1983 and all that

Abstract

1983 was the year that World War III almost began, at least if you believed the film ‘War Games.’ Matthew Broderick, in one of his best roles, was a troublesome computer geek that brought the world to the brink of total meltdown. By connecting to the the US military's top-secret War Operations Plan Response (WOPR) system for evaluating what to do in the event of a Soviet attack, Broderick mistakenly starts playing ‘Global Thermonuclear War’ with the US military's computer system. 1983 saw the publication of Edward Feigenbaum and Pamela McCorduck's technological thriller ‘The Fifth Generation: Artificial Intelligence and Japan's Computer Challenge to the World,’ (Feigenbaum and McCorduck, 1983). Feigenbaum and McCorduck's book wasn't–or wasn't meant to be–fiction, but a serious discourse on the way that Japan's technological wizardry would change the world. But, like the cherry blossom, Japan's Computer Challenge wilted and fell away. Another dip into 1983 provides us with a breakthrough in the theory of engineering, a definition of what it means to engineer. GFC Rogers (Rogers, 1983) told us: ‘the practice of organising the design and construction of any artifice [the solution] which transforms the physical world around us to meet some recognised need.’ No surprises? Actually, that word ‘practice’ makes so much sense in a practical subject, and had been missed many times before. Rogers told us that engineering is practice. The connection? Well, at least in Knowledge Engineering circles, their description of Japan's contribution to artificial intelligence is not what Feigenbaum and McCorduck's book is most remembered for. No, their book contains the following definition of Knowledge Engineering: ‘an engineering discipline that involves integrating knowledge into computer systems in order to solve complex problems normally requiring a high level of human expertise.’ In scoping our subject as part of engineering, Feigenbaum and McCorduck have given a timeless definition. As we continue to learn about engineering, so we continue to learn about Knowledge Engineering; as we learn more about Knowledge Engineering, we contribute to the learning on engineering. From what is already a virtuous circle, Rogers' practice based definition of engineering allows us to keep reinventing our subject in an exponentially changing world: with the recognition of new needs and new physical contexts, knowledge engineers will practice beyond what has gone before. Knowledge Engineering is alive and well and living in the real world. 1983 brought Knowledge Engineering before a film-going public: that computers could - one day - make life and death decisions. Situated in the Cold War, as Broderick's game inched the world towards a cold and long winter, it heightened the importance of getting it right, as being fit-for-purpose in meeting our needs. Today, because of the work of knowledge engineers, computers do meet our complex real-world needs, with increasing scope and with increasing importance. Tomorrow, who knows where we will take Knowledge Engineering. All that is certain is that it will be an incredible journey. Our out-going Editor-in-Chief Lucia Rapanotti has served the Knowledge Engineering community for three years as Editor-in-Chief of this journal. During her time, she has been responsible for a great increase in the number of manuscripts submitted, an increase that has simultaneously improved the choice and quality of what is published. She has seen the Editorial Board grow, better to reflect the global interest in Knowledge Engineering. And last, but by no means least for the future, Lucia has overseen the transition to an on-line manuscript processing system. We are honoured that Lucia will continue to serve on the Editorial Board of Expert Systems: the Journal of Knowledge Engineering, from where she can continue to guide and advise. I am sure you will join with me in wishing Lucia all the best for her future.