In AI, related work is usually at the beginning, but sometimes at the end. A common form is to set up the problem in the intro (section 1), then use the related-work section (section 2) to survey existing solutions to the problem and explain 1) whether you build on any of them, and 2) what's still left to do. It's sort of like an extended motivation: the intro motivates the problem, and the related-work section motivates your choice of jumping-off point.
We have to mention previous work in the intro and body of the paper to establish context, but the related work at the end is more of comprehensive since the paper has already been fully stated. If your paper is low on context, the reviewer might flip to related work after the intro to fill in the gaps, but you are in negative points territory at that point.
Comments
In AI, related work is usually at the beginning, but sometimes at the end. A common form is to set up the problem in the intro (section 1), then use the related-work section (section 2) to survey existing solutions to the problem and explain 1) whether you build on any of them, and 2) what's still left to do. It's sort of like an extended motivation: the intro motivates the problem, and the related-work section motivates your choice of jumping-off point.
We have to mention previous work in the intro and body of the paper to establish context, but the related work at the end is more of comprehensive since the paper has already been fully stated. If your paper is low on context, the reviewer might flip to related work after the intro to fill in the gaps, but you are in negative points territory at that point.