VRDIP-2019: Workshop on Planning the Future: Economics and Value-Rational Decision Planning University of California Berkeley, CA, United States, July 11-12, 2019 |
Conference website | https://icaps19.icaps-conference.org/workshops/Planning-the-Future/index.html |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=vrdip2019 |
Paper submission | April 15, 2019 |
Notification of acceptance | May 15, 2019 |
Camera-ready paper submission | June 15, 2019 |
VRDIP-2019 is a workshop on "Planning the Future: Economics and Value-Rational Decision Planning."
Collocated with ICAPS 2019 in Berkeley, USA.
The 4th industrial revolution which is the confluence of the digital, physical and biological systems is changing the fields of engineering, finance, and economics. One of the digital technologies that are changing this landscape is artificial intelligence (AI). In recent years, AI decision-making and autonomous systems have become an integrated part of the economy, industry, and society. The evolving economy of the human-AI ecosystem raises concerns regarding value bias and risks inherited by AI systems. The availability and the increasing demand for AI systems created by many disciplines of intelligent systems addressing sub-aspects of the problem-solving process (e.g., different learning methods, data storage, information retrieval and more) create discrete components. These discrete components might individually be efficient and effective but as a combined system their effectiveness is reduced. Even though there is increasing efficiency of each intelligent system, this does not necessarily lead to increased effectiveness of the overall system. To explain this in optimization framework, each subsystem can individually optimize but collectively be sub-optimal. For example, face recognition systems can be individually optimized for sub-populations but not be globally optimized because they are based on partial data. Effective planning of a rational decision-making process is the natural tool that links and guides a divided process of practical problem-solving. Planning and problem-solving are decision-making processes that consist of sequential decision choices and decision actions.
Rational decision-making process comprises of rational decision actions and the entire process is optimized in time, space and overall utility resulting in a global optimum utility. However, global optimum utility is only attainable for convex problems and for non-convex problems one is never sure if the identified optimal utility is globally optimized. Decisions are the building blocks in most productive and intelligent activities. Thinking and problem solving are naturally multidisciplinary and require different cognitive skills at different stages and contexts. A well-planned problem-solving process allows combining multi-disciplinary decisions to a practical solution. On the one hand, the non-atomic nature of the decision-making process is vulnerable to communication and coordination limitations. On the other hand, this serves as a ground for multi-disciplinary collaboration and sharing of ideas, tools, real-world challenges and mutual feedback on each other’s work.
This workshop intends to build a bridge between many disciplines such as AI, optimization, planning, problem-solving and decision making. Furthermore, this workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners from academic, industry and economic environments. It is an opportunity to build a platform for ongoing cross-fertilization of ideas and tools to solve problems in planning. We accept papers, posters, and demonstrations.
Topics of interests include but are not limited to:
This workshop will cover the philosophy, theory of value, rationality, causality, information ethics, value as well as knowledge bias and alignment in decision-making systems. The broad topics covered but not limited are as follows:
Research and learning process planning and methods
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methodologies of cognitive learning models
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research horizon and data/information/knowledge quality measures
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planning space: plan, target, gaps and overlaps
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planning decision-making process
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building blocks of single and sequential decisions
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decision phases and objectives in decision-making process
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rational and irrational decisions
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real-time, offline and mixed decision processes
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planning and measuring decision-making models' quality
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optimization and decision making
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AI and rational decision
Evolution of processes, objectives, value and policies
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evolving problem structures
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evolving planning methods
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evolving values
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evolving objectives
Planning activities and actions policies
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phases in planning and planning in phases: planning objectives, actions, decisions, measurement, analysis, time and timing actions
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planning modes: responsive, survival, creative, innovative and simulations
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planning communication in process
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active and passive feedback in planning
Planning objectives: instrumental and value objectives, static and dynamic as well as knowns and unknowns
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representation of objectives (unitary, binary, uniform, preferences and diversity,)
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monitoring (dynamic): collecting, improving, maintaining, recovery, search, protect, as well as minimizing vs optimizing costs
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pre-processing, in-process, end-process, post-process objectives and activities
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measuring terms: absolute, temporal, relative achievements, success and damage
Planning values: cost, value, budget, and utilities of decision actions activities
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dynamics and dimensions of costs, value, budget and utilities
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real-time and off-line management and planning
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values in exchange and use as well as mixed value activities
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planning Investments (budget/non-budget resources, hedged/unhedged risks, opportunities and threats)
Dynamic value: rational planning, net values, resource management as well as utility creation and exchange
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measurements of quality of actions, states, activities, processes and productions
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industrial AI planning and management theory and practice
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planning and design products
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business activities planning (projects, workflows, Gantt charts, debriefing, research and control points of activities as well as production and manufacturing process)
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resource planning (labor, materials, time and knowledge,)
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centralized and decentralized planning systems and methods
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organizational planning and management systems (ERP, MRP, MES, BI, CRM)
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economics, finance, service and business environments (centralized and decentralized)
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planning economic policies and market decisions
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planning inflation, interest rates, prices, insurance, savings, labor, unemployment and costs
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planning innovative and entrepreneurship process
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FORMAT
The workshop will include invited talks, presentations of accepted papers (short and long), posters and demonstrations as well as a multi-disciplinary panel on the challenges and gaps in real-world planning, problem-solving, communication channels and ongoing collaboration between different disciplines. A summary panel will discuss action-items and priorities for future research to sketch a collaborative plan/policy for future research. Accepted papers will be published in the conference proceeding and selected papers will be published by CRC Press as an edited book.
Invited talks:
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Introduction to the philosophy of value, rationality, causality, and information
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Ethics of the Evolving Human-AI Ecosystem - Bias and Alignment of Values and Information
IMPORTANT DATES
Paper submission: April 15, 2019 (UTC-12 time zone)
Notification of acceptance: May 15, 2019
Camera-ready paper submission: June 15, 2019
Workshop date: July 11/12, 2019
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Submissions may be regular papers (up to 8 pages plus references), short position/challenge papers (up to 4 pages plus references), posters, applications, and demonstrations materials. Submissions should conform to the AAAI formatting guidelines and style (http://www.aaai.org/Publications/Author/author.php) and submitted in a PDF format via workshop EasyChair web site (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=vrdip2019). Submissions with different format requirements, question, any issue/assistance in going through the submission process may be referred by email to mullerdm@gmail.com.
Submissions will be reviewed by at least two referees.
We welcome existing publications from other venues that are appropriate for discussion at this workshop. Please note in the title area if this work is already accepted at another venue. If the work is under review at another venue (e.g. IJCAI) please notify the organizers so we can avoid potential reviewing conflicts.
ORGANIZATION
* Daniel Muller (contact: mullerdm@gmail.com)
* Tshilidzi Marwala (University of Johannesburg; contact: tmarwala@uj.ac.za)