AI Institutes Virtual Organization (AIVO): Expanding the Network

国家人工智能(AI)研究院计划是一项多机构和多部门的努力，旨在实施美国联邦政府的战略，以推动对与人工智能相关的机会和风险采取一致的方法。该项目于2019年启动，现在包括25个人工智能学院。每个研究所都是一项大规模的努力，涉及多个资助组织、许多研究专业人员和社区合作伙伴组成的网络，共同推动和应用人工智能知识和方法，并为人工智能研究基础设施和创新构建新平台。在这个项目中，人工智能研究所虚拟组织(AIVO)建立了一个社区中心活动，将这些单独的研究所连接成一个大于其各部分之和的网络网络。Aivo在该项目中的主要活动包括规划和主办各研究所的年度会议以进行知识交流，协调公众与各研究所及其工作的接触，以及在各研究所之间和与更广泛的研究界建立新的合作关系的一系列新方案。该项目下的九项相互关联的努力为形成社区和解决跨学院边界的主题创造了极好的条件。AIVO是一项由NSF资助、社区领导的活动，旨在在AI Institutes计划社区中进行协调、协作和社区建设。在这个项目中，Aivo将在九个相互关联的项目中扩大社区参与：1)规划和举办全计划领导会议，人工智能学院领导力峰会(SAIL 2023)；2)规划和开展与SAIL 2023共同设置的公共参与活动，向更广泛的社会展示人工智能研究所和探索新的合作；3)规划未来的此类领导力和公共参与会议；4)为Aivo网站开发和整合动态和协作功能，以提供研究所活动的现场查看，实施协作功能，并使研究所的项目和人员向公众开放；5)支持研究所发展新的国际合作的计划；6)主办研究所内的合作平台，以促进社区的发展；7)向研究所提供旅行援助赠款，以增加职业早期研究人员参加关键的人工智能会议；正规化并支持特殊兴趣小组(SIG)，以将来自不同研究所的人员围绕优先主题聚集在一起；以及9)开发和主办Aivo研讨会，以围绕共同感兴趣的主题建立研究所间社区。总而言之，这个虚拟组织的努力代表了一套强大的研究所支持计划和专业知识，以增强国家对人工智能的关键投资的影响，并通过不同的参与机制接触到更广泛的受众。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes program is a multi-agency and multi-sector effort implementing the U.S. federal government strategy to advance a cohesive approach to AI-related opportunities and risks. Launched in 2019, the program now includes 25 AI Institutes. Each Institute is a large-scale effort involving a network of multiple funded organizations, many research professionals, and community partners working together to advance and apply AI knowledge and methods and build new platforms for AI research infrastructure and innovation. In this project, the AI Institutes Virtual Organization (AIVO) builds a community hub activity that connects these individual Institutes into a network of networks that is greater than the sum of its parts. The key activities of AIVO in this project include the planning and hosting of annual meetings of the Institutes for knowledge exchange, coordination of public engagement with the Institutes and their work, and a range of new programs for building new collaborations among the Institutes and with the broader research community. The nine interrelated efforts under this project establish excellent conditions to form communities and address topics across Institute boundaries.AIVO is an NSF-funded, community-led activity for coordination, collaboration, and community building in the AI Institutes program community. In this project, AIVO will expand community engagement in nine interrelated projects: 1) planning and conducting the program-wide leadership conference, Summit for AI Institutes Leadership (SAIL 2023); 2) planning and conducting a public engagement event co-located with SAIL 2023 for the exposition of AI Institutes to broader society and the exploration of new collaborations; 3) planning for future such leadership and public engagement conferences; 4) development and integration of dynamic and collaborative features for the AIVO web site to deliver a live look at Institute activity, implement collaborative features, and make the projects and personnel of the Institutes accessible to the public; 5) a program to support Institutes in developing new international collaborations; 6) the hosting of intra-Institute collaboration platforms to facilitate community growth; 7) a program to provide travel assistance grants to Institutes to increase attendance of early-career researchers at key AI conferences; the formalization and support to special interest groups (SIGs) to bring together personnel from diverse institutes around priority topics; and 9) development and hosting of AIVO Workshops to build inter-institute community around common themes of interest. Together, the efforts of this virtual organization represent a robust suite of Institute support programs and expertise to enhance the impact of a key national investment in AI and reach a much wider audience through diverse engagement mechanisms.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.