GENNEXT: The Next Generation of IR and Recommender Systems with Language Agents, Generative Models, and Conversational AI

We present GENNEXT, a workshop dedicated to exploring the integration of language agents, generative models, and conversational AI within information retrieval (IR) and recommender systems (RS). Building on the success of our recent RecSys’24 workshop, GENNEXT aims to advance discussions on the applications of language agents powered by Large Language Models (LLMs). The workshop will focus on enhancing interactivity between users and systems through multi-turn dialogues, improving creative content generation, advancing personalization, and enabling multifaceted, context-aware decision-making. For example, a language agent could respond to a query like “Suggest an eco-friendly food tour for a weekend in my city” by using a recommendation API to identify eateries specializing in sustainable or organic cuisine and a pollution API to ensure the selected routes have low air pollution levels. GENNEXT will bring together leading researchers and practitioners through keynotes, paper presentations, and a panel discussion. We invite full papers, short papers, and extended abstracts covering theoretical advancements, practical applications, and evaluation strategies for generative technologies in IR and RS. The workshop will address key themes such as conversational adaptation, generative content creation, and agentic tool usage, while tackling challenges like bias, data privacy, and hallucination risks. Overall, our main ambition is to foster dialogue on creating ethical, sustainable, and innovative systems while addressing emerging opportunities and risks in modern IR and RS.