[mod.ai] Seminar - AI in Communication Networks

FAWCETT@RED.RUTGERS.EDU.UUCP (09/09/86)

The first speaker of this year's Machine Learning Seminar series at Rutgers
will be Andrew Jennings of Telecom Australia, speaking on "AI in
Communication Networks".  Dr.  Andrews will speak in Hill-423 at 11 AM on
THURSDAY, September 18th (NB: this is NOT the standard day for the ML
series).  The abstract follows:


                              Andrew Jennings
        (Arpanet address: munnari!trlamct.oz!andrew@seismo.CSS.GOV)
                             Telecom Australia
                        AI in Communication Networks


	Expert  systems  are  gaining  wide  application  in   communication
systems, especially in the areas of maintenance, design and planning.  Where
there are large bodies  of existing expertise, expert  systems are a  useful
programming technology  for  capturing and  making  use of  that  expertise.
However  will  AI  techniques  be  limited  to  retrospective  capturing  of
expertise or can they be of  use for next generation communication  systems?
This talk  will  present  several  projects  that aim  to  make  use  of  AI
techniques in next-generation communication  networks.  An important  aspect
of these systems is their ability to learn from experience.

	This talk  will  discuss  some of  the  difficulties  in  developing
learning in practical  problem domains,  and the value  of addressing  these
difficulties now.  In  particular the  problems of  learning in  intractable
problem domains is of great importance  for these problems and some  ongoing
work on this problem  will be presented.  The  projects discussed include  a
system for capacity assignment in networks, a project to develop AI  systems
for routing in fast packet networks and a system for VLSI design from a high
level specification.