Advances in Artificial Intelligence

The AI conference series is the premier event sponsored by the Canadian - ciety for the Computational Studies of Intelligence / Soci¿et¿e canadienne pour l'¿etude d'intelligence par ordinateur. Attendees enjoy our typically Canadian - mosphere -hospitable and stimulating. The Canadian AI conference showcases the excellent research work done by Canadians, their international colleagues, and others choosing to join us each spring. International participation is always high; this year almost 40% of the submitted papers were from non-Canadian - searchers. We accepted 24 papers and 8 poster papers from 52 full-length papers submitted. We also accepted eight of ten abstracts submitted to the Graduate Student Symposium. All of these accepted papers appear in this volume. The Canadian AI Conference is the oldest continuously-held national AI c- ference in the world. (ECCAI's predecessor, AISB, held meetings in 1974, but these have since become international.) Conferences have been held biennially since 1976, and annually since 2000. AI 2002 again joined its sister Canadian computer science conferences, Vision Interface and Graphics Interface, enri- ing the experience for all participants. The joint meeting allows us to stay - formed about other areas, to make new contacts, and perhaps to investigate cross-disciplinary research. This year the conferences was held on the beautiful campus of the University of Calgary, and many participants took the opportunity to tour nearby Ban? and the magni?cent Rocky Mountains.