VERY LARGE KNOWLEDGE BASE PROCESSING ARCHITECTURE

IMAGINE A DOCTOR'S OFFICE IN 2005 WHERE COMPUTERS SERVE AS "MECHANICAL DOCTORS" WHO WON'T GET TIRED OR FORGET YOU AND WHO TAKE TIME TO BE COMPASSIONATE DURING DIAGNOSIS. AFFORDABLE, CONSISTENT, QUALITY MEDICAL CARE WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE. HOW? THESE "MECHANICAL DOCTORS" WOULD ALSO PROCESS THE MILLION PIECES OF BACKGROUND AND COMMON-SENSE KNOWLEDGE WE TAKE FOR GRANTED. TODAY'S COMPUTERS AND PROGRAMS CANNOT. RETICULAR SYSTEMS INC., IS DEVELOPING VERY LARGE KNOWLEDGE BASE PRODUCTS NEEDED TO PROCESS SPECIFIC EXPERTISE, BACKGROUND AND COMMON-SENSE KNOWLEDGE. VLKBS WILL BE BUILT FROM SMALLER OR EXISTING KNOWLEDGE BASES. "INTELLIGENT AGENTS" WILL REASON ACROSS MULTIPLE KNOWLEDGE BASES AND WILL BE PROGRAMMED TO KNOW HOW THE KNOWLEDGE BASES WERE DEVELOPED, THEIR INTER-RELATIONSHIPS, AND HOW PROBLEMS ARE SOLVED WITHIN THE SPECIFIC PROFESSION. THE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL USERS IS ENORMOUS: PILOTS, BATTLEFIELD COMMANDERS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS, STOCK BROKERS, DOCTORS, AND TAXPAYERS WILL BE ASSISTED IN MAKING DIFFICULT DECISIONS IN A COMPLEX, SWIFTLY CHANGING WORLD.