LAWS@SRI-AI.ARPA (06/05/85)
From: AIList Moderator Kenneth Laws <AIList-REQUEST@SRI-AI> AIList Digest Wednesday, 5 Jun 1985 Volume 3 : Issue 73 Today's Topics: Queries - AI and Proctology & Range Data Images for Robotics & Explorer/Symbolics Compatibility & LISP on SUN Workstations & Lisp User Survey & AI and the CAIS & Man-Machine Interaction, Natural Language - McDonnell Douglas Announcement, Expert Systems - Expert Systems vs "Conventional" Programming, Conference - IJCAI-85 UCLA Campus Housing Available ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 1 Jun 85 22:34:36 PDT From: Michael Pazzani <pazzani@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA> Subject: AI and proctology I am about to start my Phd research on an expert system for proctology. I am interested in finding out what others have done in this area. Also I'd like to have some opinions on the best language for implementing expert systems: PROLOG EURISKO or OPS5? Thanks, Mike Pazzani ------------------------------ Date: Mon 3 Jun 85 17:02:30-MDT From: Tom Henderson <Henderson@UTAH-20.ARPA> Subject: Range Data Images for Robotics The IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Robotics has asked me to look into the creation of a database of range data images. We would like to get an idea of both the availability of range imagery and the demand for such imagery. If you have range data images (perhaps with registered intensity images) or you would like to have access to such images, please answer the following questions and send to henderson@utah-20. Name: Address (Net and US Post): Range Data Available (give format): Would like access to range data (give any special requirements): ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Jun 85 13:18:21 edt From: Mark Weiser <mark@tove> Subject: Explorer/Symbolics compatibility We have a Symbolics 3600, and are looking at Explorers from TI now. What is the software compatibility between these two? Is it the very same zetalisp, windowing, etc.? Or is the only software similarity that of ancient common ancestry? Thanks for any help or advice. -mark ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 May 85 14:41:20 BST From: Ewgorc@ucl-cs.arpa Subject: LISP on SUN Workstations Can anyone gine me information about LISP availability on the SUN workstation range? I am interested in what variants are available, COMMON Lisp, Inter Lisp or whatever. Comments from actual users on how they have found the implementation would be very useful. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Jun 85 20:32:36 CDT From: marick@GSWD-VMS Subject: Lisp user survey I'm making a survey of what users need from Lisp systems. If you use Lisp for work other than developing Lisp itself and you would mail me answers to the following questions, I'd much appreciate it. I will of course summarize the results to the net. 1. (I hesitate to start this battle.) What do you consider the most cost-effective system on which to develop programs? Special-purpose Lisp machines? General purpose personal workstations with Lisp (e.g., Suns, Apollos)? Timeshared systems? What about the most cost-effective system on which to deliver programs? 2. How important is the ability to call functions written in another language? If it's important, will those functions be specially written for the application or will they tend to be parts of libraries like the IMSL math library or a plotting package? If they're specially written, are they making up for some deficiency in your Lisp (e.g., no or weak support for handling strings)? 3. Should the editor be a part of the Lisp environment or should it be separate? What are the important differences between an embedded Emacs-like editor and an external Emacs-like editor that allows you to run Lisp in a window? 4. How often could your programs run "standalone", without the support of the full Lisp environment? Would it be useful to have some way to dump a set of Lisp functions as an executable file, so that you could, for example, write a reasonably-sized UNIX filter in Lisp? 5. How important is some sort of object-oriented programming package, like Flavors or Loops? Do you have any preferences? 6. How important is the speed of your compiled code? Obviously, everyone wants a Cray on their desk, but how many of your programs are truly limited by machine speed or compiler quality and would be significantly more useful if they ran faster? What operations are most common in your tight inner loops? 7. How adequate is the standard set of debugging tools (trace, single-stepper, debugger that lets you poke around in the stack)? 8. What other things make a Lisp system better? If there's a question I haven't asked, please tell me. Brian Marick Gould Computer Systems -- Urbana USENET: ...ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!marick ARPA: Marick@GSWD-VMS ------------------------------ Date: 3 Jun 1985 08:10-PDT From: JWOLFE@USC-ECLB Subject: AI and the CAIS [Also forwarded by Larry@JPL-VLSI.] Dear Colleagues: The Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) is investigating the Common APSE Interface Set (CAIS) for Ada Programming Support Environments (APSE). Although it is a proposed DoD standard, it is unlike other standards in that it will evolve as interface needs are identified. My particular interest is in what needs are generated by the introduction of AI languages and techniques (e.g. LISP, PROLOG, Knowledge Bases, Inferencing, etc.) to software engineering environments. This issue may effect the CAIS at two levels: First, tools may be written using AI languages and techniques; second, applications may use AI languages or techniques which may require unique tools. I am coming to the Ada and AI communities to solicit your help and advise. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience in: * Using AI languages and techniques to develop software tools. * Developing tools for the life cycle maintenance of AI software. * Anyone else who can contribute. Since the results of this study will influence the evolution of the CAIS standard, it is important to have the participation of government, industry, and acedemia. Please note that since IDA is a FCRC, issues of proprietary information and non-disclosure CAN be resolved. Your participation is needed and appreciated. James Wolfe Institute for Defense Analysis 1801 N. Beauregard Street Alexandria, VA 22311 ARPA: JWOLFE@USC-ECLB.ARPA Voice: (703) 845-2109 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Jun 85 17:31:28 edt From: Rob Jacob <jacob@nrl-css> Subject: Query - AI and man-machine interaction I'm trying to put together an entry on "man-machine interaction" for an encyclopedia of artificial intelligence. My initial reaction is that the main areas are natural language, speech, and maybe intelligent CAI-type dialogues. Another area might be user interface techniques first pioneered by AI people (as a byproduct of their work), like the Interlisp-D user interface. Have I missed your favorite topic? I'd appreciate any comments, pointers, suggestions, vicious attacks, etc. on this topic. Please reply to me directly, because I'm often too far behind in reading the lists. Thanks in advance, Rob Jacob ARPA: jacob@nrl-css UUCP: ...!decvax!nrl-css!jacob SNAIL: Code 7590, Naval Research Lab, Washington, D.C. 20375 ------------------------------ Date: 4-Jun-85 12:26 PDT From: Kirk Kelley <KIRK.TYM@OFFICE-2> Subject: McDonnell Douglas announcement McDonnell Douglas has announced a "breakthough" in Natural Language processing on the back cover of this week's Business Week. Of course there are no specific references. Does anyone know what they are talking about or if there is any substance to the hype: ... practical thinkers at our McDonnell Douglas Computer Systems Company have created the first computer that accepts you as you are -- human. They emulated the two halves of the human brain with two-level software: One level with a dictionary of facts and a second level to interpret them. The resulting Natural Language processor understands everyday conversational English. So it knows what you mean, no matter how you express yourself. It also learns your idiosyncracies, forgives your errors, and tells you how to find what you're looking for. Now, virtually anyone who can read and write can use a computer. ... That is essentially all the "information" given. If you know what this refers to, or what the nature of the "breakthrough" is please let me know. -- kirk ------------------------------ Date: Tue 4 Jun 85 13:16:32-PDT From: Michael Walker <WALKER@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA> Subject: expert systems vs "conventional" programming Curt, You sent a message to the ailist some time ago on expert systems vs. "conventional" programming. I drafted a reply, but have been slow in sending it to you. Here it is, perhaps better late than never. There is a great deal of value in asking questions about what expert systems are good for. It is important for an emerging science to seek clear statements of its capabilities and boundaries. I think your observations on the value of ES are accurate. There is a third advantage which I feel is moderately well substantiated: that non-programmers can build certain types of programs using an expert system shell that they could not otherwise build. A specific example is the Blue-Box pharmacology therapy advisor built by two non-programmer medical students using Emycin. A reference is: Benoit Mulsant and David Servan-Schreiber (1984) "Knowledge Engineering: A Daily Activity on a Hospital Ward" Computers and Biomedical Research 17, pp 71-91. I recommended that they use Emycin when they visited during their medical clercship at Stanford. Neither of them had the knowledge to build the system in an ordinary programming language, but were successful in building their advisor in a remarkably short time using the expert system shell. Your question addressed the issue of what expert systems were good for. We should probably also ask what expert systems research, as opposed to just expert systems, is good for. I think that expert systems research is valuable, in part, because it is concerned with seeking ways to represent and use knowledge that cannot currently be readily represented or used. In this sense, we can view knowledge representation research as being concerned with developing new data structures and algorithms, appropriate for representing and manipulating symbolic information. There are many other arguments that could be made about the value of expert systems research, but I think I'll leave that for further discussion. Cheers, Mike Walker ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Jun 85 15:39:31 PDT From: Phyllis O'Neil <oneil@AEROSPACE.ARPA> Subject: IJCAI-85: UCLA campus housing available Economical UCLA dormitory rooms and suites are still available for IJCAI-85 this August. You can stay in dorm rooms for the 6-night period beginning Saturday, August 17, or for the 4-night period beginning Monday, August 19. Dorm rooms sleep one or two people. Residential suites are available starting Monday, August 19. Suites sleep two to four people; each suite has two bedrooms, bath, and living room. Breakfast and dinner are included when you stay in the dorms or suites. Additionally, you can use UCLA's swimming pools, raquetball courts, and other atheletic facilities. Campus housing forms are on pages 27 and 29 of the IJCAI-85 conference brochure. For copies of the brochure, contact: AAAI 445 Burgess Dr. Menlo Park, CA 94025 (213) 328-3123 ------------------------------ End of AIList Digest ********************