[agents] Call for Papers: AISB 2017 Symposium on AI for Migrant Integration

[Virginia Dignum - TBM]

AISB 2017 Symposium on AI for Migrant Integration
https://ict2.tbm.tudelft.nl/wp/ai4migration/
Migrant integration is the process of economic mobility and social inclusion for newcomers and their children. As such, integration touches upon the institutions and mechanisms that promote development and growth within society. Europe is currently facing this challenge, mainly due to the explosion of the refugee crisis in 2015, which has increased the size of migration flows to Europe up to 1,300,000 people. At the same time, we are seeing an increase of anti-migrant feelings, as in the case of Brexit and the refugee referendum in Hungary. Together, this calls for better policies towards migrant integration and community building. Artificial Intelligence can play an important role on both understanding and managing the complexity of these issues.
Successful integration builds communities that are stronger economically and more inclusive socially and culturally. In Europe, active policies are encouraged to enforce integration at country, city and community level. Integration in its pure terms is the successful outcome of acculturation, defined as the dynamic, two-way process of mutual accommodation by all immigrants and receiving communities. However, current policies have many problems and are leading to misunderstandings and conflicts. In fact,  acculturation strategies can lead either to successful outcomes as mutual integration or assimilation of one culture to the other, or to increased separation between groups and marginalized individuals.
In particular, applications of AI methods and tools to the following topics are of interest:

-          Logistics: ensure quick reaction by arrival, efficient processing of applications, distribution between migration centres

-          Policy: understand the social dynamics that emerge from the refugee crisis, using (ABM) simulation models

-          Orientation: learn to know your new city - what is expected of you? what is where and what can you do there? What documents, products and services do you need, where to get them?

-          Language and culture: understand and be understood: basic language support, train language skills, engage with native speakers, translation, enhance social worker's multicultural competences

-          Social support: maintain contact with peers, learn to know your new neighbours, stay in touch with homeland contact - social networks support cross language interaction, security and privacy in contacts with homeland (censorship, persecution...)

-          Legal support: navigating migration laws, semi-automatic visa application.

-          Public opinion: how to manage the public debate on migrant integration in such a way that we can increase awareness and empathy while at the same time avoiding polarization?
The overall aim it to explore the ways in which AI approaches and tools can be used to better understanding of the issues behind these problems, and can be employed to support better solutions. The workshop consists of three parts:

1.       Paper presentations on applications of AI to migrant integration and refugee support

2.       Invited speakers from academia and practice, presenting different views and approaches to integration and refugee issues

3.       a hands-on hackathon where teams of researchers and practitioners will work together on solutions to concrete cases.
Papers reporting on work on the topics above, applying the following (not exhaustive) AI methods and tools to these topics are encouraged for part 1. Envisioned AI methods and tools include:

-          agent-based simulation,

-          machine learning,

-          semantic web and big data,

-          social networks,

-          persuasive technologies and intelligent virtual characters,

-          normative and legal systems,

-          decision-support systems.

Important dates

*         Paper submission: 15 January 2017

*         Notifications: 20 February 2017

*         Final version of accepted papers: 10 March 2017

*         Symposium: 2 days between 19th-21st April 2017 (to be confirmed)

Submissions must have a maximum of eight (8) pages, including notes and references, and follow the guidelines provided by AISB. Papers must be submitted via Easychair.
More information on submission: https://ict2.tbm.tudelft.nl/wp/ai4migration/submission/

Hackathon
In parallel, we are seeking projects for the hackathon. These should be concrete cases, for which an AI-related solution will be developed during the workshop. We encourage NGO's, city councils and communities, and any other interest, to propose cases for the hackathon. Cases should be proposed by email to Virginia Dignum (m.v.dignum at tudelft.nl<mailto:m.v.dignum at tudelft.nl>), after which, we will get in contact with you for further elaboration of the ideas.
Registration for the hackathon is available to teams through the workshop website. More information will be soon made available.