The German Federal State of Bremen is proud to host IJCAI and ECAI 2026. Based on its many years of expertise, strong networks, and excellent research, Bremen has established itself as a location for interdisciplinary AI research with a strong focus on practical applications, particularly in industry. AI and machine learning are highly relevant as key technologies for every company. They offer enormous potential for value creation, e.g., in sectors such as robotics, medical technology, and traditional industrial applications. Bremen is home to strong players and world-leading minds in this field of technology, who contribute their vast reservoir of knowledge. The Senate, the government of the Federal State of Bremen, is promoting the development of Bremen as an AI location with the aim of raising its profile in national and international competition. IJCAI and ECAI will focus the industry’s attention on Bremen and offer an outstanding opportunity for the location and its players.

The editorial process of the Artificial Intelligence Journal is performed by the Artificial Intelligence Journal Division, AIJD, under a contract with Elsevier BV, the company that publishes the Journal. It is in charge of the acquisition, reception, selection, and evaluation of contributions to the AIJ, supplies accepted contributions to Elsevier for publication. In formal terms, AIJD is one of the two divisions of IJCAI, the other division being IJCAI’s organization for its yearly conferences. The inclusion of AIJ activities as a division within IJCAI occurred in 2002.

The journal of Artificial Intelligence (AIJ) welcomes papers on broad aspects of AI that constitute advances in the overall field including, but not limited to, cognition and AI, automated reasoning and inference, case-based reasoning, commonsense reasoning, computer vision, constraint processing, ethical AI, heuristic search, human interfaces, intelligent robotics, knowledge representation, machine learning, multi-agent systems, natural language processing, planning and action, and reasoning under uncertainty. The journal reports results achieved in addition to proposals for new ways of looking at AI problems, both of which must include demonstrations of value and effectiveness.

The Savings Banks Finance Group (Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe) is the largest financial group in Germany. It is decentralized, regionally anchored, and committed to serving the common good. The Group comprises 338 savings banks, Landesbanken, DekaBank, public insurance companies, building societies, and numerous financial service providers. Together, these institutions form a strong nationwide network that supports individuals, businesses, and municipalities in all regions of Germany. The Group’s organizational structure, its strong credit standing, and its unique institutional protection scheme provide a high level of financial stability and trust, both nationally and internationally. The German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) represents the interests of the Savings Banks Finance Group and coordinates its strategic development at the national and European level. Within this network, individual institutions such as Die Sparkasse Bremen AG contribute to the Group’s diversity and regional strength through their close ties to local communities and economies. Die Sparkasse Bremen AG is the leading financial services provider in the Hanseatic City of Bremen. With total assets of more than EUR 15 billion and a workforce of over 1,150 employees, it is one of the largest savings banks in Germany. Founded in 1825 by citizens of Bremen as an independent public savings bank, it combines a long tradition with a strong regional focus. The bank is a key partner for small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting entrepreneurial growth with industry expertise and local presence. Private customers benefit from award-winning advisory services covering savings, financing, retirement planning, and real estate. By combining regional proximity, institutional cooperation, and long-term responsibility, the Savings Banks Finance Group and its member institutions contribute to financial stability, economic development, and sustainable value creation in Germany and beyond.

Hessian.AI – the Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence  is a state-wide research and innovation center managed by the Technical University of Darmstadt. Focusing on excellence in research, it bundles the AI competence of 13 Hessian universities comprising more than 80 scientific members; 22 dedicated AI professorships have been new established. The collaboration between the universities at hessian.AI fosters cutting-edge AI research and outreach into the partner-faculties and beyond, it enables researchers to address complex questions that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. Hessian.AI’s mission is to act as a hub for innovation in AI.

Working together to turn digital transformation into a digital advantage: with IT solutions that make people’s lives safer and easier. This is our vision. Our mission: to securely protect digital data and identities with the objective of enabling Germany to achieve end-to-end digitalization. For 25 years now, more than 335 dedicated Governikus employees have been working to protect personal data. Secure identities, legally compliant communication, and the protection of sensitive data are central aspects of our solutions. Governikus offers IT components for digitalization that support the federal government, states, municipalities, and the judiciary in implementing their strategies. With Governikus ITU GmbH, we are expanding our portfolio to include IT solutions for environmental protection and waste management.

CONTACT is the leading vendor of open standard software and open source pioneer for the product engineering process and the digital transformation. Our products make it easier to organize projects, execute processes reliably and collaborate with others around the world on the basis of virtual product models and their digital twins. Our open technology and Elements platform are ideal for integrating additional IT systems and the Internet of Things to create end-to-end business processes.

The Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS develops effective strategies for the prevention of chronic, non-communicable diseases. Supporting a healthy life-course early on is our primary goal. The focus of our research is therefore on factors beyond individual diseases, such as lifestyle and environment, biological and social factors, as well as early detection of diseases and drug safety. Our research spectrum covers methodological development, the identification of the causes of diseases, and intervention and implementation research. The BIPS advances the responsible use of AI to strengthen our prevention and public health research. AI expands our ability to analyze complex health data, improve risk prediction and support earlier, more targeted interventions, but this depends on high-quality, well-governed health data. By combining strong epidemiological data, methodological excellence and careful validation in real-world settings, BIPS aims to ensure that AI contributes to equitable, evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention.

Franka Robotics is a German, research-driven robotics company headquartered in Munich and operating globally. Founded in 2016, it is part of the Agile Robots since 2023. Our mission is to enable the growing community of robotics and AI professionals to shape a pivotal moment in human evolution: giving AI a robot body. By developing the reference robotics platform, Franka Robotics drives continuous advancements in the field, fostering collaboration, creativity, and knowledge sharing among robotics and AI professionals worldwide.