AI + HADR 2020

Artificial Intelligence for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Workshop

December 12, 2020 @ NeurIPS 2020 (Virtual)

Humanitarian crises from disease outbreak to war to oppression against disadvantaged groups have threatened people and their communities throughout history. Natural disasters are a single, extreme example of such crises. In the wake of hurricanes, earthquakes, and other such crises, people have ceaselessly sought ways--often harnessing innovation--to provide assistance to victims after disasters have struck.

Through this workshop, we intend to establish meaningful dialogue between the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) communities. By the end of the workshop, the NeurIPS research community can learn the practical challenges of aiding those in crisis, while the HADR community can get to know the state of art and practice in AI. We seek to establish a pipeline of transitioning the research created by the NeurIPS community to real-world humanitarian issues. We believe such an endeavor is possible due to recent successes in applying techniques from various AI and Machine Learning (ML) disciplines to HADR.

Organizers

  • Ritwik Gupta, Carnegie Mellon University

    • Primary contact, email: [rgupta] at [sei] dot [cmu] dot [edu]

  • Dr. Robin Murphy, Texas A&M Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue

  • Mike Laielli, UC Berkeley, Berkeley AI Research

  • Dr. Eric Heim, Carnegie Mellon University

  • Dr. Zhangyang Wang, University of Texas, Austin

  • Bryce Goodman, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Defense Innovation Unit

  • Dr. Nirav Patel, Defense Innovation Unit

  • Dr. Piotr Biliński, University of Warsaw and Oxford University

  • Edoardo Nemni, United Nations Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT)

Reviewers

  • Cecilia Utas, UK aid funded programme implemented by Palladium on behalf of FCDO

  • David Fallows, UK aid funded programme implemented by Palladium on behalf of FCDO

  • Davide Coluccia, United Nations Operational Satellite Application Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT)

  • Edoardo Nemni, United Nations Operational Satellite Application Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT)

  • Eric Heim, Carnegie Mellon University

  • Jared Dunnmon, Stanford University

  • Joseph Bullock, UN Global Pulse

  • Joseph Xu, Google Inc.

  • Junru Wu, Texas A&M University

  • Lars Bromley, United Nations Operational Satellite Application Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT)

  • Laurel Orr, Stanford University

  • Luca Dell'Oro, United Nations Operational Satellite Application Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT)

  • Neel Guha, Stanford University

  • Nimit Sohoni, Stanford University

  • Nirav Patel, Defense Innovation Unit

  • Ritwik Gupta, Carnegie Mellon University

  • Sami Tabbara, United Nations Operational Satellite Application Programme (UNITAR-UNOSAT)

  • Sarah Hooper, Stanford University

  • Sofia Vallecorsa, CERN

  • Stephen Bach, Brown University

  • Zhenyu Wu, Texas A&M University

  • Zhiwen Fan, Xiamen University

Diversity Commitment

Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief is at its core an inclusive endeavor, caring for people of all walks of life, ages, genders, ethnicities, and creeds, in locations around the globe. Because of this, it's critical for the success of AI for HADR to include representatives with varied expertise, backgrounds, and points of view. It's the intersection and inclusion of these unique perspectives that will allow AI for HADR to save lives around the world. Our speaker lineup represents this diversity of thought and expertise.