Interview: Elaine Rich of MCC

Symbolic-reasoning systems, or rule-based expert systems, are used successfully in a wide variety of applications, from process control and credit evaluation to insurance underwriting and medical diagnosis. Still, some problems have proven impervious to solutions with purely symbolic techniques. In many of these areas, the methods that underlie artificial neural networks, or connectionist systems, show promise. This realization has led to a new research area hybrid systems. Under Elaine Rich, Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has a hybrid-systems proElaine Rich