SRI ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STATUS REPORT

The Stanford Research Institute's Artificial Intelligence Group (SRAI

in the four-letter abbreviations) expects connection to the ARPA net as a

research center after conversion this summer to a TENEX from our current

PDP-10. Our connection will be through the IMP already at SRI for the

Network Information Center and through a PDP-15 serving our PDP-10 as a

controller of peripherals. Our hardware interface to the IMP is currently

in the bidding process, and we intend to use as much as possible of the

TENEX network software. (Probably all we will need to change is the lowest

level, most strongly hardware-oriented part of the NCP.)

The most optimistic estimate we can give for functional connection to

the network is mid-July 1971. We are currently devoting the energies of

our system support group to the accomodation of various hardware and design

changes, and so our contact with the Network Working Group has been only

minimal and passive. It is entirely conceivable that we may find our par-

ticipation tending to strength and activeness as we cross our other bridges.

We can project our participation in the network into the first few

months of our connection. We can support several simultaneous outside

users on a system nominally up during the business day and often up at

other times. Lapses in continuity of system operation are usually due to

scheduled maintenance or hardware failures and tend to occur at intervals

of either an hour or several days with remarkable consistency. The prin-

cipal service we offer to other network participants is the availability

of various parts of our own research software. The most notable examples

are QA3.6, a first-order resolution theorem prover; STRIPS, an extra-

logical problem solver; and possibly QA4, a language oriented toward

problem-solving strategies. The services we can anticipate requesting

of the network are of two kinds: We could conceivably use other people's

artificial intelligence programs on a trial basis; and we might use the

network to make occasional contact with other people in the network.

[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]

        [ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the   ]
        [ direction of Alex McKenzie.                   12/96   ]

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