Special interest groups


The Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (JSAI) is currently made up of 23 special interest groups (SIGs) classified as Type 1,2 or 3.
Type 1 SIGs focus on a specific field of research, and enable reporting of research by members for mutual study. These groups are distinguished by the fact that research conference materials are distributed in book form.
In Type 2 SIGs, autonomous activities are carried out by the SIG organizer to enable flexible response to rapid progress in the field of research.
Type 3 SIGs are goal-oriented and time-limited, and at present in FY2020 there are no such SIGs.

Each of these 23 SIGs holds research meetings 2-4 times a year, either alone, in collaboration with other academic societies, or at joint research conferences.
Also, some SIGs hold their own seminars or workshops. Among these meetings, joint research conferences are the most important as well as the annual conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence. Many SIGs participate in these events, and they have been held every year since 2011.

To recognize SIG activities, the JSAI selects papers to receive the JSAI Incentive Award every year. The number of recipients of this award shall represent 5% of papers presented at all SIGs in the year. The process involves first selecting candidates from each SIG. Then the SIG steering committee and board of directors discuss the transparency of the selection process and the validity of its details, and determine the winners. Time is taken and each candidate is carefully considered.
Aside from this, some SIGs offer awards with a view to developing younger researchers, etc.
SIG activities are an important part of our society’s overall activities.


Special interest group (Type 1)

FPAI:Special Interest Group on Fundamental Problems in Artificial Intelligence
Website (in Japanese)
The Special Interest Group on Fundamental Problems in Artificial Intelligence (SIG-FPAI) carries out research activities on problems relating to the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on basic research in areas such as search, knowledge representation and reasoning, logic and symbol processing, constraint satisfaction and constraint optimization, combinatorial problems and discrete structures, planning/scheduling/routing, machine learning and pattern recognition. Another focus is problem-specific techniques for language, vision, and the web. The group solicits a wide range of research reports relating to AI, in areas such as recent technical problems, and practical research for science, society and industry.
KBS:Special Interest Group on Knowledge-Based System
Website (in Japanese)
The Special Interest Group on Knowledge-Based Systems (SIG-KBS) was launched in 1987, and is one of the most traditional SIGs of the JSAI. Its focus is technologies and applications relating to knowledge, one of the core elements of artificial intelligence. More specifically, the group offers workshops for research activities and presentation in areas such as: knowledge discovery techniques, typified by inductive learning, deep learning, and data mining; knowledge representation techniques including concept bases, knowledge graphs, reasoning, representation learning and so on; and knowledge application techniques such as social network analysis, information recommendation, and natural language processing.
SLUD:Spoken Language Understanding and Dialogue Processing
Website (in Japanese)
The Special Interest Group on Spoken Language Understanding and Dialogue Processing (SIG-SLUD) started out in 1992. It addresses a wide range of topics, from basic research on language, speech and dialogue, to research on algorithms and applied systems relating to speech processing, language processing, and dialogue processing. Researchers participate from various fields in both the humanities and sciences—not only informatics and engineering, but also linguistics, psychology, and sociology (conversation analysis)—thus realizing a forum for lively discussions. The hope is that these discussions will yield not only academic contributions, but also practical, social contributions.
ALST:Special Interest Group on Advanced Learning Science and Technology
Website (in Japanese)
Learning is one of the most intelligent activities of human beings.
The Special Interest Group on Advanced Learning Science and Technology (SIG-ALST) sees promoting and supporting this intelligent human activity of learning as an important and interesting research topic in artificial intelligence. The group provides a forum for diverse research reports, debates, and researcher interaction relating to human learning, with a focus on modeling and systematization.
The purpose of the SIG-ALST is to achieve integrated development of new fields highlighting human learning, with the aim of uncovering the essential importance of learning itself, and achieving results with a high degree of novelty and originality.

Special interest group (Type 2)

Challenge:Special Interest Group on AI Challenges
Website (in Japanese)
The Special Interest Group on AI Challenges (SIG-Challenge) aims to establish artificial intelligence technology enabling real-time operation in actual environments. Discussions within the group focus on two themes: “the RoboCup”, and “robot audition & computational auditory scene analysis.” For the RoboCup, the focus is artificial intelligence technology used in the RoboCup competition, and for robot audition, the focus is technology enabling robots to distinguish sounds with their own “ears.” There are research reports and discussions relating to a wide range of artificial intelligence topics, from the fundamentals to applications.
LSE:Special Interest Group on Language Sense Processing Engineering
Website (in Japanese)
“The Special Interest Group on Language Sense Processing Engineering (SIG-LSE) is devoted primarily to the semantic and sensory/sensibility aspects of language. This is called engineering, but productive development will likely be achieved through collaboration with non-engineering fields—studies involving not only domains that have previously formed deep ties with AI such as psychology and sociology, but also comparatively remote areas such as literature and art. Conversely, by taking language as a subject, it may be possible to exploit knowledge in fields with a tenuous connection to engineering.
This group tries to cultivate knowledge for pioneering a new era by focusing on language, and striving for interdisciplinary contact/collaboration over a wide range from science/engineering to literature/art.”
CSE:Special Interest Group on CommonSense and Emotion
Website (in Japanese)
The Special Interest Group on Commonsense and Emotion (SIG-CSE) aims to deepen and expand artificial intelligence research by modeling natural intelligence (common sense). It also strives to promote AI research useful for solving social problems, with dementia at the head of the list. Since the group was started in 2006, it has tackled a diverse range of themes, including bullying, developmental disorders, and child-rearing troubles; adult ADHD and Asperger syndrome; behavioral and psychological symptoms of elderly people with dementia; emotional troubles in child-rearing and care settings; abuse, depression, and loss of identity by the elderly. The group has held many discussions on using computers to handle the complex, vast realm of common sense and create value in real-world settings from a human-centered perspective. These discussions are structured around invited talks by leading researchers and businesspeople in a wide range of fields. Videos of research meetings are available for viewing by registered members only. Those who are interested can register at http://sig-cse.jp.
SKL:Special Interest Group of Skill Science
Website (in Japanese)
Embodied knowledge is defined as the ability which allows people to perform dexterous movements. Examples where embodied knowledge is at work include: superior instrumental performances and singing, sports, dance, operation of complex equipment, and surgery. Embodied knowledge is not just motor function; special senses and perception are involved, and effects due to the environment are also significant. The purpose of this group is to elucidate embodied knowledge by investigating the skillful movements of people, and the factors which contribute to them.
NAC:Special Interest Group on Natural Computing
Website (in Japanese)
Natural computing is research area investigating all sorts of natural phenomena from the perspective of computation. The scope of this research is very broad and includes not only carrying out desired computations by skillfully using natural phenomena, but also interpreting natural phenomena as computational processes, and devising algorithms imitating natural phenomena. Quantum computing and evolutionary computing are also fields within natural computing. Pursuing computational models that are still enigmatic is the true charm of natural computation.
MBI:Special Interest Group on Molecular Biology Informatics
Website (in Japanese)
Activity ended in March 2020.
SAI:Special Interest Group on Society and Artificial Intelligence
Website (in Japanese)
In recent years, there have been numerous cases of applying, or planning to apply, AI technologies to real-world society. The theme of meetings of the Special Interest Group on Society and Artificial Intelligence (SIG-SAI) is research on applied techniques and their evaluation when applying the results of research in AI fields to actual society. By sharing knowledge such as the social effects of research results, and issues that have been overcome, the aim is to promote accurate application of research results to society, and contribute from an interdisciplinary perspective to improvement of the safety of society and the convenience of daily life.
FIN:Special Interest Group on Financial Informatics
Website (in Japanese)
Recently, there have been growing expectations that techniques from the field of artificial intelligence will be applicable in various settings in financial markets. Particularly promising areas include: technology for supporting investment decisions by analyzing vast amounts of financial information, technology for designing appropriate market institutions through an understanding of market characteristics, and technology for applying market mechanisms to social phenomena other than financial markets. In this special interest group, the focus is on a wide range of research topics relating to financial markets, from basics to applications, and the aim is to expand use of artificial intelligence technology in financial markets.
KST:Special Interest Group on Knowledge and Skills Transfer
Website (in Japanese)
Industrial products and the key infrastructure of society are becoming more sophisticated and complex due to greater penetration of information technology. These facilities function as integrated systems, but for safe and efficient operation, there is a need for knowledge of technology, organization, and policy, accumulation of experience, and rational decision-making on that basis. In this special interest group, the subjects of research include techniques for transmission and accumulation of knowledge and technology within an organization, methodologies for effectively using the transmitted knowledge in decision-making, and related topics.
KSN:Special Interest Group on Knowledge Sharing Network
Website (in Japanese)
With the rapid progress of digitalization of communication in society and companies, there has also been digitalization of the content of communication. In digitalized communication, there is a need to use knowledge information processing technology to support human intellectual creation and acts of decision-making. This special interest group shares information on issues such as what effect digitalization of communication has on knowledge distribution, and what sort of efforts are necessary to further promote knowledge distribution.
SWO:Special Interest Group on Semantic Web and Ontology
Website (in Japanese)
With a focus on the semantic web and ontology, this group is engaged in wide-ranging discussions, from basic studies to practical applications, centered on technology for structuring, systematization, and utilization to enable appropriate processing of the meaning (semantics) of knowledge with a computer. In recent years, structured knowledge data (linked data or knowledge graphs) has attracted considerable interest, but there is an increasing need for ontology, in areas such as integration of different knowledge resources, and derivation of new knowledge by applying reasoning. Efforts are also being made to expand the scope of this group through interaction with other SIGs and peripheral domains, so please feel free to participate.
DOCMAS:Special Interest Group on Data Oriented Constructive Mining and Simulation
Website (in Japanese)
In order to understand large-scale, diverse, complex systems, such as the brain, social systems, the Internet, and the World Wide Web, it is not enough to mine knowledge from the ore veins of conventional data. There is a need for a new constructive mining process, in which an existing vein is taken as a starting point, and mining is done while creating a new vein, or a new vein is created while mining it. Thus, the aim is to form a research community for promoting research integrating the main technical fields of AI research, i.e., simulation and application of data mining, and establish conditions where high-level academic papers relating to the pertinent domains are steadily produced.
BI:Special Interest Group on Business Informatics
Website (in Japanese)
In recent years, there has been remarkable development of artificial intelligence research in the field of management, and efforts to address various management issues are making progress. In this special interest group, the key phrase is “business informatics,” i.e., intelligent information technology relating to management, and efforts are being made in research to identify issues to be tackled with artificial intelligence in the field of management.
ALIFE:Special Interest Group on Artificial Life Japan
Website
SIG-Alife is a type II academic society part of the Japanese Society of Artificial Life, which aims to promote and support the research of artificial life in Japan.
Our activities include the organization of academic seminars, promoting national and international networking of alife researchers, curating alife research, and organizing public outreach activities.
Although most of our activities take place in the Japanese language, we are happy to answer queries from interested people all over the world.
AIMED:Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Website (in Japanese)
The Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (SIG-AIMED) was established to make artificial intelligence the information infrastructure of medical care. Its purpose is to bring together artificial intelligence researchers, medical/healthcare researchers, and medical staff, and deepen interaction between the two sides through pursuit of research and basic technology applications for artificial intelligence in medicine and healthcare (e.g., machine learning, data mining, natural language processing, ontology/knowledge representation, and knowledge acquisition in medicine/healthcare).
AM:Special Interest Group on Interactive Information Access and Visual Mining
Website (in Japanese)
The Special Interest Group on Interactive Information Access and Visual Mining (SIG-AM) is a forum for reporting and discussion of various technologies and research relating to information access and mining. The group addresses a wide range of topics including: organic use of verbal information (text, etc.) and non-verbal information (visual information such as graphs or graphics) in interactive, exploratory information access; knowledge emergence in which new knowledge is discovered and created from data to serve as a basis for decision-making; and interface construction and information visualization for realizing richer interaction between humans and machines.
CCI:Special Interest Group on Crowd Co-creative Intelligence
Website (in Japanese)
Special Interest Group on Crowd Co-creative Intelligence (SIG-CCI) has been providing participatory opportunities for co-creation between researchers and citizens from regional communities. The mixture of researchers’ AI technologies and citizens’ social needs gives birth to co-creative research projects through an interactive ideation session in the semiannual conferences. Moreover, a social media system for archiving co-creation projects has been developed towards sharing co-creative methodologies in inter-regional and inter-organizational communities. SIG-CCI covers the following topics: crowd intelligence, civic tech, consensus building, multi-agent systems, sharing economy, open science, open innovation, open data, open government, online communities, co-creation between academia and citizens, etc.
AGI:Special Interest Group on Artificial General Intelligence
Website (in Japanese)
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is artificial intelligence with sufficiently wide scope of applicability and powerful general abilities, like human intelligence. By leveraging opportunities such as recent progress in deep learning technology, the feasibility of AGI has grown, and research activities are expanding all over the world. In the medium/long-term, major innovations are expected, and responding to impacts on society from the technical side has become an important area of research. The Special Interest Group on Artificial General Intelligence (SIG-AGI) addresses all aspects of this topic, from technology for artificial general intelligence, to its impacts on society.
MEI:Special Interest Group on Measurement Informatics
Website (in Japanese)
The purpose of this special interest group is to provide a forum for researchers and technologists from industry, government, and academia to report and debate each other’s research results. Research topics cover a wide range, from fundamentals to applications of theory, techniques, and technologies. The focus is principles of estimation, measurement, control, and data structures / algorithms for a variety of objects, such as cutting-edge measurement oriented information, physics, science, and biology, and state-of-the-art measurement devices/equipment, edge computing devices/architectures, and information processing using those principles.
TBC:Special Interest Group of Triggers for Behavior Change
Website (in Japanese)
Activity ended in March 2022.
SEC:Special Interest Group on Safety and Security
Website (in Japanese)
In recent years, many products and services using AI technology have permerated our daily life and AI decision-making has an impact on our living society and many industries. With the gradual exclusion of humans from AI autonomous decision-making, there is a growing need to consider AI security as a design principle. This special interest group aims to broadly explore new ideas and deepen research on AI safety and security, including malfunctions, attacks, defenses, tracking, and analysis.

Special interest group (Type 3)