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Artificial Intelligence

Robby the Robotic Pharmacist, Hackensack University Medical Center. Following data entered in the hospital’s computer
system, Robby uses his “arms” to find prescriptions to be given to patients among the sorted medicine packets on the wall. © ED
KASHI/CORBIS

Since then, AI research has moved to other areas includ- alternative approaches led to attempts to solve typically
ing robotics, computer vision, and other practical engi- occurring cases in narrow areas of expertise. This
neering tasks. prompted the development of expert systems, which reach
conclusions by applying reasoning techniques based on
AN EVOLUTION OF APPLICATIONS sets of rules. A seminal model was MYCIN, developed to
One of the early milestones in AI was Newell and Simon’s diagnose blood infections. Having about 450 rules,
General Problem Solver (GPS). The program was MYCIN was able to outperform many experts. This and
designed to imitate human problem-solving methods. other expert systems research led to the first commercial
This and other developments such as Logic Theorist and expert system, R1, implemented at Digital Equipment
the Geometry Theorem Prover generated enthusiasm for Corporation (DEC) to help configure client orders for
the future of AI. Simon went so far as to assert that in the new mainframe and minicomputer systems. R1’s imple-
near-term future the problems that computers could solve mentation was estimated to save DEC about $40 million
would be coextensive with the range of problems to which per year.
the human mind has been applied. Other classic systems include the PROSPECTOR
Difficulties in achieving this objective soon began to program for determining the probable location and type
manifest themselves. New research based on earlier suc- of ore deposits and the INTERNIST program for per-
cesses encountered problems of intractability. A search for forming patient diagnosis in internal medicine.

34 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION