Contains research objectives.National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-02)Computation Center, M.I.T

Minsky, M. L.

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XIX. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE*Prof. M. L. Minsky D. G. Bobrow D. C. LuckhamProf. C. E. Shannon D. J. Edwards L. G. RobertsP. W. Abrahams T. P. Hart I. E. SutherlandRESEARCH OBJECTIVESThe purpose of our work is to investigate ways of making machines solve problemsthat are usually considered to require intelligence. Our procedure is to attack the prob-lems by programming a computer to deal directly with the necessary abstractions, ratherthan by simulating hypothetical physiological structures. When a method for solving aproblem is not known, searches over spaces of potential solutions of the problem, or ofparts of the problem, are necessary. The space of potential solutions of interestingproblems is ordinarily so enormous that it is necessary to devise heuristic methods1-3to replace the searching of this space by a hierarchy of searches over simpler spaces.The major difficulty, at present, is the excessive length of time required for buildingmachinery or even for writing programs to test heuristic procedures. For this reason,a major part of our effort is going into the development of ways of communicating witha computer more effectively than we can now communicate. This work has two aspects:development of a system for instructing the computer in declarative, as well as impera-tive, sentences, called the advice-taker, 4 and development of a programming languagecalled LISP 5 - 7 for manipulating symbolic expressions that will be used for programmingthe advice-taker system and will also be of more general use. We are embarking on amajor effort to integrate this work into the new M.I.T. time-shared real-time computersystem.Maintenance and further development of LISP will be continued by ProfessorJ. McCarthy, who is now at Stanford University. We plan to continue close associationwith his group.It is our belief that the field of artificial intelligence is limited only by the amountof qualified effort that can be put into it, and bythe machine limitations that still prohibitmore ambitious experiments. Our group is working in the following areas.1. Differential Equations Solved by Symbolic MethodsDr. J. Slagle has completed his program, SAINT, for "first-year calculus" and isworking on more powerful methods for symbolic solution of ordinary differentialequations.Z. Resource Allocation HeuristicsB. Bloom, D. J. Edwards, and others are working on the problems of conflictinggoals that arise in the chess problem. T. P. Hart is working on related problems inthe more tractable game of Kalah. Thesis students have been assigned problems inworking out techniques for other games.This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526);in part by the National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-02); and in part by the Com-putation Center, M.I. T.Several members of this group, working at the Computation Center, are not membersof the Research Laboratory of Electronics: Prof. H. Rogers, Jr. (Department of Mathe-matics, M.I.T.), Dr. O. G. Selfridge (Lincoln Laboratory, M.I.T.), Dr. J. Slagle(Lincoln Laboratory, M.I.T.), and the following graduate students: B. Bloom, T. Evans,T. Jones, D. M. R. Park, B. Raphael, W. Teitelman.QPR No. 68 159(XIX. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)3. Pattern Recognition and other Problems in Visual ImagesProfessor Minsky and Dr. Selfridge are working on the general theory; the resultswill appear in a series of papers, two of which are completed. T. Evans has almostcompleted his study of pictorial-verbal analogies, which will appear in his doctoralthesis. I. E. Sutherland has completed his superb "Sketchpad" picture-description sys-tem, which will appear in his dissertation. D. J. Edwards and M. Minsky have starteda study of relative merits of Bayes and matched-filter approximations for recognition.We are beginning work on programmed description of motion and animation. L. G. Robertsis exploring problems in description of three-dimensional forms.4. Heuristic Reasoning about Bodies of Verbal Description DataWork on systems related to the advice-taker is finally becoming concretely realized.T. Jones and M. Minsky are running preliminary versions of an advice-taker system.J. Slagle's differential-equations system will also be designed along these lines.B. Raphael is working on related systems concerned with interpreting language state-ments relevant to the state of an internal pictorial model. D. G. Bobrow is concernedwith detailed interpretation of ordinary language statements concerning a mathematicaldomain: "word-problems" in a system for High School algebra.5. Mathematical Aids and ModelsP. W. Abrahams is completing his dissertation research on a symbolic proof-checking system, which expands relatively informal meta-statements about theoremproofs into detailed applications of the rules of inference from assorted logical subsys-tems, thereby providing a mechanization of the expression "the reader will easily verify. "D. C. Luckham is working on a theory of program equivalence and simplification.M. Minsky is completing a book on computer-oriented theory of recursive functions,Turing machines, and Post systems.6. Mechanical HandH. Ernst's work on his TX-O mechanical hand was completed a year ago, and weare planning to continue such work, this time, in association with the M.I.T. time-sharing system. We hope also to work toward a computer-operated micromanipulationsystem under computer-sensed visual control.7. Neural NetsM. L. Minsky and 0. G. Selfridge are working on theories of neural nets. They havecompleted an analysis of certain synaptic learning processes in loop-free nets, and planto study the formation of certain kinds of assemblies in nets with cycles.8. Time Sharing and the Mathematical LaboratoryWe have an ambitious design for a laboratory in which mathematicians and physicistscan apply new techniques for solving problems involving equations that are impracticallycumbersome for hand-manipulation by ordinary mathematical techniques. What is neededis a control language for describing and executing the processes ordinarily carried outby a working research mathematician, implemented by a heuristic program. This systemas now envisioned would be a new national research facility, for visits by scientistswith appropriate problems. It is awaiting the development of a control language thatinvolves new man-machine interaction problems, for the appropriate time-shared visualconsoles that are necessary.M. L. MinskyQPR No. 68 160(XIX. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)References1. M. L. Minsky, Some Methods of Artificial Intelligence and Heuristic Pro-gramming, Proc. Symposium on the Mechanisation of Thought Processes, NationalPhysical Laboratory, Teddington, England, November 24-27, 1958 (H.M. StationeryOffice, London, 1959).2. M. L. Minsky, Steps toward artificial intelligence, Proc. IRE 49, 8-30 (1961).3. M. L. Minsky, A selected, descriptor-indexed bibliography to the literature onartificial intelligence, Trans. IRE, Vol. HFE-2, No. 1, pp. 39-55, March 1961.4. J. McCarthy, Programs with Common Sense, Proc. Symposium on theMechanisation of Thought Processes, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington,England, November 24-27, 1958 (H.M. Stationery Office, London, 1959).5. J. McCarthy, Recursive functions of symbolic expressions in computation bymachine, Part I, Commun. Assoc. Computing Machinery 3, 184-195 (April 1960).6. J. McCarthy, A Basis for a Mathematical Theory of Communication, Proc.Western Joint Computer Conference, Los Angeles, California, May 1961.7. J. McCarthy, Computer Programs for Checking Mathematical Proofs, a paperpresented at the Symposium on Recursive Function Theory, New York, April 1961.8. J. McCarthy, Time-Sharing Computer Systems (lecture, M.I.T., May 1961);Management and the Computer of the Future (The M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, Mass.,and John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1962).QPR No. 68 161

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