Contributions to artificial intelligence: the IIIA perspective

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is a relatively new scientific and technological field which studies the nature of intelligence by using computers to produce intelligent behaviour. Initially, the main goal was a purely scientific one, understanding human intelligence, and this remains the aim of cognitive scientists. Unfortunately, such an ambitious and fascinating goal is not only far from being achieved but has yet to be satisfactorily approached. Fortunately, however, artificial intelligence also has an engineering goal: building systems that are useful to people even if the intelligence of such systems has no relation whatsoever with human intelligence, and therefore being able to build them does not necessarily provide any insight into the nature of human intelligence. This engineering goal has become the predominant one among artificial intelligence researchers and has produced impressive results, ranging from knowledge-based systems to autonomous robots, that have been applied to many different domains. Furthermore, artificial intelligence products and services today represent an annual market of tens of billions of dollars worldwide. This article summarizes the main contributions to the field of artificial intelligence made at the IIIA-CSIC (Artificial Intelligence Research Institute of the Spanish Scientific Research Council) over the last five years.