The focus of artificial intelligence today is no longer on understanding and replicating human intelligence but the development of systems to augment human abilities.
Promising applications of the “new A.I.” include:

CycSecure, a program to be released this year that combines a huge database on computer network vulnerabilities with assumptions about hacker activities to identify security flaws in a customer’s network.

The “Semantic Web,” a sophisticated way of tagging information on Web pages so that it can be understood by computers as well as human users.

Robotic search and rescue, which assisted the search for victims in the World Trade Center wreckage.

Microsoft Research projects, including Web Companion and “smart tags,” a feature that automatically turns certain words and phrases into clickable Web links and entices readers to explore related sites; “smart” office platforms that analyze a user’s e-mails, phone calls, Web pages, news clips, stock quotes and assigns every piece a priority based on the user’s preferences and observed behavior; and DeepListener, a program that assembles clues from auditory and visual sensors to clarify the ambiguities in human speech.