From: vere@netcom.com (Steven Vere)
Subject: Re: AI Winter Refugees
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 18:14:37 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Summary: Management ignores functional AI systems



The following is  an interesting response  I received by  email from a
person who   would  like  to remain  anonymous  to avoid  jeopardizing
his/her job.  In this text, the name of the  company has been replaced
by <MC> for Major Corporation.

[begin email text]

>o what were the causes of AI Winter?

	I feel it's a combination of factors.
	Here at <MC> (and this is only my opinion not <MC>'s)
	what I've seen happen is that lots of money was
	spent on several prototype systems, of which nearly
	all worked. The problem arose when it actually came down
	to using the systems. The management here has no concept
	of how it runs its processes, because they're held 
	responsible for money, schedules and people. Therefor they
	see very little need to "fix what ain't broke." They
	have also been conditioned not to take a risk. With this
	kind of corporate culture, AI expert systems just couldn't
	be implemented. They wouldn't take the risk, change the work,
	or spend the money to implement the prototypes. Therefore
	time after time the systems died on the vine. SO that
	after a while it looked like a lot of money was being wasted
	on a technology that didn't work. When I looked at the data
	I found out the technology was working they just weren't
	using it. And because of the corporate capacity for self-
	delusion, the technology got the blame when it was more
	the lack of any ability to implement new technologies in
	the information management area.

	This brings up another problem. At least here, the corporate
	culture really hampers technology transfer to occur in areas
	that one can't "touch and feel" the result. ie. It's much
	easier to bring in new technologies to the factory floor
	that to the MIS department. Our managemenmt just doesn't
	understand computers and how to handle information/knowledge.
	They can't feel it, or touch it, and computers are much
	too archane. In talking with my colleagues, this is a big
	problem in any corporation that has an older, white male
	management, like <MC>. In this kind of culture, AI systems
	just don't flourish, even when used for applications they are
	suited for.  It's been very frustrating to see this process.
	
>o alternative career paths followed by AI Winter refugees.

	Currently I'm working at a more conventional computing. It's
	the pits.

The problem with the corporate culture I think is a much more
important factor than most professionals realize. Once a technology
gets the label of "useless" whether it's deserved or not, it's
very hard to get funding. Even for reasonable projects. In US
corporations the cultures are very similar to <MC>'s - no risk,
short term, quick profit, "don't fix it if it ain't broke", 
crisis management that will talk "quality control" but has no
idea how to implement it. This kind of environment will kill
AI type projects every time. It's like putting an African Violet
into a desert and expecting it to grow. Therefor the projects
don't work even though lots of money gets spent. Therefor, to the
US corporate way of thinking, the technology was over hyped and
useless. The "word" gets out to the rest of the US corporate
community, and that is that.

I find it interesting that Europe is not having the same
problem. I've been talking to colleagues who are finding
opportunities in Frace, England, Spain, and Geramny. They
systems are being used there, and jobs are more numerous.

I also find it interesting which companies are still using 
this technology here in the states. They're keeping very
quiet about it. They are also branching out their expertise
to include Fuzzy logic, neural nets, and object-oriented
computing -- often starting to combine 1 or more of these
with the expert system paradigms.

[end email text]
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  Steven Vere                                    70571.521@compuserve.com  
  Boulder Creek, California                               vere@netcom.com    
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