Workshop on Planning in the Era of LLMs (LM4Plan @ AAAI 2025)

User: What are 10 steps that I should take towards planning a conference workshop on 'Planning in the Era of Large Language Models'?
GPT4: Organizing a conference workshop on "Planning in the Era of Large Language Models" is an exciting endeavor. The topic is increasingly relevant, and there's a lot to consider both in terms of content and logistics. Here's a 10-step plan to get you started:

Step 1: Clearly Define Objectives and Scope
Start by identifying the objectives you want the workshop to achieve. Is it an academic forum, a practical skills-building workshop, or a networking event? The scope could range from ethical considerations to technical aspects, or could encompass all of these.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience
Who would benefit the most from your workshop? Academics, industry professionals, or students? The audience you target will inform many of your subsequent decisions, from speakers to the types of activities and presentations.

Step 3: Assemble a Team
Organizing a workshop is a complex task that usually requires a team. This may include co-chairs, volunteers, and administrative support. You'll need people to handle logistics, outreach, content creation, and day-of-event activities.

Step 4: Secure Funding and Sponsorships
The financial aspect is critical. You'll need to prepare a budget that includes venue costs, speakers' fees (if applicable), catering, equipment rentals, and marketing. Sponsorships can help cover some of these costs and add credibility to your event.

Step 5: Decide on a Date and Location
Choose a date that doesn't conflict with other major events in the same field. The location should be convenient for your target audience. Due to the global relevance of large language models, consider also offering a virtual participation option.

Step 6: Call for Speakers and Topics
Put out a call for papers or speakers, depending on the format of your workshop. You may also personally invite key figures in the field. Decide on the type of content you want (e.g., lectures, panel discussions, hands-on sessions).

Step 7: Promote the Event
Use social media, academic journals, and community outreach to promote the event. You could also partner with universities, companies, and online forums to get the word out.

Step 8: Review Submissions and Confirm Speakers
If you've called for papers or speaker proposals, you'll need a review process. This may involve peer reviews or an advisory committee. Confirm your speakers well in advance and provide them with any logistical information they may need.

Step 9: Logistics and Rehearsal
Prepare all the logistical details such as registration, badges, technical setup, and any workshop materials. If possible, do a dry run a day before the workshop to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Step 10: Conduct the Workshop and Collect Feedback
On the day of the event, make sure you have a team to manage different aspects, from registration to managing Q&A sessions. After the event, send out surveys to collect feedback for future improvements.

Remember to document the proceedings and share them with participants afterward, and perhaps consider publishing a summary or report to reach a wider audience and contribute to the field.

Call for Papers

Overview

Large Language Models (LLMs) are a disruptive force, changing how research was done in many sub-areas of AI. Planning is one of the last bastions that remain standing. The focus of this workshop is on the questions in the intersection of these areas. Some of the specific areas we would like to gain a better understanding in include: what LLMs can contribute to planning, how LLMs can/should be used, what are the pitfalls of using LLMs, what are the guarantees that can be obtained.

Workshop Topics

We are welcoming paper submissions on the following topics:

  • Planning directly with pre-trained or fine-tuned LLMs.
  • LLMs for (partial) model elicitation.
  • LLMs for search guidance or search pruning.
  • Validation/verification of plans, policies, or models.
  • Generalization in planning with LLMs.
  • Planning for LLMs.
  • Using LLMs to develop interfaces for planning-based systems.
  • Using LLMs as a proxy for user preferences.
  • Validation/verification of plans, policies, or models.
  • Generalization in planning and generalized planning with LLMs.
  • Using LLMs to develop interfaces for planning-related problems.
  • Other applications of LLMs in planning.
  • Other applications of large vision-language models (VLMs) in planning.
  • Planning for LLMs and VLMs.

Important Dates

Paper submission deadline: November 21th, 2024, AoE
Paper acceptance notification: December 11th, 2024, AoE

AAAI will be in-person this year. Authors of accepted workshop papers are expected to register for the workshop, physically attend the conference and present in person.

Submission Details

We solicit workshop paper submissions relevant to the above call of the following types:

Long papers – up to 8 pages + unlimited references / appendices Short papers – up to 4 pages + unlimited references / appendices

Please format submissions in AAAI style (see instructions in the Author Kit ). Authors submitting papers rejected from other conferences, please ensure you do your utmost to address the comments given by the reviewers. Please do not submit papers that are already accepted for the main AAAI conference to the workshop. The review process will be single blind (so please include author details), however we will allow for anonymized submissions if the paper is currently under review at some other venue.

Some accepted long papers will be invited for contributed talks. All accepted papers (long as well as short) will be given a slot in the poster presentation session.

Paper submissions should be made through OpenReview.

Organizing Committee
Sarath Sreedharan, Colorado State University
Jiayuan Mao, MIT
Wenlong Huang, Stanford
Michael Katz, IBM Research
Subbarao Kambhampati, Arizona State University

Please send your inquiries to llmforplanning@gmail.com