AbstractLike other industrialized countries, France is currently enjoying a vogue for artificial intelligence and, generally, for hardware and software components and structures which will be needed for the design and implementation of the computer applications of the 1990s.Since public announcement of MITI's Fifth Generation Project in October 1981, the French scientific and industrial communications have exhibited increasing enthusiasm for AI languages, expert systems, man-computer interaction, novel computer architectures, and knowledge-based computer systems as a whole. The choice of the Prolog language for the Japanese project has stimulated many French industrialists to be aware of the existence of a basic AI tool designed mainly in France.In spite of the present fashion, often maintained by the journalistic milieu, it would be inaccurate to say that the French fifth generation project goes back to the Japanese announcement. The MITI project has certainly been a catalyst of ministerial and industrial awareness, but the bulk of ongoing projects stem from earlier work most often funded by government agencies.In spite of the current thrust in AI and the centralizing habit in France, a “flagship” AI project cannot be identified. French Research and Development initiatives in artificial intelligence in general, and expert systems in particular, correspond more to a set of distinct projects. These frequently complement each other in technical scope and in their scientific and industrial objectives.
Expert Systems In A Commercial Environment