原文：
An expert system is a software that encapsulates specialist knowledge-about a particular domain of expertise and is capable of making intelligent decisions with in that domain. Although expert systems typically focus on a very narrow domain, they have achieved dramatic success with real-life problems, This has excited wide spread interest outside the research laboratories from which they emerged.
Expert systems have given rise to a set of "knowledge engineering" methods constituting a new approach to design of high performance sofeware system. This new approach represents an evolutionary change with revolutionary consequences.
譯文：
專家系統是一種封裝的、特定的、特定領域知識的專家軟件，在這個特定的領域中，這種軟件可以做出正確的決定。儘管典型的專家系統只涉及較窄的領域，但它們已經在一些現實生活的問題中取得了顯著成功。這種成功激發了廣大的、各領域的試驗研究人員的興趣。
專家系統提出了一種“知識工程”方法集，它可提供了一種設計高性能軟件系統的新方法。這種方法代表了一種將帶來革命性影響的變化。