The Japan Information Processing Development Centre (JIPDEC) established a committee for Study and Research on Fifth-Generation Computers. Beginning in 1979, this Committee set out on a two-year investigation into the most desirable types of computer systems for application in the 1990`s (fifth-generation computers) and how the development projects aimed at the realization of these systems should be carried forward. This book contains the papers presented at the International Conference on Fifth Generation Computer Systems. Included among these papers is a preliminary report on the findings of the Committee.

This book delivers the scientific and mathematical basis to treat and process knowledge as a quantifiable and dimensioned entity. It provides the units and measures for the value of information contained in a "body of knowledge" that can be measured, processed, enhanced, communicated and preserved. It provides a basis to evaluate the quantity of knowledge acquired by students at various levels and in different universities. The effect of time on the dynamics and flow of knowledge is tied to Internet knowledge banks and provides the basis for designing and building the next generation of novel machine to appear in society. This book ties the basic needs of all human beings to the modern machines that resolve such need based on Internet knowledge banks (KBs) distributed throughout nations and societies. The features of the Intelligent Internet are fully exploited to make a new generation of students and knowledge workers use the knowledge resources elegantly and optimally. It deals with topics and insight into the design and architecture of next-generation computing systems that deal with human and social problems. Processor and Internet technologies that have already revolutionized human lives form the subject matter and the focal point of this book. Information and knowledge on the Internet delivered by next-generation mobile networks form the technical core presented. Human thought processes and adjustments follow the solutions offered by machines. - Extends the established practices and designs documented in computer systems to encompass the evolving knowledge processing field - Provides an academic and industrial viewpoint of the concurrent dynamic changes in computer and communication industries - Presents information for all perspectives, from managers, scientists and researchers - Basic concepts can be applied to other disciplines and situations

The development of computer technology, particularly the work of the Fifth Generation Computer Project of Japan, will have far-reaching international implications. The author explores the uses of the new generation computer and information systems now under development in Japan by identifying their application, assessing their impact on society, and envisioning the transition to the future.

Computer systems based on the notion of the computer as assistant have recently become the focus of intense interest. The expanding role of the computer in everyday life and the growing number of untrained users make it necessary to think about new ways of dividing labor between humans and machines. Future systems must take on more tasks and perform them more competently and autonomously than existing systems. If they are to be adequately flexible and responsive to complexity, they cannot automate their performance completely. The aim of designers should be to create computer systems with capabilities similar to those of good assistants in the real world. Effective assistance has many characteristics. An assistant is expected to be competent in some domains of expertise, to know the limits of his/her knowledge, to be able to process inexact instructions from clients, to adjust to and learn from them, to explain his/her behavior and suggestions, and to support clients in communication and cooperation with other people. This book believes that such capabilities can be built into computer systems. To that end, the chapter contributors discuss the concepts and methods--particularly from the fields of artificial intelligence and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW)--that they have drawn from to develop successful system prototypes. They present several of these prototypes including assistants for graphics design, knowledge discovery in data bases, coordination support, organizational memory, user interface design, and knowledge base construction. As such, this volume helps map out the future for all those involved in computer systems design.