Sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
The Seventeenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-00) was held July 30-August 3, 2000, at the convention center in Austin, Texas.
“We generally overestimate what a technology can do for us in a few years and underestimate what it can do in a few decades.”
-John Durkin
—and artificial intelligence is no exception. From a few laboratory experiments demonstrating “general methods of intelligence,” followed by several generations of creative diligence, AI has entered a new phase.
It is now commonplace to confront AI issues in virtually every software development project — database applications, hardware and software verification, computer-based games and entertainment, internet agents, information retrieval, knowledge management, and scheduling, to name a few — and frequently AI has a solution!
Meanwhile cutting edge research in AI has reached a new level of depth and sophistication through synergistic collaborations with disciplines such as neurology, psychology, linguistics, statistics, physics, and operations research. We have witnessed the creation of a true science of intelligence, and can only begin to dream of the future it will help to create.
As the premier showcase of AI science and technology, the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence began with exciting workshops and free tutorials from leading researchers. It was an outstanding forum to learn about the state of the art in both new and established areas. The conference offered over 60 technical sessions on the best new research and applications across all areas of AI. In addition, attendees had the opportunity to see:
- A dozen invited talks and panels by distinguished scientists on topics ranging from embodied agents to heuristic search
- Robots competing for fame and glory as part of the AI Festival
- And new this year, a special poster session where they met and talked with the authors of all presented technical papers.
Henry Kautz and Bruce Porter