Next AAAI Spring Symposia

On September 4, 2025, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) announced the continuation of the AAAI Spring Symposium Series. The symposium will be held from April 7–9, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, California. The call for proposals for the symposium series is available on its website. According to the organizers, proposals are due October 24, 2025, and early submissions are encouraged. „The Spring Symposium Series is an annual set of meetings run in parallel at a common site. It is designed to bring colleagues together in an intimate forum while at the same time providing a significant gathering point for the AI community. The two and one-half day format of the series allows participants to devote considerably more time to feedback and discussion than typical one-day workshops. It is an ideal venue for bringing together new communities in emerging fields.“ (AAAI website). As was the case this year, the Spring Symposium Series will once again not be held on the Stanford University campus. For many years, the History Corner served as the traditional venue for the event. Efforts to secure an alternative university location in the Bay Area have been unsuccessful. AAAI should seriously consider returning to Stanford in 2027. Only then can the Spring Symposium Series regain the atmosphere and significance it once enjoyed.

Fig.: The Stanford bunny

A Robot in the Robot

NeXus, the magazine of the student projects connectUS, Focus India, Insight China and exploreASEAN (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW), interviewed the machine ethicist and business information systems engineer Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel. The first question Stephen Randes asked was: „Cars are an integral part of US culture and identity. How will self-driving cars be accepted in that market?“ The answer: „Some Americans will surely miss the fun of driving. However, there is a new kind of driving enjoyment. As everyone knows who has ever tried out the autopilot of the Tesla model S. Whether the social approval will be given remains to be seen. There are certainly reasons to reject autonomous cars in particular areas.“ The next question: „What about safety concerns? What happens if an accident cannot be avoided?“ The scientist’s answer: „This is a subject that we explore in machine ethics: whom shall the autonomous car kill if it cannot brake in time? You can teach it rules or feed it with cases, and make it a complex moral machine that decides on people’s life and death. I, personally, argue in favor of simple moral machines. I am not against robot cars – I advise not to let them drive at any place and at any time. It is a question of avoiding accidents if possible.“ The last question related again to the market and the development of mobility: „Market analysts expect 10 million self-driving cars on the roads by 2020. How do you think this will change mobility (individual transport, public transport, workplace commutes)?“ Oliver Bendel declared: „I see opportunities for public transport. In the Valais, PostAuto is testing autonomous shuttles. Their speed is very low, so that there can be hardly any damage. Private autonomous cars are well suited for the traffic between cities. New forms of car sharing are possible as well. Maybe one day self-driving cars might even be sent to fetch a pizza, which, however, implies that there is a robot in the robot – except the pizza is simply thrown into the car.“ A part of the interview was published in the April issue, including further information on the person and the motivation.

Mobile_Robot

Fig.: This robot could take the pizza