Written to provide an understanding of the broad base of information on which the artificial intelligence (AI) branch of computer science rests, this publication presents a general view of AI, the concepts from which it evolved, its current abilities, and its promise for research. The focus is on a community of projects that use the SUMEX-AIM (Stanford University Medical Experimental Computer for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine) network, a nationally-shared computing resource devoted entirely to designing AI applications for the biomedical sciences. Chapters explore the meaning of AI, the history of computer science, the processes of computing, the uses of SUMEX in biochemistry, clinical medicine, psychology, and AI tool building, and the future applications of AI. Appendices provide information on the organization of SUMEX, its available facilities, and its management, as well as a directory of SUMEX-AIM project investigators and project-funding sources. (FM)