AWARD FOR AI RESEARCHERS

Applicants should use the IRCAI electronic submission system to submit their proposal.  The deadline for electronic submissions is extended to 20 December 2023.

The International Research Centre in Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO is launching an AI Award for individuals who have dedicated their work to solving problems related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by means of the application of Artificial Intelligence.

The IRCAI Award is an award that will highlight the valuable work of individual researchers, developers or educators, who have shown results and demonstrated impact from the application of AI to address any of the seventeen UN SDGs. It is presented annually to someone who has made a significant contribution (technical, or policy and practice, or research and development) to the AI and SDG community.

This years award will be presented in December 2023 and is accompanied by a financial prize plus travel expenses to an inaugural event in either Paris, France or Ljubljana, Slovenia.

We strongly encourage nominations from across all UNESCO regions Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Equally, we strongly encourage nominations from all backgrounds: research, academia, industry, policy, civil society, etc., as IRCAI is committed to promoting equal opportunities and believe that all applicants are entitled to equality of opportunity regardless of their sex, race, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status or age.

General Questions (these may not apply to all candidates):

• Tell us why your AI work can ensure the best outcome for solving a particular Sustainable Development problem. Expect to mention originality and initiative..
• How and when will one be able to measure the significance of the impact of your work on society?
• What difference would be receiving the AI Award from IRCAI make to you?

After the nomination window closes on 30 November 2023, nominations will be sent to the relevant IRCAI Programme Committees for initial sifting. The panels will each review, categorize and shortlist nominations to go forward into the final list. Interviews will be held in December 2023 and the results will be announced in late December 2023. The awardee will be invited to deliver a lecture at the IRCAI press conference in Paris, France or Ljubljana, Slovenia in January 2024, in the presence of representatives from all UNESCO Member States!

Submission period: 4 July 2023 – 30 November 2023
Shortlist: by end of December 2023

Report announcement: Decision letters will be sent out approximately three weeks after the submission deadline.
Report ceremony: An event will be held in January 2024.

• Potential applicants should send their questions to info@ircai.org
• The email subject should be “IRCAI AI Award”. Only questions sent to this mailbox will be answered. Answers will be published periodically and within a reasonable period of time on the IRCAI webpage. The deadline for submitting questions related to this call is 24 November 2023.
• We expect to inform applicants of the results of the evaluation within 3 weeks of the submission deadline.

This call is being organized by IRCAI in close collaboration with Knowledge 4 All Foundation, UNESCO Chair in Artificial Intelligence (University College London, UK).