The Gardens of Learning: A Vision for AI

The field of AI is directed at the fundamental problem of how the mind works; its approach, among other things, is to try to simulate its working -- in bits and pieces. History shows us that mankind has been trying to do this for certainly hundreds of years, but the blooming of current computer technology has sparked an explosion in the research we can now do. The center of AI is the wonderful capacity we call learning, which the field is paying increasing attention to. Learning is difficult and easy, complicated and simple, and most research doesn't look at many aspects of its complexity. However, we in the AI field are starting. Let us now celebrate the efforts of our forebears and rejoice in our own efforts, so that our successors can thrive in their research. This article is the substance, edited and adapted, of the keynote address given at the 1992 annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence on 14 July in San Jose, California.