For Immediate Release
AAAI Changes Name to Reflect Its International Nature
March 1, 2007
8:00 AM Pacific Time
Menlo Park, Calif.
Effective immediately, the new name for the American Association for Artificial Intelligence is the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. The acronym AAAI remains the same.
“AAAI’s original name no longer reflects our dual roles — national and international—in the global AI community,” explains AAAI President Alan Mackworth. “Our membership has strong international representation. The same is true of the contributors to, and attendees of, AAAI-sponsored conferences, symposia, tutorials and workshops.
“Beyond the annual conferences held in North America, much of AAAI’s mission, activities and membership,” says Mackworth, “are not well-characterized by the label ÔAmerican.’ As AAAI embarks on its second quarter century, the leadership and membership of the organization has approved this name change to reflect current reality in our increasingly global scientific environment.
“The membership at large shares our enthusiasm for this exciting new face for AAAI,” concludes Mackworth. “So I am delighted to report that, effective March 1, 2007, AAAI is now the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.”
During this process, AAAI has consulted with many of its sibling AI societies throughout the world. There are no plans to change the scope or location of AAAI’s activities as a consequence of the name change.
About AAAI
Founded in 1979, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (formerly the American Association for Artificial Intelligence) (www.aaai.org) is a nonprofit scientific membership society devoted to advancing the science and practice of AI. Its mission is to: (1) advance the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying intelligent thought and behavior, (2) facilitate their embodiment in machines, (3) serve as an information resource for research planners and the general public concerning trends in AI, and (4) offer training for the current and coming generations of AI researchers and practitioners. The Association sponsors an annual conference, highly regarded in the AI field, since 1980.
# # #
AAAI Media Contact
(for press inquiries only)
Meredith Ellison
AAAI
1900 Embarcadero Road, Suite 101
Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA
aaai-exec-director@aaai.org