Skip to yearly menu bar Skip to main content


NEURAL INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS FOUNDATION

CODE OF CONDUCT

 

We the participants, employees, and other individuals involved with Neural Information Processing Systems, come together for the open exchange of ideas, the freedom of thought and expression, and for respectful scientific debate which is central to the goals of this Conference. This requires a community and an environment that recognizes and respects the inherent worth of every person.

RESPONSIBILITY

All participants, organizers, reviewers, speakers, media, sponsors, and volunteers (referred to as “Participants” collectively throughout this document) at our Conference, workshops, and Conference-sponsored social events are required to agree with this Code of Conduct both during an event and on official communication channels, including social media.

Sponsors are equally subject to this Code of Conduct. In particular, sponsors should not use images, activities, or other materials that are of a sexual, racial, or otherwise offensive nature. This code applies both to official sponsors as well as any organization that uses the Conference name as branding as part of its activities at or around the Conference.

Organizers will enforce this Code, and it is expected that all Participants will cooperate to help ensure a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.

POLICY

The conference commits itself to providing an experience for all Participants that is free from the following [1]:

  • Harassment, bullying, and discrimination which includes but is not limited to:
    • Offensive comments related to age, race, religion, creed, color, gender (including transgender/gender identity/gender expression), sexual orientation, medical condition, physical or intellectual disability, pregnancy, or medical conditions, national origin or ancestry.
    • intimidation, personal attacks, harassment, unnecessary disruption of talks or other conference events.
  • Inappropriate or unprofessional behavior that interferes with another's full participation including:
    • sexual harassment, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome attention, public vulgar exchanges, derogatory name-calling, and diminutive characterizations.
    • Use of images, activities, or other materials that are of a sexual, racial, or otherwise offensive nature that may create an inappropriate or toxic environment.
    • Disorderly, boisterous, or disruptive conduct including fighting, coercion, theft, damage to property, or any mistreatment or non-businesslike behavior towards participants.
    • Zoom bombing or any virtual activity that is not related to the topic of discussion which detracts from the topic or the purpose of the program. This includes inappropriate remarks in chat areas as deemed inappropriate by presenters/monitors/event leaders.
    • Individuals and organizations that make false claims or accusations related to Neural Information Processing Systems’ business or inappropriately make comments online as if they represent Neural Information Processing Systems without advanced approval.
  • Scientific misconduct including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism of paper submissions or research presentations, including demos, exhibits or posters.

This Code of Conduct applies to the actual meeting sites and conference venues where Neural Information Processing Systems business is being conducted, including physical, virtual venues, and official virtual engagement platforms, including video, virtual streaming, and chat-based interactions. Neural Information Processing Systems is not responsible for non-sponsored activity or behavior that may occur at non-sponsored locations such as hotels, restaurants, physical, virtual, or other locations not otherwise deemed a sanctioned space for Neural Information Processing Systems sponsored events. Nonetheless, any issues brought to the Hotline Relations Counselors will be considered. However, it is also the case that Neural Information Processing Systems cannot actively monitor voluntary social media platforms and cannot follow-up on every transaction occurring between individuals who voluntarily engage in argument and altercation outside the Neural Information Processing Systems sponsored events virtual or otherwise.

ACTION

If a Participant engages in any inappropriate behavior as defined herein, the Conference organizers may take action as deemed appropriate, including: a formal or informal warning to the offender, expulsion from the conference with no refund, barring from participation in future conferences or their organization, reporting the incident to the offender’s local institution or funding agencies, or reporting the incident to local authorities or law enforcement. A response of "just joking" is not acceptable. If action is taken, an appeals process will be made available. View the Code of Conduct Procedures document for further details regarding the reporting of complaints or incidents. There will be no retaliation against any Participant who brings a complaint or submits an incident report in good faith or who honestly assists in investigating such a complaint. All issues brought forth to the onsite Hotline Relations Counselors during the course of a Conference will be immediately investigated.

COMPLAINT REPORTING

The Conference encourages all Participants to immediately report any incidents of discrimination, harassment, unprofessional conduct, and/or retaliation so that complaints can be quickly and fairly resolved. All complaints will be handled as confidentially as possible and information will be disclosed only as it is necessary to complete the investigation and bring to resolution. Please refer to the complete Code of Conduct Procedures document for further details regarding the reporting of complaints or incidents. There will be no retaliation against any Participant who brings a complaint or submits an incident report in good faith or who honestly assists in investigating such a complaint. All issues brought forth to the onsite Hotline Relations Counselors during the course of a Conference will be immediately investigated.

If you have concerns related to your participation/interaction at the Conference or Conference sanctioned events, or observe someone else's difficulties, or have any other concerns you wish to share, please contact the Neural Information Processing Systems Hotline Email at hotline@neurips.cc or by calling the Neural Information Processing Systems Hotline phone number at 858-208-3810 where you can speak with an HR Consultant. You may also use our Contact Form. In addition, an HR Consultant will be present at the annual Conference. Participants may look for signage or check in with the Registration Desk to locate their station. Complaints and violations will be researched and investigated as appropriate by the HR Consultant. Reports made during the Conference will be responded to within 24 hours; those at other times in less than two weeks. We are prepared and eager to help Participants contact relevant help services, to escort them to a safe location, or to otherwise assist those experiencing harassment of any sort to feel safe for the duration of the Conference. We gratefully accept feedback from the Neural Information Processing Systems community on policy and actions using the contact form above.

[1] specifically, the following list covers in more detail features of behavior that could be subject to prejudice, harassment or discrimination: physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics associated with a national origin group; marriage to or association with persons of a national origin group; tribal affiliation; membership in or association with an organization identified with or seeking to promote the interests of a national origin group; attendance or participation in schools, churches, temples, mosques, or other religious institutions generally used by persons of national origin group; and any name that is associated with a national origin group, genotype, marital status or registered domestic partner status. Other examples include: breastfeeding, military or veteran status, politics, technology choices, and age.

 

NeurIPS Code of Conduct Policy Addendum

to Address Academic Integrity

in Research Paper Submissions and Reviews

September 19, 2024

 

This policy is an expansion of existing policies regarding the Code of Conduct and the Code of Ethics in regard to specific matters related to academic integrity throughout the submission and review process of research paper submissions.

The integrity of research paper submissions and the peer review process is vital to NeurIPS and our scientific community. NeurIPS will not tolerate evaluations that are judged based on favoritism, personal loyalties, mutual gain, or any ground other than scientific and academic merit. NeurIPS proposes to allow data sharing across specified research field related “Sister Organizations” (defined below) as one way to identify those who engage in collusion and other research misconduct and give every researcher in our field an equal opportunity to have their ideas heard.

I. Definitions

“Submission(s)” is defined as any paper, manuscript, or other research, including underlying research data, that is submitted to NeurIPS or any Sister Organization for the purposes of publication or presentation at the NeurIPS Conference, or a conference of any Sister Organization.

“Submission and Review Information” is defined as:

  1. The title and content of any Submission;
  2. The name, employer(s), and educational background of the author(s) of any Submission;
  3. The name, employer(s) and educational background of anyone who agrees to review a Submission (i.e., a “Reviewer”);
  4. The ratings and comments provided by any Reviewer regarding a Submission; and
  5. Statistics regarding the review process, including but not limited to: the number of submissions a particular Reviewer has reviewed, the length of those reviews, the dates those reviews occurred, whether any of those reviews were late and, if so, how long they were late.

"Submitter(s)” is defined as any listed author on a Submission. In addition, if NeurIPS believes that an individual contributed to a Submission but was not listed as an author to avoid detection under this policy, or otherwise engage in scientific fraud or academic dishonesty, NeurIPS reserves sole discretion to treat that un-listed individual as a “Submitter” under this policy.

“Sister Organization(s)” is defined as other related academic organizations that support or engage in research, publication or scientific conferences in our field including, but not limited to: the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), and the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML). “Sister Organization” may also include any organization that serves as an intermediary between submitters and reviewers, including websites, clearinghouses, and other platforms that accept, store, and transmit submissions, and provide a method to provide comments, scores, and other feedback regarding submissions to submitters, NeurIPS and other Sister Organizations. This includes, but is not limited to: https://OpenReview.net. NeurIPS maintains sole discretion, at any time, to add or remove entities from this definition.

“Misrepresentation” is defined as a false statement of fact or truth in any Submission or any rating or comment provided by a Reviewer.

“Falsification” is defined as intentional misrepresentation of research results, supporting data and materials, or noted references.

“Coercion” is defined as any attempt to intimidate, harm, demean, use force against, or use one’s position or authority to persuade or take advantage of someone for the betterment of themselves.

“Collusion” is defined as any agreement or understanding between two or more Submitter(s), Reviewer(s) or other person(s) to give Submission(s) artificially high or low ratings, or otherwise artificially improve or damage a Submission’s chance of acceptance or publication by NeurIPS or any Sister Organization out of self-interest, personal loyalties, or mutual gain, not the merits of the Submission.

“Share” or “sharing” means to transmit information to a secure server, that cannot be accessed by un-authorized third-parties, in such a way that the authorized party can see, read, and/or apply algorithms to the information, but cannot save or transmit the information outside of the secure server.

“Present” or “presenting” means to convey information, in-person or electronically, in such a way that the audience can see, read, and/or hear the information, but cannot save or record the information. This includes, but is not limited to, an in-person meeting where participants are barred from recording the discussion or taking photos, and virtual meetings or presentations where recording, downloading, and screenshotting similarly have been disabled.

II. Limited Sharing and Presenting of Information to Ensure Academic Integrity

Any Submitter to NeurIPS, or Reviewer, acknowledges and agrees to the following provisions, and that they are intended to ensure the highest ethical standards while furthering the field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning:

  • NeurIPS will maintain or designate a secure server, that cannot be accessed by un-authorized third-parties, for the purposes of analyzing, presenting, and sharing Submission and Review Information and thereby verifying that all Submissions are judged solely on their merit. NeurIPS maintains sole discretion to grant, modify or revoke access to its Submission and Review Information on that secure server, including with its own assigned investigator(s) or the Ethics & Grievance Committee. NeurIPS will not grant a Sister Organization (including, but not limited to, that organization’s investigator(s) or Ethics & Grievance Committee) access to the secure server, or otherwise share Submission and Review Information with the Sister Organization, unless that Sister Organization agrees that it will not attempt to make any copies of NeurIPS’ Submission and Review Information.
  • In turn, Sister Organizations may provide NeurIPS (including, but not limited to, NeurIPS’ Program Chairs, their assigned investigator(s), or the Ethics & Grievance Committee) access to that Sister’s Organization Submission and Review Information on the secure server, or otherwise present that information to NeurIPS, so NeurIPS may analyze Submission and Review Information and verify that all Submissions are judged solely on their merit.
  • If the initial investigation by the Program Chairs or their designated Investigator(s) indicates that collusion or other academic dishonesty may have taken place, and it therefore needs to coordinate internally with NeurIPS or with a Sister Organization to complete the investigation, determine potential sanctions, or impose sanctions, NeurIPS may also present Submission and Review Information to NeurIPS personnel beyond the Program Chairs or their designated investigator(s). Similarly, in this context, NeurIPS may also present Submission and Review Information to personnel of a Sister Organization beyond that organization’s investigator(s) or Ethics Committee, as described above.
  • Providing Sister Organization(s) access to Submission and Review Information, or otherwise sharing or presenting Submission and Review Information with a Sister Organization, may occur at any time, including after a paper has been published or presented at the NeurIPS conference, or a conference by a Sister Organization.
  • Because this policy is rooted in long-standing concepts of academic integrity and fairness, NeurIPS also reserves sole discretion to analyze, share and present Submission and Review Information that was created and/or collected before the announcement of this policy, and also may share or present that Submission and Review Information with other Sister Organizations, for the purposes of maintaining academic integrity and fairness. Any Submitter to NeurIPS, or any Reviewer, further agrees to a limited waiver of any privacy interest they may have in their name, current employer, academic background, or any other personal identifying information they have provided to NeurIPS, including but not limited to the Submission and Review Information. All Submitters and Reviewers further agree to grant NeurIPS a limited, royalty-free license to hare and resent their Submission and all Submission and Review Information, so that NeurIPS may work with authorized Sister Organizations to ensure academic integrity.


III. Investigation and Sanctions

Sanctions against a Submitter or Reviewer who has violated this policy or any other portion of the Code of Conduct will depend on the nature and severity of the offense(s) and after a review of all relevant information. Because violations of this policy or the Code of Conduct affect NeurIPS and all of its community members, a review may be conducted without the consent or participation of the reporting or accusing party.

Investigations will be conducted by the Program Chairs, or by an individual or sub-committee designated by the Program Chairs. That designee will then report their findings back directly to the Program Chairs. The Program Chairs will determine whether this policy has been violated, and it will provide recommended sanctions (examples provided below), to the NeurIPS Board of Directors. This recommendation may include presenting Submission and Review Information, as discussed above. The Board of Directors may consult with outside counsel or any other person or entity that it deems necessary to assist it during this process, including sharing or presenting Submission and Review Information. The Board of Directors, by majority vote, will determine whether to accept the recommended sanction, or instead impose a different sanction which could be more or less severe than the sanction recommended by the Program Chairs. As further described below, a Submitter or Reviewer will have an opportunity to appeal prior to the imposition of any sanction.

At all times the privacy of the parties involved in any investigation are held to be confidential and are assumed innocent until proof through investigation reveals otherwise. The Code of Conduct Procedures also provides additional information regarding how investigations will be conducted.

Sanctions may include, but are not restricted to, any combination of the following:

  • Formal or informal warning or counseling to the offender.
  • Expulsion from a particular conference with no refund.
  • Suspension from participation in future conferences, NeurIPS Foundation events, making Submissions, or serving as a Reviewer (for a set number of conferences, permanently, or indefinitely until NeurIPS determines additional review is needed).
  • Reporting the incident to the offender’s employer, educational institution, funding agencies or any other entity affiliated with the offender.
  • Reporting the incident to local authorities or law enforcement.
  • Requirement of conciliatory efforts that may include an apology, informal mediation, or other steps intended to facilitate restoration of relationships.
  • Other action(s) as deemed appropriate.

Any sanction may be voluntary or mandatory; for a specified or unspecified period of time; subject to periodic review and/or achievement of specific action items; or imposed permanently. If a sanction is to be imposed by the Board of Directors, an appeals process will be made available through the Ethics & Grievance Committee. Requests for appeal should be emailed to neurIPShotline@gmail.com. NeurIPS will then provide directions for submitting a written appeal, and additional information regarding the appeals process.

This policy expands and becomes a subset of the Code of Conduct and the Code of Ethics of the NeurIPS Foundation and will remain in effect indefinitely unless explicitly rescinded or amended, in writing, by the NeurIPS Board of Directors, in its sole discretion. NeurIPS expects all Submitters, Reviewers, and other conference participants to work proactively to promote academic integrity within all NeurIPS activities, to prevent violations of the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics, as well as to work collaboratively to resolve violations if they occur.