The aim of this chapter is twofold: first, to introduce the idea of connecting together the two concepts of intelligence and databases; second, to survey some of the research and development within the field of computing that serves to implement aspects of this connection. The first aim really serves to define intelligent databases as lying at the intersection between work in databases and work in artificial intelligence. The second aim is particularly bound up with identifying the key business advantages of so-called 'intelligent' databases.
