Draft:The French Artificial Intelligence Association

The Association française pour l'intelligence artificielle, or the French Artificial Intelligence Association (AFIA) is a learned society for artificial intelligence (AI). Its aim is to promote and facilitate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in its various forms, to bring the French AI community together, help it grow, and increase its visibility. It is a not-for-profit association under the French law of 1901.

In 1989, the French Artificial Intelligence Association was founded in preparation for the 1993 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) in Chambéry, France. Jean-Paul Haton was the first president from 1989 to 1993. The association was first recognised for its quarterly newsletter, the Bulletin de l'AFIA (The AFIA Bulletin), which published numerous scientific papers and helped restructure the academic and industrial community. Its first editor-in-chief was Jean-Paul Krivine from 1990 to 1995.

Activities
The AFIA organises the "Plate-forme IA ," or AI Platform, (PFIA'2013 Lille, PFIA'2015 Rennes, PFIA'2017 Caen, PFIA'2018 Nancy, PFIA'2019 Toulouse, PFIA'2020 Angers (online), PFIA'2021 Bordeaux (online), PFIA'2022 Saint-Etienne, PFIA'2023 Strasbourg, PFIA'2024 La Rochelle from July 1 to 5, 2024 ) and the Conférence Nationale en Intelligence Artificielle, or the National AI Conference (CNIA). Each year, the CNIA also holds the Rencontres des Jeunes Chercheurs en IA, or the Young AI Researchers' Meetings (RJCIA), and the Conférence sur les Applications Pratiques de l'IA, or the Practical Applications of AI Conference (APIA), as Special Sections of the conference.

With the support of its 500 current members, the AFIA ensures:


 * The upkeep of an AI-dedicated website.
 * Monthly or regular day meetings.
 * An annual AI Doctoral Thesis Prize.
 * Support for other Associations.
 * The attendance of official consultations (ministries, agencies, etc.).
 * Communication with written and spoken press, including online.

Finally, the AFIA helps its members participate in major AI events and its members benefit from reduced registration fees for such organised events.

Presidents

 * 1989-1992: Jean-Paul Haton
 * 1993-1997: Jean-Marc David
 * 1998-2002: Bertrand Braunschweig
 * 2003-2010: Michèle Sebag
 * 2011-2020: Yves Demazeau
 * 2021 onwards: Benoît Le Blanc