expert system

expert system, a computer program that uses artificial-intelligence methods to solve problems within a specialized domain that ordinarily requires human expertise. The first expert system was developed in 1965 by Edward Feigenbaum and Joshua Lederberg of Stanford University in California, U.S. Dendral, as their expert system was later known, was designed to analyze chemical compounds. Expert systems now have commercial applications in fields as diverse as medical diagnosis, petroleum engineering, and financial investing. In order...