extending the Executive Council to
include industry representation, and
Ted Senator noted that anyone can be
nominated and run for the Council.
The Nominating Committee might
take a more proactive role in considering the broader community when
forming the slate of candidates.
Assuming that there were no further
questions regarding the budget, Senator made a motion for the Council to
approve the budget. Tom seconded the
motion, and it passed unanimously.
Budget Amendments
The Council then turned its attention
to two pending requests for additional
expenditures in 2018.
Increased AAAI- 18 Student Scholarship
Funds: Carol Hamilton reported that
there had been almost a 100 percent
increase in the number of applications
in the student scholarships. In 2017,
there were 123 applications, and about
$52,000 was awarded, funded equally
by AI Journal and AAAI. For 2018, there
are 243 applications. Using a similar
grant formula, the total amount needed is $97,000. Through a grant from AI
Journal and AAAI funds, there is currently $54,500 in the budget, so an
additional $42,500 is needed for 2018.
The planned awards will range from
about $350 – 500 per student, excluding local students, who may need less.
A portion of the students will receive a
complimentary registration if they are
accepted into the volunteer program.
That number is not finalized, but it is
likely to be about 85 people. In
response to a question about whether
need is considered in the awarding of
funds, Hamilton explained that the
allocations are based on what the students requests and their geographic
location. Because requests vary widely,
the awards are tied to a portion of the
airfare needed to attend the conference, and are graduated based on distance from the site. In no instance is a
student awarded more than what they
requested.
Gene Freuder suggested that some
criteria be developed to determine
whether one group of students has a
noted that some of the program infor-
mation was incomplete for 2017
because there were several fall events
that were not reflected in the Septem-
ber actuals. However, she reported that
these programs all broke even or better.
Kambhampati noted that, due to the
excess funds available, the Council will
be reviewing a couple of additional
proposals during the meeting.
Gene Freuder proposed that the
Council discuss ways to harness the
current wave of interest in artificial
intelligence. Instead of limiting the
opportunities for corporate sponsorship to the conference, he suggested
that these be expanded to a broader
scope. Ted Senator noted that membership would be an important place
to capture additional interested individuals, and of course in conference
attendance. Carol Hamilton reported
that sponsorship interest is way up this
year, and we have a good mechanism
for responding to that interest. However, some thought needs to be put
into how we want to form liaisons
with commercial or industry-focused
entities (conferences, initiatives), and
what the decision-making process will
be for our affiliation with them. Kambhampati asked the Council if we want
to get into the business of AAAI
cobranded events or conferences. Ted
reminded the committee that we need
to consider whether affiliations like
this would affect our nonprofit status.
Freuder suggested that we might
reevaulate the structure of our sponsorship program, and determine it really targets appropriate sponsorship levels, in light of the keen interest in AI.
Kambhampati also suggested that our
sponsorship solicitation process be
broadened to include a larger group of
people with established contacts and
relationships in industry, thereby
broadening the potential base of sponsors. He also proposed that this be a
topic of discussion for the February
Executive Council meeting. Freuder
agreed to draft a proposal for the
Council to consider at that meeting.
Kambhampati volunteered to remain
involved in this, and agreed that the
goal should be to have more sponsor-
ship opportunities for interested com-
panies. Yolanda Gil also mentioned
that a discussion of the future of IAAI
Freuder inquired whether some stu-
dents are unable to attend the confer-
ence because they do not receive their
full requested amount. Hamilton
thought that this would be rare. The
students are warned that the stipends
will be small, and they should not plan
on the basis of the AAAI being their
sole support to attend the conference.
Matthijs Spaan noted that students
know they will have to attend the con-
ference when they initially submit
their papers for review. Paper presen-
ters do get priority, if funds cannot
cover all applicants.
Press Liaison at AAAI-18: The second
possible budget amendment relates to
the engagement of a press liaison for
the conference. The 2018 Conference
Committee has asked us to explore the
