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Eurisko

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An example concept in EURISKO (Lenat 83).

The status of the source code for EURISKO was unknown until after Lenat's death in August 2023. Since Lenat originally stared the Cyc project for the purpose of supplying EURISKO with general knowledge, it is possible that he maintained the code for this purpose (perhaps under commercial ownership). The original source code of AM and EURISKO [waswas eventually discovered](https://white-flame.com/am-eurisko.html)discovered in the Stanford AI Laboratory archives.

EURISKO (from Greek, I discover) was an AI project by Douglas Lenat. It was made from self-modifying heuristics, making it one of the first recursively self-improving systems. EURISKO had successes in a complex game called Traveller TCS, and in VLSI design. While neither code nor technical specifications were released,released until Lenat's death in 2023, EURISKO has enjoyed legendary status.

The status of the source code for EURISKO is unknown.was unknown until after Lenat's death in August 2023. Since Lenat originally stared the Cyc project for the purpose of supplying EURISKO with general knowledge, it is possible that he maintainsmaintained the code for this purpose (perhaps under commercial ownership). The original source code of AM and EURISKO [was eventually discovered](https://white-flame.com/am-eurisko.html) in the Stanford AI Laboratory archives.

An example concept in EURISKO (Lenat 83).
An example concept in EURISKO (Lenat 83).
  • Lenat, Douglas (1982). "AM: An artificial intelligence approach to discovery in mathematics as heuristic search". Knowledge-Based Systems in Artificial Intelligence: 2 Case Studies. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0070155577.
  • Lenat, Douglas (March 1983). "Eurisko: A program that learns new heuristics and domain concepts". Artificial Intelligence (Essex, UK: Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd) 21 (1-2): 61-98. doi:10.1016/S0004-3702(83)80005-8. ISSN0004-3702.
  • Lenat, Douglas; Brown, J.S. (1984). "Why AM and EURISKO appear to work". Artificial Intelligence23 (3): pp. 269–294. doi:10.1016/0004-3702(84)90016-X.
  • Johnson, George (1984). "Eurisko, The Computer With A Mind Of Its Own". The APF Reporter (Washington, DC: The Alicia Patterson Foundation) 7 (4).
An example concept in EURISKO (Lenat 83).

The status of the source code for EURISKO was unknown until after Lenat's death in August 2023. Since Lenat originally staredstarted the Cyc project for the purpose of supplying EURISKO with general knowledge, it is possible that he maintained the code for this purpose (perhaps under commercial ownership). The original source code of AM and EURISKO was eventually discovered in the Stanford AI Laboratory archives.

To test the system, he coded the rules and concepts of the role-playing game Traveller TCS into EURISKO. Lenat would leave EURISKO running each night, and check it in the morning. He would occasionally remove errors or unpromising heuristics from the system, or enter additional ones. Some discovered heuristics resembled viruses; one inserted its name as the creator of other useful heuristics, which would cause it to be used more often. EURISKO simulated many games with itself during this process. When Lenat took it to the competition, it was much more powerful than any other player, and won the competition. The next year, the organizers changed the rules one week before the competition. EURISKO was able to use its discovered heuristics to create a new fleet which once again won the competition. After this, the organizers told Lenat that if he entered again, they would cancel the competition, and he agreed not to.