This volume investigates the intersection of formal logic and the practical acquisition of knowledge within the field of machine intelligence. The editors, D. Michie, J. E. Hayes, and J. Richards, compile a series of technical papers that examine how computational systems represent and process information. The text argues that the evolution of artificial intelligence requires a synthesis of theoretical logic frameworks and their direct application to real-world computational tasks.

Experts recognize this volume as a significant historical record of the development of expert systems and logic programming during the mid-1980s. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational reference for those studying the evolution of artificial intelligence research.