General Information

Format

• The prize will be awarded on the basis of a 10-15 minute live demonstration (not a paper, not a technical description).
  
• The demonstration can be of either software (e.g. a question-answering system or a speech recognition system) or hardware (e.g. a mobile robot).
  
• Equipment may be used either standalone or in conjunction with telephone, satellite link, Internet link etc. as competitors prefer.
  
• The organisers will provide only a room with a PC plus projector and an Internet link.
  
• Competitors may provide any other equipment they require, at their own expense. The only restriction is that the demonstration has to be given in the specified location.
• The prize will be awarded to the demonstration that in the opinion of the judges best demonstrates 'progress towards an intelligent machine'.

Prize

A permanent trophy awarded for one year plus a cash prize.

Organisers

Prof. Max Bramer (for British Computer Society Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence, SGAI), Dr. John Gordon (for Applied Knowledge Research & Innovation limited, AKRI) and Richard Ellis.

Judges

All those attending the event will be eligible to vote for the winning entry in a secret ballot. The competitor receiving most votes will be the winner.

Eligibility

The competition is open to all. A maximum of 5 entries will be presented. To control numbers, these will be selected by the organisers on the basis of information provided by the entrants.

Background

During the after-dinner talk at one of our earlier conferences, Rick Magaldi from British Airways discussed the progress of Machine Intelligence in terms of the progress of human flight. Flight has been mastered in a way not yet paralleled by the emergence of machine intelligence. At one point Rick discussed one of the significant developments in the desire to fly as being when learned people started to confidently but usually disastrously, throw themselves off buildings. The consensus at the conference was that within AI, we have not really got to the stage where we are throwing ourselves off buildings. This is about to change. The SGAI (with AKRI) have decided to give people an opportunity to hurl themselves into the void, risking public ridicule and career stagnation to show what they have really achieved in the development of Machine Intelligence. This competition will put on show real systems working in real time. It is hoped that the competition and the competitors, over several years, will provide a new interest and visible improvements in the development of machine intelligence.

The competition will rely on people being open about developments, no matter how small these may appear. It will also serve as an opportunity to see what others can achieve and could prove a valuable source of ideas.

Guidelines for Entrants

Guidelines for those considering entering are given here (Word 2000 format).

Guidelines for Demonstrators

Please read the guidelines for Demonstrators which advise on the makeup of your demo.

Prize Presentation

The prize will be awarded after the event, following a short delay to allow for the counting of votes.

Rules

1. Entries must reflect genuine progress towards machine intelligence.
   
2. Entries must be demonstrated live at the conference.
   
3. Demonstrations may be physical systems brought to the conference or demonstrations over a live link to the conference. The responsibility for maintaining the link will be with the demonstrator.
   
4. Presentations may be preceded by a short introduction.
   
5. Presenters will not be allowed to disclose the AI or other technology used in the system but will be allowed to state what function or activity the system will perform during the demonstration.
   
6. Demonstrations must be carried out on a floor area no larger than 3m x 4m.
   
7. Commercial products are acceptable as entries as long as the demonstrators own the IPR to the system or have the permission of the owners to demonstrate it within the competition context.
   
8. A winning entry may not be entered in an unaltered state, for the same competition in later years.
   
9. Entries will be judged by those attending the demonstrations.
   
10. Presenters are responsible for the security and safety of their demonstrations. The organisers will however, try to assist in the provision of storage and set up areas for demonstrations.
    
11. The competition will run each year provided that 3 or more finalists of a suitable standard are available.
    
12. The SGAI and AKRI reserve the right to make changes to these rules.

Press Release

Press Release issued by Electrolux Group [original sponsors] to Launch Competition (Word 2000 format)

Further Information

Prof. Max Bramer (Chair, SGAI) email: max.bramer@port.ac.uk
Dr. John L. Gordon (Director, AKRI) email: jlg at akri dot org
Richard Ellis (Helyx) email: r.ellis@helyx.co.uk