University Advancement

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NEWS RELEASE

Software Gift Takes CSUN’s Artificial Intelligence Lab to New Areas

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Jan. 31, 2007) -- Information solutions leader MindBox® has donated software to Cal State Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science to help students and faculty as they try to recreate human intelligence on a computer.

Specifically, MindBox has donated its ARTEnterprise™ software, an intuition-based program used by financial institutions around the world, to the artificial intelligence laboratory in Northridge’s Department of Computer Science.

"This gift will make a difference as we move closer to creating artificial intelligence," said associate computer science professor Peter Gabrovsky, director of the lab.

"The goal of artificial intelligence is to simulate human intelligence on the computer," Gabrovsky said. "The scope of that involves everything from logical reasoning, creativity, natural language understanding, learning ability, consciousness (awareness of one’s self) and intuition. By simulating human intelligence, the applications are endless.

"In the wildest sense, one could download one’s entire self into a machine which could lead to the immortality of the mind," he said. "In a more practical sense, we could automate intellectual tasks such as building out a student’s academic program."

Northridge’s artificial intelligence lab was created in 2005 with an initial donation of software and computers by Chris Winner, director of Industry Solutions Group at MindBox and an industry advisor to CSUN’s Department of Computer Science.

Graduate and undergraduate students work alongside faculty in the lab as they attempt to create an artificial intelligence. The lab’s computers are equipped with special software designed to help the students as they try to identify and replicate the unique quirks that make human intellect so difficult to copy.

Gabrovsky said the lab also serves as a center where the students brainstorm and experiment with new ideas.

"Who knows what can happen when those students take those ideas with them out into the real world?" he said.

Gabrovsky said the MindBox software gift will help the CSUN researchers as they try to replicate a human’s natural intuitive abilities. He said ARTEnterprise™ is already used by such financial institutions in evaluating and approving loan applications. Credit card companies use it to detect anomalies in spending patterns to determine if a theft is occurring.

"To date, logical thinking has already been programmed into computers. It may take three days to work the Pythagorean Theorem, but a computer will solve it logically," Gabrovsky said. "Intuition and creativity are quite a bit more sophisticated and await a demonstration model like the financial one created by MindBox."

Northridge is the only campus in the California State University system to have an artificial intelligence lab featuring MindBox software.

"There are many opportunities for students who specialize in artificial intelligence. These computers are vital to a number of industries, including financial services, automotive, insurance, manufacturing and the military," said Rich Barfus, president and CSO of MindBox. "MindBox is pleased to be able to contribute its ARTEnterprise™ software to give students a real-world understanding of how these systems can benefit business."

MindBox®, an MDA company, is an information-solutions company focused on financial services organizations. MindBox provides solutions that leverage company and industry best practices in order to automate common lending practices such as underwriting, pricing, product best fit, deal structuring, debt reparation and cross-sell across multiple origination channels. The company’s products and services have a proven track record of reducing costs and increasing revenue by automating knowledge-intensive business processes using sophisticated decisioning systems and award-winning rules and case-based seasoning software.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Cal State Northridge is home to several nationally recognized programs where students gain valuable hands-on experience working alongside faculty members and industry professionals on cutting-edge research. By blending the practical application of the professions with a strong foundation in theory, the college has maintained a consistent following by alumni and friends from industry who value the career-oriented education that students receive throughout their course of study at the university.

California State University, Northridge has 34,500 full- and part-time students and offers 62 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.