The potential impact of artificial intelligence on the practice of OR

The fantastic claims made by Artificial Intelligence Experts could lead us to think that computers will inevitably have a great impact on disciplines such as OR, even to the extent of displacing them. However, we should question whether there is any evidence to support these claims. This paper considers the present capabilities of computers and looks at the impact that the AI community has had on the practice of OR. It also examines the potential success of current research and lists some of the obstacles to development. The evidence suggests that although AI will provide significant support to the work of OR researchers, the impact of AI on the OR community will not be as great as the claims suggest.