Volume 11, Issue 6
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Volume 11, Issue 6
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| Nov/Dec 1997 | |
| Theme: Business Applications |
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To Volume 11, Issue 5
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To Volume 12, Issue 1
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Features
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| ai@work - How does business use AI technology? The year 2000 problem, financial industy applicatins, desktop publishing, and troubleshooting jet engines are some success stories from AcknoSoft, Franz Inc., Inso, MultiLogic, and The Haley Enterprise. |
| Modeling Methodology 1: Configuring the Neural Network Solution -- Data collection, selection, and preprocessing in conjunction with modeling algorithms are crucial to the development of neural networks and rule induction systems. Will Dwinell uses and example close to home to demonstrate these techniques in the first of this three part series. |
| New Technology in a Large Customer Call Center -- Case-Based Reasoning is put to the test in a major consumer call center to improve quality, reduce call backs, train customer agents, and provide call analysis. the overall goal: save big bucks. Helen Thomas, Richard Foil, and Sherry Walden provide valuable insight into their deployment experience. |
| Next Generation Spreadsheet Computing - In today's business the spreadsheet has become a vital tool. Eero Hyvonen and Stefano De Pascale explain how to extend ordinary arithmetic to handle intervals, enabling uncertain data and problem solving under user-given constraint. |
| Regulars | ||
| Editorial | ||
| Vendor's Forum - LPA Prolog in Action | ||
| Agents -Agents of Contingency | by Dan Rasmus | |
| Intelligence Files - A New Look for the Neural Network Industry | by David Blanchard | |
| Product Updates ---------------------------> | 25 late breaking product announcements from around the world in the fields of: | |
| Announcements | Fuzzy Logic | |
| Help Desk | Internet | |
| Languages | Neural Networks | |
| Tools | Voice Recognition | |
| PC AI Buyer's Guide ----------------------> | Case-Based Reasoning | Management Software |
| Multimedia | Voice and Speech Recognition | |
| Web Authoring Tools | ||
| Product Service Guide - Provides access to information on an entire category of products | ||
| PC AI Blackboard - AI advertisers bulletin board | ||
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Advertiser List for 11.6
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| AAAI | ICCT Tech (Canada) Inc | Primenet |
| AbTech Corporation | Inference Corp. | Production Sys Techs Inc. |
| AI Developers Inc. | KnowledgeBroker Inc. | Prolog Development Center |
| American Heuristics | Lab Automation | Rule Machine's Corp. |
| Amzi! Inc. | Logic Programming Assoc Ltd | Soft WareHouse Inc. |
| Applied Logic Systems Inc. | MIT GmbH | System Dynamics Intl Inc. |
| ATTAR Software USA | MultiLogic Inc. | Teknowledge Inc. |
| BioComp Systems Inc. | NeuralWare/AspenTech | The Haley Enterprise |
| Blackboard Tech Group | Neuron Data | The Metus Systems Group |
| California Scientific Software | NeuroDimension | Ward Systems Group Inc. |
| Churchill Systems | OXKO Corp. | WizSoft Inc. |
| Finance and Tech Publishing | PAEXPO '98 | Xi Computer Corp. |
| Franz Inc. | PC AI AI Report | |
| Hess Consulting | Pinnacle Data |
| As we wrap up our eleventh year, it's fitting to focus on Business Applicatins of AI. This issue shows AI's mainstream acceptance. Corporate MIS now considers AI technology along with client/server and databases. At a recent Gartner Group Presentation, the discussion turned to the future of AI. The speaker eloquently summarized the computer revolution. First we worked with bits - referring to the punch card based computers. Next we focused on data - as with spreadsheets and databases. Now we are in the information age - assembling related data. The next millenium will bring the age of knowledge trends, analysis, and focused information. AI companies have the advantage in this new age - they have been working on, with PC AI coverage, this technology for over a decade. The number of AI companies acquired over the past year exemplifies this trend, and has not gone unnoticed by mainstream corporations. Dave Blanchard covers the latest mergers in his column. | |
| We start out with a collection of AI success stories ("ai@work") found at some highly recognized companies. A CBR-based trouble shooting system for Boeing 737 saves airlines downtime. LISP helps companies solve the year 2000 problem. AI is a key component in a Web-based consulting service providing information on 401K choices. Expert systems combined with Web technology built a restricted stock knowledge system. Adobe, the maker of some industry leading publishing tools, used AI to handle size and orientation changes in PageMaker. | |
| Most Companies have costly call centers, either to handle employee benefits or customer complaints. Companies with vision are using AI tooimprove quality and reduce costs in this crucial part of their business. Helen Thomas, Richard Foil, and Sherry Walden ("New Technology in a Large Customer Call Center") provide valuabe insight into their development experience at Thomson Consumer Electronics. You may have heard of Thomson through some of their products - RCA, GE, and ProScan. | |
| The spreadsheet remains an important business tool, but its fundamental method for calculation hasn't changed in almost two decades. Most modeling and planning requires the handling of intervals and uncertainty, which existing spreadsheets don't do well. Eero Hyvonen and Stefano De Pascale ("Next Generation Spreadsheet Computing") describe their innovative technology. | |
| Data-mining is the latest AI technology to go mainstream. Computers have been collecting and generating bits, data, and information for years but retrieving this data has not been easy. Seymour and Jeffrey Rapaport evaluate AbTech Corporation's ModelQuest. this tool, using generalized polynomial functions, efficiently arrives at models that can predict results within a well defined total error. While on the subject of modeling, Will Dwinnell ("Modeling Methodology 1") begins his three part series on the development of neural networks and rule induction systems. In this installment, he looks at data collection, selection, and preprocessing in conjunction with modeling algorithms. And our senior editor, Dan Rasmus, ponders the future of intelligent agents and the evolution of software. | |
| For the past six years Joseph Schmuller has steered PC AI as Editor in Chief. Under his watchful eye we have seen companies come and go, some becoming successful, some absorbed into the mainstream. He maintained a balance between technology and application, providing information to help a new and still fragile industry. Along the way he established high editorial standards as he made PC AI the primary consumer AI magazine. It is with sadness that we watch Joseph leave on an extended sabbatical to pursue other interests, including book writing. In his free time he is a university professor and full time system analyst for a major financial institution. | |
| Terry Hengl Publisher |
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