One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100)
2018 Call for Participation
The Stanford One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence, AI100, launched in Fall 2014, is an endowed, long-range investigation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It examines AI systems and the technological, ethical, and policy opportunities and dilemmas that they present to individuals, communities, and society. The AI100 Standing Committee (AI100SC) oversees the Study’s core activity: Designing and carrying out, on a five-year cycle, studies that assess the current state and future potential of AI-enabled computing systems. Resulting Study Panel Reports aim to inform and prompt action from diverse stakeholders as they navigate the promise and challenges that AI advancements raise for how people work, live, and play.
AI100’s first study, “AI and Life in 2030”, was issued in 2015-16. The AI100SC, in preparation for its next study cycle, is pleased to issue this call for proposals to convene multidisciplinary communities of scholars and stakeholders. The AI100SC will select and host two focused studies – carried out through interactive study-workshops – over the next two years, providing $15,000 to each winning proposal. AI100SC may also choose to fund a third study-workshop. Results from these study-workshops will form the substance of the 2020 AI100 Report. The AI100SC invites applications on topics and issues core to its mission that bring together an international community of AI researchers and practitioners with a broad representation of fields relevant to AI’s impact in the world. The AI100SC is particularly interested in spurring conversations that connect and build on the expertise of computer scientists and engineers; scholars in the humanities, including historians and philosophers of ethics, science and technology; the social sciences, including anthropologists, economists, media scholars, psychologists, and sociologists; law and public policy experts; and representatives from business management as well as the private and public sectors.
Initial proposals for study-workshops, due April 23, 2018, should take the form of an abstract no longer than 500 words that briefly describes the questions to be studied, the rationale for the study-workshops, the intended range of disciplinary expertise and participation, a general plan for carrying out the study-workshop, and intended format for communicating study-workshop results. AI100 will provide financial support and organizational assistance for each study-workshop as well as resources to disseminate the workshop’s study results. Details about workshop scheduling, budget, review timelines, and criteria for evaluating proposals will be maintained at: https://ai100.stanford.edu/workshop
We look forward to hosting a lively and informative set of studies that will produce new ideas and enrich our understanding of AI and its influence on people and society.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the important dates that I should track?
- April 23, 2018, 5pm PT: initial 500-word abstracts due
- June 1, 2018: ten finalists receive notice requesting a full proposal
- June 29, 2018, 5pm PT: 2,500-word full proposal due
- August 17, 2018: all finalists notified of their proposal status
- Early Fall, 2018: Public announcement of the study-workshops selected
What’s due, when? There will be two rounds of proposals and reviews before the final study-workshops are selected: this initial round of short proposals, intended to be simple to prepare, and a final round of more detailed, full proposals. To be considered for support, proposers should submit an initial proposal taking the form of a 500-word abstract (maximum length) to: http://bit.ly/2H192aT
The deadline for the initial call for proposals is April 23, 2018, by 5pm PT. All proposals that meet the submission word count and deadline will receive notice of receipt of their abstracts. Only submissions selected for elaboration and submission of full proposals will receive feedback and guidance, by June 1, on full proposal content from the AI100SC.
The AI100SC will invite a selected set of finalists (no more than ten abstracts from the initial pool) to submit a full proposal (2,500 words maximum) and budget, due June 29, 2018, 5pm PT. Finalists will receive notice of the status of their proposals by August 17, 2018. The study-workshops selected for support, based on their full proposals, to be funded by the AI100SC, will be announced on the AI100 website Fall 2018.
What considerations will be used to evaluate proposals? Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- The submission’s clear connections to AI100’s stated Reflections and Framing Memo
- The importance and timeliness of the questions the study-workshop will address
- The multidisciplinary nature of the study-workshop’s questions
- The potential for producing outcomes that help ground the 2020 AI100 Study Panel Report’s assessments in specific contexts that bring societal settings and a broad array of technological developments to the fore
- The diversity of study-workshop leadership and participant communities – across fields, institutions, professions, geographies, race and ethnicities, and genders
- The creativity of the structure, interactivity, and concrete outcomes of the proposed study-workshop
- The study-workshop’s potential for impact beyond academic communities (e.g., community-based organizations, NGOs, the private sector, public policy makers)
- The ways in which the submission relates to, builds upon, and/or expands themes explored in the 2015-16 AI and Life in 2030 Report
What are examples of acceptable proposed outcomes for study-workshops? As long as the study-workshop’s content aligns with producing the specified outcome, AI100 will consider any format proposed. Study-workshops may propose to produce a written report; interactive websites; a video series; curricula for courses to address AI’s social and technical impact; software; or even a plan for draft legislation to present to policy makers.
What budget will successful study-workshops receive and what expenditures may be included in the budget? Each study-workshop will receive $15,000 in funds. Study-workshop organizers will be asked to provide a line-item budget of costs associated with their event. The AI100SC will, on a case-by-case basis, consider requests to augment the study-workshop budgets through cost-sharing and co-sponsorship with other institutions and organizations.
Where will the study-workshops take place? Study-workshop organizers may use any venue they choose to convene their events. If organizers plan to seek reimbursement for venue costs, they should contact the AI100SC prior to setting the event’s location.
When are the study-workshops expected to be held? Selected proposals will be given a choice of dates and asked to rank their preferred study-workshop slots.
Am I allowed to change the makeup and focus of the study workshop once selected? Funded study-workshops may change some participants, logistics, and minor details of their proposals but, once they accept the AI100SC’s invitation to convene, they must continue to meet the evaluation criteria above to receive funding.
Who should I contact if I have questions about this CFP? ai100-info@lists.stanford.edu
