Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ucbvax.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!ucbvax!LAWS@SRI-AI.ARPA From: LAWS@SRI-AI.ARPA Newsgroups: net.ai Subject: AIList Digest V3 #33 Message-ID: <5478@ucbvax.ARPA> Date: Wed, 13-Mar-85 14:21:39 EST Article-I.D.: ucbvax.5478 Posted: Wed Mar 13 14:21:39 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 14-Mar-85 05:57:20 EST Sender: daemon@ucbvax.ARPA Organization: University of California at Berkeley Lines: 437 From: AIList Moderator Kenneth LawsAIList Digest Wednesday, 13 Mar 1985 Volume 3 : Issue 33 Today's Topics: Linguistics - Hungal, Expert Systems - Programming Styles, Surveys - AI in Australasia, Literature - History of Ideas in Computer Science, Opinion - AI Aims, News - AAAI Member Statistics & FMC and Teknowledge & Recent Articles, Policy - Jokes on Rape, Seminars - Cheating Husbands and Other Stories (SU) & The Limits of Calculative Rationality (CSLI) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed 13 Mar 85 10:20:29-PST From: Ken Laws Subject: Hungal Gordon Cook of Delta Data Systems would like some information about the Hungal dialect of Korea. In particular, he would like to know whether any form of automated translation system has ever been written for this dialect. Please reply to 200%NJIT-EIES.Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS, or call Gordon at (215) 322-5400 x258 if you have any leads. -- Ken Laws ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Mar 85 09:41:16 pst From: Curtis L. Goodhart Subject: Expert Systems vs "Conventional" Programming I have been involved for two years in a project to apply an existing expert system development tool to a particular problem that we have to solve. In this time, starting from scratch, as far as AI and expert systems are considered, I have developed opinions about the advantages (and disadvantages) of expert systems, as opposed to traditional programming methods. I would like to hear from people who feel they have qualified comments regarding this issue. In preface to a discussion I'd like to provide a few comments based on my observations and experience. Often people outside the field of AI see expert systems as some new kind of magic. In fact it's not new magic or old magic but rather an area of computer science that one might say provides styles or methods of programming that prove useful in tackling certain types of problems. The most valid two claims of advantages of expert systems that I see are: 1) Expert systems provide cost efficient development for software develop- ments that will undergo an intensely iterative, or test/modify cycle (ie the exact procedure for problem solution, the algorithm, cannot be stated in detail and with confidence prior to initiating software development). The main basis of this is held to be a structured framework consisting of partitioned control, domain knowledge (procedural), and global data base (which includes domain factual or declarative knowledge). It is the resulting uniformity and modularity that provide the foundation for an iterative development cycle. 2) Expert systems, by way of recorded production rule firings, which are often used, provide for explanation of the "reasoning process" used to generate the solution. This will be of value only if the end user will benefit from explanation, or if system development is speeded by expla- nation as opposed to the sole use of debug tools or methods that are used in non-expert-system developments. Again, the degree of benefit would vary according to the characteristics of the particular application, and the benefit increases for those problems that will require an intensive iterative type of development. Note that point 1 above points to expert systems as a development tool for the right kinds of problems. Some of the other claimed benefits of expert systems seem less supported to me. For example, I don't see that reasoning with uncertainty must be unique to an expert system approach. Another point, if "symbolic computation" (as opposed to number crunching) is a valid claim it appears to me that its basis must be in the dynamic memory allocation and list processing capabilities of Lisp and not neccessarily in an expert system approach. Finally, since the question of advantages of expert systems always comes up, are there any good studies with hard numbers that can be referred to? For example, are there any papers that report on a case where conventional and expert systems approaches were both used on an actual problem and comparisons made in order to substantiate the advantages (eg show that "rapid proto- typing" saves development time)? Are there any papers that provide a sound, and convincing basis for the virtues of expert systems, that could be given to non-AI persons? To summarize the question, what advantages (or disadvantages) do expert systems provide over conventional software approaches. And note, I want to limit the discussion to expert systems and not address the whole field of AI. Responses can go to the net, AILIST, and/or to myself. Curt Goodhart (goodhart@nosc -- on the ARPANET) ------------------------------ Date: 12 Mar 1985 1159-PST From: PRICE@USC-ECLC.ARPA Subject: AI in Australasia For a 30 page report on AI in Australasia contact: DEBENHAM - AIIA Computing Sciences N S W I T Box 123 Broadway NSW 2007 Australia AIIA (Artificial Intelligence in Australia) publishes a report annually. ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 85 10:47:27 PST (Monday) From: "Bruce Hamilton.OsbuSouth"@XEROX.ARPA Reply-to: Hamilton.OsbuSouth@XEROX.ARPA Subject: Re: History of Ideas in Computer Science I haven't been on the list for a while, but I saw V3 #31 and wondered if anyone had mentioned the collection Fritz Machlup and Una Mansfield, Eds., "The Study of Information: Interdisciplinary Messages", Wiley, 1983, in particular Section 3, "Intellectual Issues in the History of Artificial Intelligence", by Allen Newell, with responses by Margaret A. Boden, Avron Barr, Douglas R. Hofstadter, and Allen Newell. --Bruce [Nope. -- KIL] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 85 0:05:24 EST From: Frank Ritter Subject: response to gJolly From: GORDON JOLY (on ERCC DEC-10) Subject: AI-Aims The goal of AI research seems, to me, to be to produce a `machine' that will satisfy the Turing criterion. This is a total waste of time and effort. ... [old zen motto: "if you want to get someplace, you've got to give up wanting to get to that place"] Gordon is right in his statement that the power of this revolution lies in the extension of the thinking process. There are obviously new ways to think, and new ways to add leverage to man's current cognitive powers. Whether this intelligence is best done in a brute force manner, or modelled after human thinking processes is still an open question. The basics of thought are still very much a research issue. Which is better is a silly question until we are able to even define such terms. Just as man had to study birds, and was able to derive the underlying mechanism of flight, and then adapt it to the tools and materials at hand, man must currently study the only animal that thinks in order to derive the underlying principles there also. The best way to study the mind is to hypothesis a theory and test it. And in the process of doing that, insight just might emerge on what powers we have, how they work, and how to best augment them, and thus give Gordon the answers he seeks. Frank Ritter (ritter@bbn-labs-b) ------------------------------ Date: Mon 11 Mar 85 11:44:13-CST From: Gordon Novak Jr. Subject: AAAI Member Statistics [Forwarded from the UTexas-20 bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.] The membership statistics of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence provide an interesting picture of where the AI people are: Calif. 1431 Canada 200 Mass. 709 U. K. 146 Texas 668 Japan 84 New York 451 W. Germany 70 Virginia 317 Australia 34 Penn. 293 France 29 Maryland 278 New Jersey 258 Foreign total: 765 Illinois 173 Total Membership: 7094 [of which 4145 are listed in the directory. -- KIL] Texas is a strong third, and nearly as big as all foreign countries combined. ------------------------------ Date: 12 Mar 1985 01:04:38 EST From: Perry W. Thorndyke Subject: News - FMC and Teknowledge [Edited by Laws@SRI-AI.] FMC ANNOUNCES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE VENTURE WITH TEKNOWLEDGE SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, March 12, 1985 -- FMC Corporation today announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Teknowledge, Inc. in the area of artificial intelligence software development. FMC has acquired approximately 11% of Teknowledge, Inc. In addition, the companies have entered into a "strategic affiliation". [...] Peter E. Weber, Director of Corporate Research and Development at FMC, said the investment was a key element in FMC's plan to build a premier corporate capability in artificial intelligence. [...] Teknowledge will collaborate with FMC's Artificial Intelligence Center, part of the company's corporate R&D laboratory in Santa Clara, California, to develop generic software tools. [...] One of the initial joint projects will develop a tool for use in building expert systems for real-time process control. This tool could be used to control such diverse systems as autonomous military vehicles or mineral refining plants. Another project will develop a tool for use in designing complex configurations of parts into a final product. This tool could be used in applications such as product configuration (as in R1/XCON), knowledge-based CAD/CAM, or planning the steps in a manufacturing process for a metal part. The Artificial Intelligence Center at FMC, the focal point for the company's AI activities, conducts basic research in the areas of knowledge systems, real-time heuristic control, human-machine interfaces, computer-based instruction, intelligent robotics, and vision. The Center also undertakes leading-edge applied research focused on the development of software products for internal use or incorporation into FMC product lines. [...] Perry W. Thorndyke FMC Corporation 1185 Coleman Avenue, Box 580 Santa Clara, CA 95052 (408) 289-3112 ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 1985 20:36-CST From: leff%smu.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa Subject: Recent Articles Baldwin, J. F. and Zhou, S. Q. A fuzzy relational inference language. Fuzzy Sets and Systems 14 (1984) no 2 155-174 GWAI 83 (Dassel, 1983) Informatik-Fachber 76 Springer, Berlin New York 1983 (It appears that some or all of these items may be in German): Dilger, Werner and Janson, Agnes Unification graphs for intelligent backtracking in deduction symbols Eder, Elmar Properties of substitutions and unifications Elsinger, N. A technical note on splitting and clausal normal form algorithms Horster, Patrick J. Complete reduction systems Ohlbach, Hans Jurgen A rule-based method of proof using clausal graphs Habel, Christopher Logical systems and representation problems Zap. Nauchn. Sem. Leningrad. Otdel. Mat Inst. Steklov 137(1984) 80-86 Linear-time recognition of isomorphism of tree-like images (Russian with English summary) by A. N. Grigor'eva International J. Comput. Inform. Sci 13(1984) no1 H. R. Lu, Inferability of context-free programmed gammars. Electron. Comm Japan 67 (1984) no 6 10-17 An extended Fisher criterion for feature extraction--Malina's method and its problems. Studies aand Research in Data Processing Masson, Paris 1984 252 pp Jean-Claude Simon, Pattern Recognition by algorithms. Inform. Process. Lett 1984 no 1 41-46 P. A. Subrahmanyam, "On embedding functions in logic" Pattern Recogniton 17 (1984) no 3 331-337 Dean M. Young, Patrick Odell A formulation and comparison of two linear feature selection techniques applicable to statistical classification Engineering Cybernetics 21 (1983) no 4 85-92 An information approach to estimation of the usefulness of features in statistical pattern recognition RAIRO Inform. Theor 18 (1984) no 2 161-170 Luis Farlinas del Cerro A resolution principle in modal logic. AT&T Bell Labs Tech J 63 (1984) no 7 1213-1243 B. H. Juang. On the hidden Markov model and dynamic time warping for speech recognition -- a unified view Engineering Cybernetics 21 (1983) no 4 1-11 (1984) M. I. Sudelkin Search for solutions using Knowledge Simulation Volume 44 No 1 Jan 1985 Artificial Intelligence Topics at IBM 33 Computer Design Volume 24 No 1 Jan85 Machine Vision Technology is Coming of Age but is not here yet 64 Symbolic Processor Aids Design of Complex Chips 147 Lisp Workstation brings AI power to Users desk 155 Electronics Week Vol 58 No 2 Jan 7 85 Expert System uses AI for Natural Sound Computer Languages Volume 9 No 3/4 161-182 Huhu: The Hebrew University Hebrew Understander ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 85 14:41:04 pst From: Curtis L. Goodhart Subject: Jokes on rape Some things are immoral, period. Rape is one of them, and thankfully there is still an overwhelming consensus on that (unlike shifts in our society's view on other issues). In any case, consensus or not, I'd like to request that such material not be submitted to the net, and if it is submitted it should be eliminated by the mail reviewer should he or she see it. Those who have similar feelings should definitely speak up. Though there is the tendency to fear being labeled a prude, silence only gives the appearance that there is no opposition or other side, and consequences will follow. For example, if all the decent people stay out of politics, by default the government will be run by indecent people, and we can not complain, indeed we can only expect the quality of our government to reflect this indecency. [I apologize to all who were offended by the posting. I have received a few messages on each side of the issue, but it seems clear that Poly Nomial and Curly Pi should have been left to make their own way in the world without the help of AIList. The policy of this list is to avoid "ethnic" humor or any form of wit at the expense of individuals or sensitive groups. There may have been a few lapses, but I'll try to enforce the policy strictly in the future. -- KIL] ------------------------------ Date: Mon 11 Mar 85 17:24:33-PST From: Andrei Broder Subject: Seminar - Cheating Husbands and Other Stories (SU) [Forwarded from the Stanford bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.] This AFLB talk might interest AI and systems people as well. - Andrei 3/14/85 - Yoram Moses(Stanford) Cheating Husbands and Other Stories: A Case Study of Knowledge, Action, and Communication We present variants of the cheating husbands puzzle in order to illustrate the subtle relationship between knowledge and action in a distributed environment. We examine the state of knowledge of a message that a group of wives achieves as a function of how the message is communicated. We analyze how the states of knowledge arising in the different circumstances may affect the wives' ability to act and the success of their actions in achieving their stated goals. This will be a recreational AFLB. This work is joint with Danny Dolev of the Hebrew University and Joe Halpern of IBM San Jose. ***** Time and place: March 14, 12:30 pm in MJ352 (Bldg. 460) ****** [AIList does not, of course, endorse activities of cheating husbands. -- KIL] ------------------------------ Date: Tue 12 Mar 85 11:26:53-PST From: Emma Pease Subject: Seminar - The Limits of Calculative Rationality (CSLI) [Forwarded from the Stanford bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.] CSLI COLLOQUIUM Speaker: Hubert Dreyfus University of California, Berkeley Title: From Socrates to Expert Systems: The Limits of Calculative Rationality. Time and Place: March 14, 1985, 4:15, Redwood Hall, rm. G-19 Abstract: An examination of the general epistemological assumptions of artificial intelligence with special reference to recent work in the development of expert systems. I will argue that expert systems are limited because of a failure to recognize the real character of expert intuitive understanding. Expertise is acquired in a five-step process; only the first of which uses representations involving objective features and strict rules. A review of the successes and failures of various specific expert systems confirms this analysis. ------------------------------ End of AIList Digest ********************