Some migrants coming to the UK will need to speak English to an A-level standard under tougher new rules set to be introduced by the government. Applicants will be tested in person on their speaking, listening, reading and writing at Home Office-approved providers, with their results checked as part of the visa process. The changes, which come into force from 8 January 2026, form part of wider plans to cut levels of immigration to the UK outlined in a white paper in May. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: If you come to this country, you must learn our language and play your part. Those applying for skilled worker, scale-up and high potential individual (HPI) visas will be required to reach B2 level - a step up from the current B1 standard which is equivalent to GCSE.

The UK is setting the stage for its future Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulatory model. Much like the EU, it suggests adopting a risk-based approach but will differ from the bloc by entrusting enforcement to a panel of regulators. The British government presented its "pro-innovation approach to regulating AI" on Monday (18 July) alongside its new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. It follows the presentation of the National AI Strategy last September, a ten-year plan to ensure the UK becomes a global AI superpower. The country has invested more than £2.3 billion (€2.7 billion) in AI since 2014.

The Atw office at 445 Burgess, Drive has been in operation for over a year; it has taken over responsibility for membership and the N Magazine, as well as continuing its management of conferences, tutorials, and exhibit, programs. The AAAI is financially solvent; asset,s of over $100,000 are projected for the end of the year; the organization is working toward a backup equivalent to one-year's expenses. Given a stable financial status, the AAAI can begin to explore other things to do with its resources (See next column for a statement summarizing AAAI finances as of 30 November.) John McCarthy will be President-Elect for 1982-1983; Saul Amarel, Michael Genescrcth, Peter Hart, and Raj Reddy, will serve on the Council for the period 1982-1985; Stan Rosenschein will complete McCarthy's term on the Council for 1982-1983. The membership is getting close to 2000; there were 1720 members listed before the conference, 160 of which were foreign; conference registrations should add 100-150.

I would like to add my support to Lawrence Hunter's proposal to modify the review process for the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (NCAI). For some time now, I, too, have been disappointed with the majority of papers presented at NCAI-not with the quality of the papers but with the conservative style. I would leave a paper session thinking that AI is progressing but at a painstakingly slow pace! Someone, somewhere must be doing some really innovative research, but why isn't he or she presenting this work at the premier AI conference? Allowing controversial papers but maintaining the quality criteria is a needed improvement for NCAI and AI in general.

Births are always interesting affairs. According to some, births are always traumatic-a shock to come from the womb to the world. The birth we give witness to here is that of a new society, the American Association for Artificial Intelligence-AAAI. It has not seemed to me traumatic, but rather almost wholly benign. In a world where not much is benign at the moment, such an event is devoutly to be cherished.

This honor was announced at the recent AAAI-16 Conference in Phoenix. Senior Member status is designed to recognize AAAI members who have achieved significant accomplishments within the field of artificial intelligence. To be eligible for nomination for Senior Member, candidates must be consecutive members of AAAI for at least five years and have been active in the professional arena for at least ten years. Tom Dietterich, AAAI President, Manuela Veloso, AAAI Past President and Awards Committee Chair, and Rao Kambhampati, AAAI President-Elect, presented the AAAI Awards in February at AAAI-16 in Phoenix. The 2016 AAAI Classic Paper Award was given to the authors of the two papers deemed most influential from the Fifteenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, held in 1998 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

The Thirtieth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-16) and the Twenty-Eighth Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-16) will be held February 12-17 at the Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Phoenix is the gateway to the Grand Canyon, and its history is a testament to the spirit of puebloans, ranchers, miners, and visionaries. Nearby Tempe is the site of Arizona State University, home of a leading AI research community. For local information, please visit the Phoenix Visitors site at www.visitphoenix.com. AAAI-16 Registration is now available at aaai.org/aaai16, and online registration can be completed at regonline.

Each year a small number of fellows are recognized for their unusual distinction in the profession and for their sustained contributions to the field for a decade or more. An official dinner and ceremony was held in their honor during AAAI-15 in Austin, Texas. The honorees for 2015 were as follows. Rama Chellappa (University of Maryland) For significant contributions to Markov random fields, 3D recovery from single and mutiple images and image/video-based recognition Marco Dorigo (Université Libre de Bruxelles) For seminal contributions to the foundations of swarm intelligence, including ant colony optimization and swarm robotics Holger H. Hoos (University of British Columbia) For significant contributions to the field of automated reasoning and the development of widely used methods for algorithm selection and configuration Adele E. Howe (Colorado State University) For significant contributions to the theory, practice and evaluation of automated planning, scheduling and other AI technologies, as well as service to the AI community Thorsten Joachims (Cornell University) For significant contributions to the theory and practice of machine learning and information retrieval AAAI announced its new class of AAAI Senior Members at the recent AAAI-15 Conference in Austin. Senior Member status is designed to recognize AAAI members who have achieved significant accomplishments within the field of artificial intelligence.

Please Join Us for AAAI / IAAI 2013 in Bellevue, Washington! The Twenty-Seventh AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-13) will be held July 14-18, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The Twenty-Fifth Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-13) will be collocated with AAAI-13, and will be held July 16-18 (see www.aaai.org/ The AAAI program cochairs for 2013, Marie desJardins (University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA) and Michael Littman (Brown University, USA) will continue the innovations introduced during the past several years of the conference, including the four special technical tracks and the AI Subarea Spotlight track. An overview of the special tracks is included below.

AAAI announced its new class of AAAI Senior Members at the recent AAAI-12 Conference in Toronto. Senior Member status is designed to recognize AAAI members who have achieved significant accomplishments within the field of artificial intelligence. To be eligible for nomination for Senior Member, candidates must be consecutive members of AAAI for at least five years and have been active in the professional arena for at least ten years. Manuela Veloso, incoming AAAI President, and Eric Horvitz, AAAI Past President and Awards Committee Chair, presented the AAAI Awards in August at AAAI-12 in Toronto. The 2012 AAAI Distinguished Service Award recognizes one individual for extraordinary service to the AI community.