Advances in artificial intelligence

For many years, Artificial Intelligence technology has been successfully applied in various domains, significantly contributing to the vision of the Information Society. As early as the 1980s, some envisioned distributed knowledge bases that encapsulated the explicable knowledge of organizations, which are now becoming a reality. This evolution has necessitated the development of other technologies, leading to a blend of AI with these advancements, making companies increasingly aware of its importance. The Internet and World Wide Web have established a global infrastructure, while businesses have become globalized in nearly every aspect. As this process is still in its early stages, there is a natural inclination to reflect on and forecast future developments. This theme was central to the 23rd Annual German Conference on Artificial Intelligence (KI-99) held at the University of Bonn, focusing on the Knowledge Society. Invited speakers Helmut Willke and Hans-Peter Kriegel explored different perspectives on this topic, with Willke discussing virtual organizations and Kriegel applying data mining concepts to pattern recognition tasks. Additionally, three application forums were included under the Knowledge Society theme, addressing IT-based innovation for environment and development, knowledge management in enterprises, and knowledge management in village and city planning within the information society.