NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/comp/ai/4959

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-21 | 3.2 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Jordan B Pollack)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Anonymous Schmemonymous (Was IJCAI Reviewing)
Date: 21 Jan 1993 18:14:33 -0500
Organization: Ohio State Computer Science
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In-reply-to: [e-mail]'s message of Sun, 17 Jan 1993 21:55:15 GMT

I agree with Tim Finin that a little less seriousness is called for!

This discussion over the syntax of reviewing ignores the real problem
for IJCAI and AAAI, which is that their "significance" is quite at
odds with short and shallow reviewing cycles.

The importance with which we take publication decisions for AI
conferences is phenomenal, as if it would have some effect on the
careers of the scientists involved! Because of an early dearth of
refereed journals in the field, many people have come to believe, and
stake their career on, the idea that rapid publication of notes in the
conferences should count as much as archival journal articles.
Perhaps a long time ago a vita composed of AAAI and IJCAI publications
meant something, but not anymore.

Besides, in pursuit of excellence, novelty and creativity can be
washed out of conferences, which get populated with minor increments
over last year's work by respected names in the field. Those excluded
then start their own conferences on excluded AI subfields like "Fuzzy
Logic" and "Genetic Algorithms" which can ultimately compete for
funding and media coverage, and their successes can be seen as a loss
to the field rather than a win.

It is certainly fun to get a grant- or dept-sponsored trip to make a
public presentation AND hang out with friends and BESIDES to have the
event count strongly (as opposed to weakly) for tenure and promotion!
But after 40 years it comes time to realize that AIJ isn't a quarterly
logic rag anymore, and we have NC, CI, AJCL, MLJ, CogSci, ConnSci,
JETAI, AIR, JLS, and so on (I can expand the acronyms if anyone
requests) some of whom ACHE for the quality of papers people routinely
throw away at these conferences.

I move that starting, say, in 1995 we communally agree that the AI
conferences won't count as major publications anymore, and in order to
make it happen we drastically INCREASE their rate of acceptance to
50%, perhaps by getting rid of double reviews and resolution
committees, thus lowering the perceived quality and importance of a
citation there by the year 2000.

Jordan Pollack                            Assistant Professor
CIS Dept/OSU                              Laboratory for AI Research
2036 Neil Ave                             Email: [e-mail]
Columbus, OH 43210                        Phone: [phone] (then * to fax)


--
Jordan Pollack                            Assistant Professor
CIS Dept/OSU                              Laboratory for AI Research
2036 Neil Ave                             Email: [e-mail]
Columbus, OH 43210                        Phone: [phone] (then * to fax)