Information processing and the management of uncertainty

Abstract

The First International Conference on Information Processing and the Management of Uncertainty (IPMU) was held in 1986 at a time of great debate about the necessity of modelling uncertainty in intelligent systems (which at that time largely meant rule-based expert systems) and the best way of doing so. Whereas the founders of the Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence (UAI) in the United States set out with the aim of promoting the use of probability, the organisers of IPMU chose a diametrically opposed course. Though there were a few papers on probability at IPMU '86, the main focus was on alternative methods, primarily those based upon fuzzy sets. Though subsequent conferences have seen greater mix of papers, IPMU remains largely non-probabilistic with the result that the bulk of the participants come from Europe rather than the United States (despite the large amount of work on uncertainty, and especially probability, that is carried out in the US) making IPMU something of a counterpoint to UAT. The difference in participation is exacerbated by the location—whilst the UAI remains in North America, IPMU alternates between Paris and other cities in Europe, including Urbino in 1988 and Palma in 1992.