SUMEX-AIM (NIH RR-00785-04)

MINUTES
AIM Advisory Group Meeting
“77 AIM Workshop - Rutgers University
July 7, 1977

Menbders Present: Dr. Lindberg (Chairman), Drs. Amarel, Bobrow, Feigenbaum,
Lederberg, Mohler, Myers, and Safir,

The AIM Advisory Group meeting was divided into an executive session
(13:15-14:00) and a public session (14:10-15:00). The following summarizes
key points discussed during the meetings but does not purport to be a
complete minutes, The nominal agenda for the meeting is attached;
discussion focussed on items 3-6,

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

1) There was a general discussion about how to improve the current mix of
projects on SUMEX-AIM, It was agreed that the community represented quite
well the significant work being done in the field, with the exception of the
MIT groups, which have not been pressed for computing capacity. Nevertheless,
Dr. Feigenbaun recommended that an effort be made to couple MIT activities
more closely into AIM and that we search out more social/behavioral sciences
projects, Renewed efforts to recruit MIT participation on the AIM Advisory
Group were sugsested,

2) Dr. Lindberg felt more snould be done in publie documentation of the
SUMEX experience and in informing non-conmunity groups about the AI programs,
It was pointed out that much individual project effort already was spent in
talking to professional meetings about developments and in soliciting outside
users within available system capacity,

3) Dr, Mohler raised a question about the extent to which Health Resources
Administration funding had been sought for clinically related projects, The
recent experience of the MYCIN renewal being turned down by HRA cast doubt
on getting much support there. Support for projects that fall between basic
research and health avplications is a recurrent problem which is receivins
special attention at the NIH and elsewhere,

4) Dr, Lindberg asked if any contacts had been established with a new
Information Science Resource being funded at Georgia Tech under Dr. Slomecka,
Dr. Lederberg responded that he would look into that,

5) The need for procedures to annually review and revalidate projects using
SUHEX was discussed in order to ensure optimal use of limited available
resources, Material had been distributed earlier, extracted from the project
reports submitted this year, as a basis for an evaluation, The Advisory
Group agreed unanimously that the current projects are approved for another
year, However, with respect to Dr. Lindsay’s Organ Culture Project, it was
noted that he had made little progress in developing a specific application
project during his 2-year pilot status, and that closer consultation would

be indicated, It was reported that tnis project had so far consuned very
little resources, but the matter would also be referred to the AIM Executive

Committee for action. Users should set formal notice of the status of their
projects,
Page 2 SUMEX-AIM (NIH RR-00785-04)
AIM Advisory Croup Meeting
Minutes - July 7, 1977

Executive Session (continued):

6) Time did not allow a review of the PUFF Project for which apolication
materials had been distributed before the worksnoo. A review of PUFF will
be followed up by mail,

OPEN SESSION:

1) A number of participants expressed tne need for more extensive user
consulting. It was pointed out that resources did not allow providing
routine consulting support and that both program maintenance and user

within other commitments, The routes now provided for user assistance
include the "GRIPE" system and links to staff members for urgent requests,
Users may also address the mailbox <SUMEX> with any comments, questions or
Suggestions, It was suggested that an "EXPERT" command be introduced to
direct questions to the appropriate person on a subsystem basis,

2) Dr. Wipke expressed a desire to arrange future workshops to include more
of the project working personnel, graduate students, etc. The chief obstacle
may be funding; but some rezional meetings to alternate with the national
workshop may be considered, In addition, more systematic use of mail and
bulletin-board facilities may help keep a wider range of collaborating
personnel informed of community efforts,

3) Dr. MeCormick raised the issues of longer range and more comprehensive
planning for AIM support, using the analosy of accelerator resources
developed for particle physics, He suggested that an effort be made to
establish broader based support for AIM community efforts througn the
Congress and perhaps to establish international cooverative ties,

Dr, Lederberg pointed out that we had more work to do to establish full
credibility for the AIM effort in order to pose an effective case in light
of other deserving areas of scientific research also underfunded,
Nevertheless, it was important to develop more coherent plans during the
next five years, which would doubtless see major upheavals in computer
hardware economics, The price ramp downward may ve misleading, as
specialized users like our community will have to make special efforts to
sustain effective and compatible software even in an environment where every
individual may have a "personal LISP machine" at a reasonable price, Even
greater perplexities will attach to the transition period, when we may be
caught with systems that are hard to time-share, yet are still too costly
for individual allocation, Through this time the need to snare software
libraries and data sources will impose continued requirements for
interconnection, The SUMEX-AIM concept, now founded on mutual sharing of
haraware, may have been fortunate in having had that impulse to develop a
dase of community planning for the era looming ahead,

fo)
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AIM Advisory Group Meeting
Minutes - July 7, 1977

Open Session (continued):

4) A discussion followed about ways we could maintain better community
contacts between workshops. The message and bulletin board facilities
appear to be the best current methods available. There was agreement that
more effort should be made to use these facilities for the dissemination of
papers, reports, etec., rather than just for personal or administrative
matters. It was noted by Dr. Lindberg that the Journal of the American
Hospital Association will be produced on-line by the NLM as part of MEDLINE
starting soon. An attempt will be made to develop a "proceedings" for tnis
workshop through the BED system.

5) A perplexing problem facing our research community is how to advance the
creative use of our developments of "intelligent consultants" without
encouraging regimentation of researchers and doctors by centralized points

of management autnority--a development that might chill initiative and freeze
knowledge at its present point of development. The anticipation of such
possibilities is already a factor in diScouraging experts in other fields
from accepting computer science applications.

Preliminary notes by Thomas Rindfleisch
Revisions by Joshua Lederverg

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