Fifth Generation Computers and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence is an area of Computer Science concerned with making the computer perform tasks which, to be successfully done by human beings, require intelligence. Early efforts aimed at implementing general systems capable of working in a wide variety of tasks as well as special systems doing only one type of task very well. Expert systems belong to the second category and aim at competence comparable to that of an expert, in a very well delimited area of activity. These consist of broadly two parts: a core consisting of the domain specific knowledge and inference rules and a shell which (is domain independent and) provides the facilities for using these and interacting with the user.

The Fifth Generation Computer project proposed by Japan is the first comprehensive effort to consolidate and build up on the progress achieved in artificial intelligence and incorporate this into a new generation of very powerful computers, for use by the common man in his day to day life.

Expert systems offer numerous advantages and are being used in a wide variety of real life applications. Such systems can perform very well in situations that require knowledge and skills of a type that a human can acquire by means of formal training. They cannot, however, operate in situations requiring tacit knowledge that humans acquire spontaneously such as that concerned with shape and speech recognition and communication in natural language. This is still a more or less open field for research.

Developing countries such as India have a role to play in the advancement of this technology, rather than remain uninvolved observers or passive users. They have essentially the same constraints and strengths that impelled Japan to move into this area: shortage of natural resources and energy and availability of manpower of the required type. Involvement in Fifth Generation Computer technology hold an enormous potential for improvement of industrial productivity, managerial efficiency, rural medical care and literacy at various levels. Implementing fifth generation systems and software would be a challenging and effective way of generating wealth for this country.

Indexing terms:

• Artificial intellegence
• Fifth generation computers