Subject: AIList Digest V4 #71

From: vtcs1::in% ([email-masked])
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 86 06:52:11 est

AIList Digest           Wednesday, 9 Apr 1986      Volume 4 : Issue 71

Today's Topics:
  Conferences - AAAI &
    Ames Symposium on Manufacturing Systems &
    Automated Reasoning Workshop 1986 &
    Knowledge Engineering Forum

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Date: 4 Apr 86 13:58:40 GMT
From: [email-masked]  (GERARD MAYER)
Subject: Conference - AAAI

The national conference on artificial intelligence AAAI-86 is Aug 11-15, 1986
Philadelphia, PA. Send program and registration inquiries to: AAAI-86, AAAI,
445 Burgess Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025. This year there will be sessions (as
in the past) and a new emphasis on workshops. See AI magazine, winter 1986
for more information.

                                                Gerard Mayer
                                                Raytheon Research Division

                                                uucp  ..linus!raybed2!gxm

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 1 Apr 86 08:33:51 pst
From: [email-masked] (Eugene Miya)
Subject: Conference - Ames Symposium on Manufacturing Systems

From:   MER::ANDREWS

              National Aeronautics and Space Administration
                         Ames Research Center

                             SYMPOSIUM

        MODELING AND CONTROL IN FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

                      Friday, April 11, 1986

The fiels of ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE and AUTOMATIC CONTROL have been
developing independently of one another despite many intrinsic common
interests.  A series of symposia is planned to explore this common ground
to better understand what are the long-range issues and fruitful directions
of basic research in AUTOMATIC CONTROL THEORY.

The present sysmposium is organized by Professor Giuseppe Menga, Department
of Automation and Information, Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

PROGRAM:  Friday, April 11, 1986

Morning
        9:30 - 10:00  Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard University
        Opening Address - Modern System Theory in Manufacturing Applications

        10:00 - 11:00  Giuseppe Menga, Politecnico di Torino
        Modeling Flexible Manufacturing Systems by Heuristic Network Analysis

        11:00 - 12:00  Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard University
        Perturbation Analysis in Discrete Event Dynamic Systems: An
        Application to Manufacturing

Afternoon
        1:00 - 2:00   Giuseppe Menga, Politecnico di Torino
        The Planning and Control System for Flexible Manufacturing Shops

        2:00 - 3:00   Agostino Villa, Politecnico di Torino
        Planning and Control in Multi-Stage Multi-Product Systems

The symposium will be held in Conference Room 172 in Building 233.  For
additional information, please contact anyone listed below:

Ralph Bach (415)695-5429     Rajiv Mehta x5440     George Meyer x5444
[email-masked]

***************************************************************************

VISITORS ARE WELCOME: Register and obtain vehicle pass at Ames Visitor
Reception Building (N-253) or the Security Station near Gate 18.  Do not
use the Navy Main Gate.

Non-citizens (except Permanent Residents) must have prior approval from the
Director's Office one week in advance.  Submit requests to the point of
contact indicated above.  Non-citizens must register at the Visitor
Reception Building.  Permanent Residents are required to show Alien
Registration Card at the time of registration.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 5 Apr 86 18:35:15 cst
From: [email-masked] (Rick Lyndon Stevens)
Subject: Conference - Automated Reasoning Workshop 1986

                  Automated Reasoning Workshop 1986

              Mathematics and Computer Science Division

                     Argonne National Laboratory

  You are invited to a workshop on automated reasoning to  be  held
  at  Argonne  National  Laboratory  on June 24 and 25, 1986.  This
  workshop, the fifth of its kind, will take the form of a  set  of
  tutorials.   Our  first  objective is to acquaint people with the
  basic aspects of automated reasoning and with the possible appli-
  cations.  Thus we shall discuss some of the previously open ques-
  tions we have solved and feature topics such  as  the  design  of
  logic  circuits,  the validation of existing circuit designs, and
  proving properties of computer programs.  Our second objective is
  to  learn  of new problems on which the current methodology might
  have an impact.  In fact, the preceding  workshops  did  lead  to
  such  discoveries,  as  well  as to collaborative efforts to seek
  solutions to these problems.  Enclosed is  a  tentative  schedule
  that  briefly  describes the various talks.  On the first day, we
  shall begin with an introductory lecture on what  automated  rea-
  soning  is.   We shall illustrate the various concepts first with
  puzzles.  Next, we shall focus on some applications of  automated
  reasoning.  We shall include a demonstration of an automated rea-
  soning program (ITP) that is portable, runs on  relatively  inex-
  pensive machines, and is available to other users.  On the second
  day we shall give an introduction to Prolog,  discuss  additional
  applications,  and  focus on state/space problems.  On both days,
  we have scheduled reviews of the material and  open  discussions.
  We  welcome  you  to  this  1986 workshop on automated reasoning.
  Participation will require a small charge, no more than $60.  In-
  cluded in this fee will be the cost of the book Automated Reason-
  ing:  Introduction and Applications, written  by  Wos,  Overbeek,
  Lusk, and Boyle and published by Prentice-Hall.  This book covers
  the field of automated reasoning from its basic elements  through
  various applications. Its tutorial nature will guide our approach
  to the workshop.  We urge you to respond to  this  invitation  as
  soon  as  possible  for, to retain the tutorial atmosphere of the
  workshop, we may be forced to limit the number  of  participants.
  The  order  in  which  requests are received will be an important
  parameter in issuing invitations to attend the workshop.

  Sincerely,

  L. Wos
  Senior Mathematician

  Please send all replies to

  ARPA:  [email-masked]

  or

  Dr. Larry Wos
  Mathematics and Computer Science Division
  Argonne National Laboratory
  Argonne IL 60439

                Schedule for Automated Reasoning Workshop 1986

                          June 24-25, 1986

                     Argonne National Laboratory
                          Argonne, Illinois

  Tuesday, June 24

   9:00 - 9:15             Preliminary remarks - Larry Wos

   9:15 - 10:15            Introduction to  automated  reasoning  - Larry Wos

  10:15 - 10:30            Break

  10:30 - 11:30            Solving reasoning puzzles - Brian Smith

  11:30 - 12:30            Lunch

  12:30 -  1:15            Choices  of  strategies  and  inference rules
                           - Rusty Lusk

   1:15 - 1:30             Demonstration

   1:30 - 1:45             Break

   1:45 - 2:45             Proving properties of computer  programs - Jim Boyle

   2:45 - 3:00             Closing discussion - Larry Wos

  Wednesday, June 25

   9:00 - 9:15             Discussion - Larry Wos

   9:15 - 10:15            Introduction to Prolog - Rusty Lusk

  10:15 - 10:30            Break

  10:30 - 11:30            State-space problems - Rusty Lusk

  11:30 - 12:30            Lunch

  12:30 - 1:15             Circuit  design  and  validation  -  Jim Boyle

   1:15 - 1:45             Open problems in mathematics and logic - Rusty Lusk

   1:45 - 2:00             Break

   2:00 - 2:45             Details of the solution of an open problem in logic
                           - Larry Wos

   2:45 - 3:15             Our automated reasoning software - Rusty Lusk

   3:15 - 3:30             Closing remarks - Larry Wos

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 3 Apr 86 10:45:07 est
From: Tom Scott <[email-masked]>
Subject: Conference - Knowledge Engineering Forum

I. ANNOUNCEMENT

                              Announcing

                     KNOWLEDGE-ENGINEERING FORUM

                         Tuesday, May 6, 1986
                 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
                           Christie Theatre

        Announcing a  conference on  knowledge   engineering (KE)  and
applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in business  and industry
in the Northeastern Wisconsin  area.   Featured are  presentations  by
practitioners  in the field, demonstrations of  hardware and software,
and an executive briefing/group discussion  on developing applications
and building an in-house KE group in your own situation.

        The fee for attending the conference is $30.00.  Enrollment in
the conference is limited.  For further  information about  attendance
and fee payment, please contact

        Prof. Dennis Girard
        College of Environmental Sciences
        University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
        Green Bay, WI  54301-7001
        Phone: 414-465-2285 (office)
               414-465-2371 (secretaries)

II. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

        8:30    Registration and coffee hour

        9:00    "Welcome" by David Jowett, Vice-Chancellor for
                Academic Affairs, UW-Green Bay

        9:15    "An Overview of Knowledge Engineering: The Theory,
                Practice, and Technology of Knowledge-Based Decision-
                Support Systems" by Roger Pick, Assistant Professor,
                Information Systems, Graduate School of Business,
                UW-Madison

        9:45    "Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering: A
                Perspective on the Future" by Clarke Harrison,
                Symbolics, Inc., Chicago, IL

        10:15   Break

        10:30   "Knowledge Engineering: A Practical Perspective" by
                Stephen Zvolner, Senior Research Scientist, Johnson
                Controls, Milwaukee, WI

        11:30   Lunch and informal group discussions

        1:00    Executive Briefing/Group Discussion

                (1) Executive Briefing: "Knowledge Engineering
                    Methodology" by Gene Korienek, Johnson Controls,
                    Milwaukee, WI

                (2) Group Discussion: "Developing an In-House
                    Knowledge-Engineering Group" by those attending
                    the conference

        2:30    Break

        2:45    Hardware and Software Demonstrations (to be announced)

        3:45    Review and Closing

III. COMMENTS AND TENTATIVE OUTLINE OF GENE KORIENEK'S EXECUTIVE
     BRIEFING ON KE METHODOLOGY

        The cornerstone of the conference is the 1:00-2:30 slot, which
is dedicated to the executive briefing on KE methodology and the group
discussion on developing  in-house KE groups.   The executive briefing
will be presented by Gene Korienek of Johnson Controls.   Gene is well
versed  in   the   theory, practice,   and   technology  of  knowledge
engineering and will integrate his presentation on KE methodology with
the group discussion on developing in-house KE groups.

        The key to  the integration of   the topics of  the  executive
briefing  and the  group  discussion  is to view  KE methodology on an
object level and the developing of in-house KE groups on a meta level.
Executives and managers are  concerned with the  design, building, and
maintaining of KE groups, which in turn are concerned with the design,
building, and maintaining of KE systems: executives and managers build
groups that build KE systems.  In order to build  a KE group, one must
have at least a general idea how to build a KE system.  The two topics
are intimately related and are best considered in one breath.

        Gene  plans to complete his   presentation in  the first  hour
(1:00-2:00).  During that time he will solicit  questions and comments
and will generally encourage group  participation.  The last half hour
(2:00-2:30) will be given over to the dynamics of group discussion.

        Gene's presentation on KE methodology will include some of the
following points of interest:

        (1) KE methodology  in general:  What  is  the methodology for
the  engineering  of  knowledge?  Does  KE    methodology differ  from
previous methodologies  for the design,  building,  and maintenance of
MIS and EDP applications?  If there is a difference, what is it?  Does
the  process of  iterative development   and   testing occur more   in
knowledge engineering than in MIS/EDP?  What role does  Prolog play in
the prototyping of KE systems?

        (2) The recruiting, training, and maintaining  of personnel to
staff an in-house KE group: How can local talent be  developed?  Do KE
personnel  have to be trained and  imported from   Silicon  Valley and
Boston, or  can  they be  trained  locally?    Once the  personnel are
recruited and  trained,  how can  they  be maintained?     How does  a
corporation in Northeastern Wisconsin keep  the interest and education
level of its in-house KE group alive?  What is to prevent members of a
KE group from leaving the local area for  greener pastures on the East
and West Coasts?

        (3) The acquisition and  development of hardware  and software
environments to be used by an in-house KE group in  the development of
KE  systems:  Why have  DEC-compatible  systems  and  the VAX computer
family  been so  popular in the  AI/KE  community?   How can the  Unix
development  environment for KE  systems be integrated  with  the  IBM
environment  that many  corporations   have    installed   for MIS/EDP
applications?

        How do the  GNU Project and   the  emergence of  freeware as a
        viable  economic  force  affect a   corporation's strategic KE
        plan?  What is the GNU Project Emacs?

        What is GNU  Emacs?  It is  said that Emacs  is  more than  an
        editor: Emacs is an entire development  environment which fits
        naturally  and   effortlessly    into    a   Unix  development
        environment.  Why is this the case?

        Should  a business or   industrial corporation that   plans to
        develop an in-house KE group follow  the traditional  academic
        AI/KE path of DEC, VAX,  Unix, and GNU   Emacs, or should  the
        corporation  instead follow  the  commercial path  laid out by
        IBM?  What are the  theoretical,  practical, and technological
        considerations for comparing, contrasting, and integrating the
        DEC/VAX/Unix/Emacs environment with the IBM environment?

        (4) The  human  process of actually building  KE systems: What
are the group dynamics involved in the process of building KE systems?
How do this  process and  the group  dynamics of  in-house  KE  groups
differ from what takes place under the MIS/EDP paradigm?

IV. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND OUTLINE OF POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR THE GROUP
    DISCUSSION ON DEVELOPING IN-HOUSE KNOWLEDGE-ENGINEERING GROUPS

        The development of an in-house  knowledge-engineering group is
a deliberate and gradual  process that unfolds within a  corporation's
long-range strategic plan.  This process requires a commitment on both
the corporate and  community  levels in order  to  train, recruit, and
maintain  the    human resources and   to   acquire  and   develop the
knowledge-engineering environment.  There are three  areas to consider
in the  development of  in-house  KE groups: A.   Individual Corporate
Action; B. Community Action; C. A Vision of Knowledge Engineering.

A. Individual Corporate Action

        (1) Cooperation with other businesses in the training and
            maintaining of local personnel

        (2) A team to fulfill the five basic functions of each KE
            project:

                (a) Project leader
                (b) Domain expert--hence the name "expert system"
                (c) Conceptualist: Plan, design, and document
                (d) Encoder: Implement and test
                (e) Systems programmer: Unix and IBM systems

B. Community Action

        (1) Formation of an ACM-SIGART chapter

        (2) Teaching of AI languages (Lisp, Prolog), production
            systems (ITP, OPS5, OPS83), and KE courses in area high
            schools, technical colleges, and at the university (both
            undergraduate and graduate levels)

        (3) Establishment of a regional AI/KE training center for
            Northeastern Wisconsin at the university level

C. A Vision of Knowledge Engineering

        (1) The Knowledge Age: theory, practice, and technology

                (a) The practical focus of KE on decision-support
                    systems (DSS) and information-retrieval systems
                    (IRS) differentiates KE from AI.

                (b) Such articles as "Why Computers May Never Think
                    Like People" (Hubert and Stuart Dreyfus,
                    "Technology Review", January, 1986) are of
                    immediate benefit to KE and of questionable value
                    to AI.

        (2) Theory, practice, and technology: A modern structure in
            America and Japan inherited from ancient Greece (theoria,
            praxis, and techne)

                (a) Forthcoming Prentice-Hall manuscript, "A Vision of
                    Knowledge Engineering" by Tom Scott (Autumn 1987)

                (b) Japanese R&D projects in AI/KE: Fifth Generation
                    Computing System (FGCS) and Sixth Generation
                    Computing System (SGCS)

                (c) MCC: America's cooperative challenge to Japanese
                    FGCS and SGCS

V. FINAL COMMENTS

        Since the  detailed format  and  content of the conference are
still being arranged, the schedule of events and comments in the above
four sections (I-IV) are subject to  change.   For  information on the
final schedule and attendance at  the conference, please contact Prof.
Dennis Girard at the phone number or address listed in section I.

                                * * *

        Tom Scott                    CSNET: scott@bgsu
        Dept. of Math. & Stat.       ARPANET: scott%bgsu@csnet-relay
        Bowling Green State Univ.    UUCP: cbosgd!osu-eddie!bgsuvax!scott
        Bowling Green OH 43403-0221  ATT: 419-372-2636 (work)

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End of AIList Digest
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