Introduction to This Special Issue

This meeting represented the most significant transformation in the history of IAAI. IAAI-97 consisted of two paper tracks as well as invited talks and panels. The first paper track, Deployed-Application Case Studies, comprised papers about deployed AI systems that are relied on for operations and have clearly defined business value. This track was equivalent to previous IAAI programs. The deployed applications track's standards for innovation recognize four types: (1) first application of an AI technique in a deployed application, (2) application of an AI technique to a new domain, (3) a high business payoff, and (4) a novel integration of techniques.