The PI proposes to adopt artificial intelligence computer programming for identification of microfossils. The program will consist of "expert" input of microfossil identification criteria which will be used by the computer software to ask questions of the user to aid in taxonomic identification. The software will then search a data base for the fossil assemblage identified and assign an age to the sample under study based on previous expert input and previous results obtained by the computer. The data base and the artificial intelligence software will continually be updated by subsequent uses of the software. This is an initial effort by this PI to apply the advances of artificial intelligence programming to the study of microfossils. The results would allow consistent identification of microfossils by different users (some of which could be non-experts).
