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REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
unmoderated group comp.ai.uncertainty
This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the creation of a
comp.ai.uncertainty newsgroup. This is not a Call for Votes (CFV);
you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below.
Newsgroups line:
comp.ai.uncertainty Uncertain reasoning in intelligent systems.
RATIONALE: comp.ai.uncertainty
Abstract
A newsgroup for the discussion of UNCERTAIN REASONING topics
in artificial intelligence (AI); including, but not limited to
uncertainty in machine learning, planning, vision, and AI
methodologies that inherently relate to uncertain reasoning. These
include: fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms,
probabilistic reasoning, and qualitative process theory.
Justification
UNCERTAIN REASONING is a pervasive theme in the study of
intelligent systems. It is appreciated by adherents of: evolutionary
computation (comprising genetic algorithms and genetic programming,
among other subgenres); fuzzy reasoning; connectionist (neural
network) learning and problem solving; and Bayesian learning and
inference. Each of these fields except the last currently possesses
an independent newsgroup (comp.ai.genetic, comp.ai.fuzzy,
comp.ai.neural-nets). Many posts originate from participants with an
interest in uncertain reasoning --- some of whom often cross-post to
many comp.ai subgroups, but are also seeking like-minded colleagues
for discussions that run the gamut of AI applications (vision,
robotics, medical informatics, natural language processing, speech
and signal processing, pattern recognition as in handwriting and
optical character recognition, etc.) and fields of study (machine
learning, knowledge representation, and planning, among others).
Similarly, many mailing lists devoted to discussion on topics ranging
from computer chess or Go to industrial robotics often sport long and
diverse threads on uncertain reasoning, which might easily be shared
with a wider audience.
Rather than directing these eclectic conversations away from
the specialized forums in which they frequently take root and
flourish, I propose that they be given a "greenhouse" in which to
germinate, both by concentrating an already considerable level of
interest (which is also already very widely distributed) and by
promoting coherency of discussions. I believe that, precisely
because uncertain reasoning in AI is a thread that runs through
nearly all its subareas, it is best served (and will in turn best
serve the AI community) by being given a clearinghouse for vital
discussion, debate, advocacy, and scrutiny.
Uncertainty in AI is a central topic of many internationally
renowned and attended conferences, the foremost including the annual
International Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence
(UAI) and the annual International Conference on Knowledge Discovery
and Data Mining (KDD). It is a prominently featured topic (often
having multiple workshop, tutorial, or presentation sessions devoted
to it) at: the biennial International Joint Conference on AI (IJCAI);
the annual National Conference of the American Association for AI
(AAAI); and the annual International Workshop on Machine Learning,
among many others. Finally, it is the frequent topic of papers
presented at the annual International Conference on Neural Networks
(ICNN); the annual International Conference on Neural Information
Processing Systems (NIPS); the annual International Conference on
Genetic Algorithms (ICGA); and the annual International Conference
on Evolutionary Computation (ICEC).
CHARTER: comp.ai.uncertainty
comp.ai.uncertainty shall be an unmoderated newsgroup for
the discussion of UNCERTAIN REASONING topics in Artificial
Intelligence (AI). Any discussion of an AI topic that at least
nominally impinges upon uncertainty is therefore welcome. For this
purpose, the broadest definitions of AI espoused in the comp.ai
charters shall serve as a guideline. For additional information,
please consult the lengthy AI Frequenty Asked Questions (FAQ) list
(http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Groups/AI/html/faqs/ai/ai_general/top.html)
--- but take the glossary definition of AI given therein with a
grain of salt!
Examples of AI subareas which are typically associated with
uncertain reasoning include: machine learning, robot planning and
vision, and knowledge representation. Discussions of theoretical
topics that originate from diverse areas such as: probability theory,
cryptography, randomized algorithms, Bayesian inference and learning,
information theory, decision and risk analysis, game theory,
statistics, experiment design and validation, rule-based expert
systems, or AI programming languages, are equally welcome. Debates
on the merits of fielded AI systems, including commercial product
discussions, are encouraged. Finally, comp.ai.uncertainty may be
used for any form of discussion on applications of AI to problem
domains containing some degree of uncertainty: e.g., medical
informatics, diagnosis, computer game playing, planning and problem
solving, speech recognition, automated reasoning in law, military
simulations, agricultural or meteorological monitoring, cybernetics,
handwriting analysis, etc.
Policy on Advertising
Because the comp.ai.uncertainty group is devoted to
discussion of _systems_ for uncertain reasoning (as well as the
theory and general practice thereof), we encourage discussions of
the merits and shortcomings of commercial products. As the intended
audience is a mixture of professionals with academic, industrial, and
commercial interests, a limited amount of advertising (both objective
and advocative) is to be expected tolerated. All such advertising,
however, should be limited in scope, frequency, and most of all,
intrusiveness; advertisers are asked to please exercise consideration
for readers of what is primarily a research and development-oriented
newsgroup. Please refer to the widely available Internet literature
on the subject of common net abuses (indiscriminate newsgroup
spamming, multiple advertisement posting, and chain letters being
among the most frequent).
END CHARTER.
PROCEDURE:
This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase
of the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroups
should be raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for
a minimum of 21 days (starting from when the first RFD for this
proposal is posted to news.announce.newgroups), after which a Call For
Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker if the discussion
warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens.
All discussion of this proposal should be posted to news.groups.
This RFD attempts to comply fully with the Usenet newsgroup creation
guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and
"How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal". Please refer to
these documents (available in news.announce.newgroups) if you have
any questions about the process.
END PROCEDURE.
DISTRIBUTION:
In addition to the groups named in the "Newsgroups:" header, this
RFD shall be posted to the Association for Uncertainty in AI (AUAI)
mailing list and to the following newsgroups:
comp.ai.games
comp.ai.shells
comp.ai.nat-lang
comp.ai.philosophy
comp.ai.doc-analysis.ocr
comp.ai.doc-analysis.misc
comp.compression
comp.compression.research
comp.lang.c++
comp.lang.lisp
comp.lang.prolog
comp.robotics.misc
sci.crypt
sci.crypt.research
sci.econ
sci.math
sci.nanotech
sci.med.informatics
sci.lang.translation
sci.stat.edu
sci.stat.math
rec.games.go
rec.games.chess.computer
rec.games.backgammon
rec.games.design
Please see the newsgroup news.groups for discussions about this
RFD, as mentioned above. Readers of the additional newsgroups
listed in this section shall be referred to
news.announce.newgroups for the eventual Call For Votes (CFV).
END DISTRIBUTION.
Proponent: William H. Hsu <····@cs.uiuc.edu>
Mentors: ·······@acpub.duke.edu
(Special thanks to: Jonathan Grobe <·····@netins.net>)
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Questions and comments to: William H. Hsu <····@cs.uiuc.edu>
http://www-kbs.ai.uiuc.edu http://anncbt.ai.uiuc.edu
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