Southern African Conference for Artificial Intelligence Research | SACAIR2025

The Organising Committee of the South African Conference for Artificial Intelligence Research (SACAIR) invites the submission of full papers for presentation at the 6th Southern African

Conference for Artificial Intelligence SACAIR2025, hosted by the University of the Western Cape. The conference will be held from 1 – 5 December 2025 at the Cape Town Marriott Hotel Crystal Towers, in the Western Cape, South Africa.

The SACAIR series of conferences is the premier Artificial Intelligence conference in Southern Africa. It has been held since 2019 and aims to promote multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary research and collaboration. The conference will bring together nationally and internationally established and emerging researchers from various disciplines, including Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Informatics, Humanities, Philosophy and Law. As in the past, the conference will also focus on growing a formidable network of talented students working in AI from across Africa.

The conference theme: AI at the Edge: Pushing Boundaries, Powering Possibilities. As AI systems evolve, their ability to operate in fast-changing, resource-constrained, and high-impact environments redefines what’s possible. SACAIR 2025 will explore how AI is being deployed at the edge—whether in real-time decision-making, autonomous systems, or applications in healthcare, finance, retail, manufacturing, education, transportation, and more. This theme highlights cutting-edge research driving efficiency, resilience, and breakthroughs in AI’s most challenging frontiers.

The conference provides a platform for researchers and practitioners from academia an industry to meet and share cutting-edge developments. The conference seeks significant contributions to all major fields of artificial intelligence in theoretical, application and practical aspects, as well as contributions that speak to the conference theme. The conference especially invites trans-disciplinary research contributions.

Conference Structure

The conference will be held in person and will be structured as follows:

●1 December 2025: Student Unconference

●2 December 2025: Tutorials and Workshops

●3 – 5 December 2025: Main Conference

Conference Tracks and Scope

Due to its multi-disciplinary nature, the conference will be organised around the following tracks:

●Algorithmic and Data-Driven AI (Computer Science)

●Symbolic AI (Knowledge Representation and Reasoning)

●Socio-technical and human-centred AI (Information Systems)

●Responsible and Ethical AI (Philosophy and Law / Humanities)

●Inter- and transdisciplinary AI research

Please note that the SACAIR 2025 tracks represent different academic disciplines. Authors are

advised to carefully select an appropriate track for their submission to ensure the paper is

reviewed by experts in that discipline.

We solicit original, unpublished research in the following areas: Algorithmic and Data-Driven AI (Computer Science) track – Submissions will primarily be reviewed by a computer science (CS) program committee, so the contribution should be a CS contribution developed according to accepted CS research strategies, whether it is algorithmic or data-driven. This track usually solicits many submissions, and in order to streamline the reviewprocess, authors are requested to select the relevant topic for their submission. Topics in this track include:

●Speech and Language Processing

●Deep Learning

●Machine Learning (Application and Theory)

●Computer Vision and Image Processing

●Data-driven Applications of AI

●Time Series Analysis

●Evolutionary Computing

●Biometrics and Cybersecurity in AI

●Generative AI

●Robotics

●Quantum Artificial Intelligence

KRR experts will primarily review submissions within this track, so the contribution should be in one or more of the following tracks:

●Knowledge Representation and Reasoning

●Ontology Applications

●Ontology Engineering

●Computational Logic

●Multi-agent Systems

Socio-technical and human-centred AI (Information Systems) track – An information systems (IS) program committee will primarily review the submission. The contribution should be developed according to accepted IS research strategies, primarily socio-technical. Please do not submit to this track if you do not have an IS contribution. Application papers, such as testing an algorithm within a new software system, belong to the CS track. Topics in the IS track include:

●AI and Generative AI Information Systems

●AI Applications in Information Systems

●AI and Socio-Technical Systems

●Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence

●Collaboration of Humans and AI

●Artificial Intelligence in Business Processes

●AI for and in Business, including AI adoption

●AI Supporting Sustainable Development and the Circular Economy

●AI for Development and Social Good

●AI in Education

●Generative AI Applications

Responsible and Ethical AI (Philosophy and Law) track – Contributions should be acceptable to the Humanities or Law communities. This track, and only this track, will accept full papers and extended abstracts. Both full papers and extended abstracts will undergo a double-blind peer review, and only full papers will be considered for publication in either the Springer CCIS proceedings or the online conference proceedings. Extended abstracts will be considered for presentation at the main conference. Submissions to this track can be either a full paper submission complying with the specifications below or an extended abstract in PDF format of at least 4 pages (1500+) words. Topics in this track include:

●Data Ethics

●Machine Ethics

●Ethics of Socio-robotics

●Neuro Ethics

●AI and the Law

●Responsible AI Governance

Inter- and transdisciplinary AI research track – Submissions should be genuinely interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary, adopting research strategies and recognised research contributions from different disciplines.Please include a motivation for the submission being interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary.

Paper Submission and Review

All full papers and extended abstracts should report original research that has yet to be published and has not been submitted for publication or consideration elsewhere.The conference follows a two-stage submission process. In the first stage, authors are required to submit a short abstract of their research. The short abstract is used for reviewer assignments and to ensure alignment with the track. However, we require full paper submissions for the review process.

In the second stage, authors must submit a full paper to be considered for acceptance in the

proceedings volumes. The only exception is the Responsible and Ethical AI (Philosophy and Law), where an extended abstract will be reviewed for inclusion in the conference program (not for any of the proceedings volumes). Both full papers and extended abstracts will undergo double-blind peer review, complying with the requirements of Springer and the South African DHET research output policy.

Note: Extended Abstracts will NOT be accepted in any track other than the Responsible and

Ethical AI (Philosophy and Law) track.

Full paper submissions must be in English, and between 12 and 15 pages (excluding references if

they take up no more 2 pages). Extended abstract submissions must be at least 4 pages long

(1500+ words).

A selection of accepted full papers, based on reviews, will appear in a volume of the Springer CCIS series – (Communications in Computer and Information Science). Springer CCIS is accredited as a journal by the South African DHET. Previous proceedings may be perused here: CCIS Volumes and Past conference proceedings. Papers that are not selected for inclusion in the CCIS volume, but had favourable reviews, will be considered for publication in the SACAIR Online Proceedings series. The online proceedings will be published with an ISBN number and will qualify for DHET subsidy as a conference proceedings output.

Please ensure your full paper or extended abstract adheres to the required Springer format and submit the PDF version for review in EasyChair. The program committee may desk reject

submissions that do not conform to the required Springer format.

Click here to submit your abstracts and papers to EasyChair.

NOTES ON THE SUBMISSION FORMAT:

In complying with Springer publication guidelines, manuscripts may be submitted through a plagiarism-checking tool, following both submissions for review and the arrival of the files at Springer. Please see the Springer website for more information. Detailed submission information and guidelines will be posted on the conference website. All manuscripts must be formatted using Springer Style Files and Templates in Word or LaTeX. Only submissions made in these formats will be considered for review. Authors will be required to submit a signed Consent to Publish form, through which the copyright of their paper is transferred to Springer. The conference website will provide a link to the form and instructions.

Important Dates

●Abstracts Submission: 3 August 2025 (SAST)

●Submission of Full Papers: 10 August 2025 (SAST)

●Acceptance notification: 29 September 2025 (SAST)

●Camera-ready papers: 5 October 2025 (SAST)

All deadlines are scheduled according to South African Standard Time, and these are strict

deadlines in order to meet the Springer publication deadlines.

Contact Details

Technical Committee Enquiries: [email protected]

General Enquiries: [email protected]

Conference Committee

General Co-Chairs

Prof Mehrdad Ghaziasgar (University of the Western Cape)

Prof Louise Leenen (University of the Western Cape)

Unconference Co-Chairs

Dr Oluwakorede Oluyide (University of the Western Cape)

Mr Clayton Baker (University of the Western Cape)

Tutorial Chair

Dr Ayinde Usman (University of the Western Cape)

Technical and Publication Chairs

Prof Aurona Gerber (Stellenbosch University)

Mr Anban Pillay (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Track Chairs

Algorithmic and Data-Driven AI (Computer Science) track

Prof Marelie Davel (North-West University)

Prof Eduan Kotzé (University of the Free State)

Prof Terence van Zyl (University of Johannesburg)

Symbolic AI (Knowledge Representation and Reasoning) track

Dr Giovanni Casini (ISTI - CNR)

Dr Jesse Heyninck (Open University, the Netherlands)

SACAIR2025 Second Call for Papers | Page 5 of 6Socio-technical and human-centred AI (Information Systems) track

Prof Sunet Eybers (University of South Africa)

Prof Knut Hinkelmann (FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern

Switzerland)

Responsible and Ethical AI (Philosophy and Law) track

Prof Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem (University of Pretoria)

Dr Fabio Tollon (University of Edinburgh)

Dr Paige Benton (University of Johannesburg)

Inter- and transdisciplinary AI research track

Mr Anban Pillay (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Prof Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem (University of Pretoria)

Prof Aurona Gerber (Stellenbosch University)

SACAIR Steering Committee

Prof Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem (University of Pretoria)

Mr Anban Pillay (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Prof Aurona Gerber (Stellenbosch University)

Prof Alta de Waal (University of Pretoria)

Dr Edgar Jembere (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Prof Terence van Zyl (University of Johannesburg)

●Conference Website at https://2025.sacair.org.za/

Contact

●Any enquiries can be made to [email protected]

●Join our LinkedIn Group