i Book Kevlew s Machine LearningmPrinciples and Techniques Series: Chapman and Hall Computing Series Richard Forsyth (Ed.) Chapman and Hall, London and New York, 1 989, 255 pp., £1 8.50 ISBN 0-412-30570-4 (hardback)

0-41 2-30580-1 (paperback)

Richard Forsyth, the editor of this collection of relatively short articles on various aspects of machine learning, makes the observation that 'most of today's intelligent computers would qualify as brain-damaged if they were people, for the simple reason that they can be relied upon to repeat the same behaviour in the same situation again and again and again!' This is clearly one of the hall-marks of the current state of so-called 'intelligent machines', particularly when applied in the engineering context! We, as humans, learn by our mistakes and adapt accordingly, whereas in most engineering applications, so-called 'intelligent' systems are still relatively rigid and have little power to adapt their behaviour. Any book on machine learning is therefore always most welcome and I am sure that this present text will be a useful contribution to the spectrum of literature available.

The book is essentially a collection of papers from various experts in the field and as such almost by definition lacks essential cohesion. Richard Forsyth himself begins with a valuable, generalized overview on the logic of induction. This is followed by a superb chapter by Anna Hart on machine induction as a form of knowledge-acquisition in knowledge- engineering. A so-called 'user's perspective' on inductive learning follows to conclude the first section.

The second section reviews biologically-inspired systems and a well-written, if somewhat short, section by Richard Forsyth discusses the evolution of intelligence. The classic pioneering work of Ingo Rachenberg is highlighted in his paper on artificial evolution and artificial intelligence. Some useful, classical examples of his work are quoted--al though

to the practising engineer the optimal solutions are so obvious at the outset that one wonders whether the task should ever have been attempted---except for the obvious reason that one did indeed know what the solution should be!

Igor Alexander has an input in a chapter entitled 'Learning and Distributed Memory', getting closer to neurons. I must say though, in all honesty, that his work and views have been so well-explored and -discussed elsewhere, that the chapter presents nothing new.

The next section looks at automated discovery, and Kenneth Haase starts off with an intriguing chapter on Automative Discovery in which he discusses the questions of inventing categories, law domains, etc. I personally found this to be extremely interesting, and learnt a lot!

Chris Naylor follows this with a short article on the Acquisition of Natural Language by Machines-- again, unfortunately, well-trodden territory and somewhat out of place. The section is concluded with a chapter by Masoud Yazdani on a computational model of creativity. For a mere engineer, this chapter, though interesting, presents some difficulties in grasping the essential message which is being conveyed.

Finally, the book winds up with some long-term perspectives. As an engineer, I found this to be the weakness in the book, as it tends to be filled with somewhat trite, well-worn comments. Particu- larly thin is the concluding chapter, which is so general and wide-spread as to be of little interest.

Whilst I said at the beginning, the text will be welcomed as another contribution to machine learning, I, like many others, find these relatively loose collections of short articles to be somewhat frustrating and difficult to read. To get one's teeth into a book, one really needs continuity, which I found severely lacking in this text. I must also say, as an engineer, that most of the chapters, with few exceptions, lacked real engineering examples. This was particularly the case in the chapter on machine induction, which I got extremely irritated with, as I would have liked to have seen many of the ideas

0952 1976 89 020]79 0252.00 ¢" 1989 Pineridge Ltd Eng. Appl i . of AI, 1989, Vol. 2, June 179

Book Reviews

related to real-world engineering problems. I must admit, though, that the conclusions to this chapter helped me to bring together many of the ideas which have been buzzing round in the back of my head, related to the idea of machine induction!

In summary, this is a useful contribution, if marred somewhat by a lack of continuity.

M. G. Rodd University of Wales, Swansea

IFAC 2nd I F A C w o r k s h o p

on

Artificial Intelligence in Real-Time Control 19-21 September 1989

Shenyang, People's Republic of China SCOPE

The scope of this workshop includes the use of artificial intelligence methods in the design, implementation, testing, maintenance and operation of real-time control systems. Topics of discussion may include the following as they apply to real-time environment: • Applicable programming languages • Expert system shells for design and development • Extension and upgrading of knowledge bases • Knowledge elicitation and acquisition

Machine learning • Parallel knowledge processing • Knowledge models and simulation • Management of the use of expert systems • Neural net control and pattern recognition • AI tools for manufacturing

• Autonomous vehicle control • Process and production control • Irdage understanding • Intelligent interfaces -man/machine and machine/machine • Multi-sensor fusion • Process scheduling techniques • Monitoring and supervision • Perception/situation assessment • AI-based decision-making techniques

The workshop will concentrate on methods rather than on applications.

EXTENDED ABSTRACTS Offers of papers are welcome from individuals and groups. Four copies of the extended abstract (in English, 2-3 pages of A4) should be received no later than 31st December 1988. Authors are requested to indicate which of the above topics the paper.relates to.

KEY DEADLINES Receipt of abstracts 31st December 1988 Paper acceptance and invitations 31 st March 1 989 Preliminary registration 31 st December 1 988 Receipt of completed papers 31 st May 1989

FURTHER INFORMATION FROM Miss Chen Da-yang, OR Shenyang International Conference Centre for Science and Technology, No 3, Li 3, Section 4, Minzu Street, Heping District, Shenyang, PRC. Telephone: (024) 363319 Telex: 80086 SGN CN Cable: 0271

Professor M. G. Rodd (Chairman of the IPC), Dept of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Wales, Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK. Telephone: (0792) 295568 Telex: 48358 Fax: (0792) 295532

180 Eng. Appli. of AI, 1989, Vol. 2, June