The role of intelligent systems in the national information infrastructure

Abstract

The National Information Infrastructure (NII) promises to deliver to people in their homes and businesses a vast array of information in many forms. It could significantly improve many aspects of citizens lives. However, for the NII to realize its potential, it must provide efficient and easy access without requiring specialized training. The field of AI is positioned to make substantial contributions to the NII. AI techniques can play a central role in the development of a useful and usable NII by (1) enabling the construction of human-computer interface systems that are goal-oriented, cooperative, and customizable; allow users to communicate in natural ways in a variety of modalities; and provide a consistent interface to the full range of NII services; (2) providing services for data and knowledge management integration and translation, and knowledge discovery in support of a more flexible infrastructure; and, (3) assisting in the development of more powerful software tools and environments by adding a range of advanced capabilities to rapid prototyping systems; enabling the development of intelligent project management aids; and supporting the construction of simulation systems that include more sophisticated simulated agents, including characters that act in human-like ways.