What if everything we know about computer systems is built on the wrong abstractions? What if the next computing revolution looks nothing like we expect? What if the most important problems in our field require us to throw out decades of conventional wisdom?
The Wild and Crazy Ideas (WACI) session is a time-honored tradition at ASPLOS that frees researchers from the shackles of realism, removes the blinders of short-term thinking, and opens the scientific mind to uncharted frontiers. Since 1998, WACI has provided a counterweight to the conservative impulses wrought by the traditional peer review path.
This is your moment to propose something huge — something no one else is talking about.
Why Submit to WACI?
- Present to one of the largest and most engaged audiences at ASPLOS — the WACI session draws significant interest year after year
- Get feedback on unconventional ideas in a supportive environment where “too crazy” is a compliment, not a criticism
- Join a prestigious tradition that has been launching wild ideas since 1998
- Network with researchers who think beyond conventional boundaries and might become collaborators on your next big idea
We especially encourage submissions from early-career researchers, students, and anyone who has been told their idea is “too crazy” for a traditional venue.
What Makes a Great WACI Talk?
Craft a talk that:
- Falls within the ASPLOS purview and is related to architecture, programming languages, and operating systems in some capacity. Interdisciplinary ideas that touch on multiple topics are preferred, but not required.
- Is not (yet) publishable research. Propose something neither you nor anyone else in the community is actually working on — for example, because it seems only barely feasible, because it requires thinking far into the future, because it strays into intellectual domains too far from core ASPLOS expertise, or because it directly contradicts the conventional wisdom.
- Might change the world. Your idea must be enormous. Unshackle your ambition.
Ideas may also be funny — we encourage it! — but really great WACI talks contain an element of real, world-changing, convention-challenging research thought.
Examples of Wild and Crazy Ideas
Past WACI sessions have explored topics like:
- Radical new computing paradigms that challenge von Neumann architecture
- Far-future visions for programming that might not be feasible for decades
- Interdisciplinary crossovers that combine systems research with biology, physics, or social sciences
- Provocative inversions of accepted wisdom (e.g., “what if X that everyone thinks is good is actually bad?”)
What We’re NOT Looking For
- Incremental improvements to existing systems
- Work you’re already planning to publish at a traditional venue
- Purely commercial product pitches
- Ideas that are already mainstream or widely discussed in the community
Submission Requirements
We are soliciting submissions as short videos. Please submit to this submission form by January 9th, 2026 AoE. Think of this as a beta-quality teaser for what your real, on-stage talk would be like. Guidelines for the video submissions:
- Length: At most 5 minutes
- Format: Your video can be a slide deck with narration, a whiteboard explanation, or even just you talking to the camera. Focus on conveying your idea clearly — technical polish and production value are not important.
- Evaluation: We will select talks based on their potential to provoke thoughts and discussion, not their production quality. It is OK to submit a rough prototype.
Important: All WACI presentations must be delivered in person at the ASPLOS 2026 conference in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Please only submit if you are confident you can attend and present in person.
All submissions should abide by the ACM Code of Ethics.
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
| Video submission deadline | January 9th, 2026 |
| Notification of acceptance | January 23rd, 2026 |
| ASPLOS conference (in person) | March 22-26 |
If Your Talk Is Selected
Here is what you can expect:
- You write a longer version of your idea (limit: two pages) for publication on the WACI website
- We will work with you to craft an excellent, compact, entertaining talk for the WACI session
- You present your talk in person at ASPLOS to one of the conference’s most engaged audiences
Contact
Please contact the WACI chair(s), Akshitha Sriraman, Jaylen Wang, Sara Mahdizadeh Shahri, with any questions.
The WACI program and review committee consists of Adrian Sampson (Cornell University), Akshitha Sriraman (Carnegie Mellon University), Jaylen Wang (Carnegie Mellon University), and Sara Mahdizadeh Shahri (Carnegie Mellon University).