The use of Computers to model the behavioral aspects of human reasoning and learning. Research in
AI is concentrated in some half-dozen areas. In problem solving, one must
proceed from a beginning (the initial state) to the end (the goal state) via a
limited number of steps; AI here involves an attempt to model the reasoning process
in solving a problem, such as the proof of a theorem in Euclidean Geometry. In game theory the computer must choose among a number of possible next moves to select the one that optimizes its probability of winning; this type
of choice is analogous to that of a chess player selecting the next move in
response to an opponent's move. In pattern recognition, shapes, forms, or
configurations of data must be identified and isolated from a larger group; the process
here is similar to that used by a doctor in classifying medical problems on
the basis of symptoms. Natural language processing is an analysis of current or
colloquial language usage without the sometimes misleading effect of formal
grammars; it is an attempt to model the learning process of a translator faced with
the phrase throw mama from the train a kiss. Cybernetics is the analysis of the communication and control processes of
biological organisms and their relationship to mechanical and electrical systems;
this study could ultimately lead to the development of thinking robots. Machine learning occurs when a computer improves its performance of a task on the
basis of its programmed application of AI principles to its past performance of
that task. An outgrowth of AI research has been the Expert System, a computer program (see Programming Language) that uses AI techniques to predict the outcome of events or solve problems.