Chapter 13 Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition 1

Chapter 13Artificial Intelligence and

Expert Systems

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition 2

Learning Objectives• List the basic concepts of artificial intelligence

• Give examples of how artificial intelligence technologies have been used in business and other fields

• Explain expertise, the purpose of expert systems in business and other professional domains, and why expert systems are so helpful in solving unstructured problems

• Articulate the challenges involved in garnering knowledge for the construction of knowledge bases

• Explain the concept of knowledge engineering

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition 3

Artificial Intelligencein Business

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition 4

• Artificial Intelligence

– Attempt to emulate the human mind in machines

• Robotics

– Robots used to replace human laborers

• Artificial Vision

– Allows robots that move in space sense obstacles

– Used in machines for sorting and identification

Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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• Natural Language Processing

– Programs that recognize human commands

• Expert Systems

– Programs that simulate human expertise

• Neural Networks

– Programs built to solve problems while learning and refining their knowledge

Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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• Fuzzy Logic

– Based on rules that have no discrete boundaries

– More closely mimics human problem solving

– Used in appliances, locomotives, managerial decision making

Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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• Genetic Algorithms

– Mathematical functions that use Darwinian principals to improve an application

• Intelligent Agents

– Automatically wade through massive amounts of data to select and deliver the most suitable information

Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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Artificial Intelligencein Business (Cont.)

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• Planning

• Decision making

• Monitoring

• Diagnosis

• Training

Contribution ofExpert Systems

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Contribution ofExpert Systems (Cont.)

• Incidental learning

• Replication of expertise

• Timely response

• Consistent solutions

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Development ofExpert Systems

• What is Expertise?

– Skill and knowledge whose input into a process results in performance high above the norm

• Components of Expert Systems

– The interface or dialog

– The knowledge base

– The interface engine

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Development ofExpert Systems (Cont.)

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Construction of Expert Systems

• IF-THEN Rules

– Most popular method of knowledge representation

– Also called production rules

– Systems hold facts in the form of IF-THEN statements

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Construction of Expert Systems (Cont.)

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• Knowledge Engineering

– Asking experts appropriate questions and translating into a knowledge base

– Some ESs take years

– Knowledge engineer: programmer who specializes in developing ESs

Construction of Expert Systems (Cont.)

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• Expert System Shells

– Expert System that has been emptied of its knowledge

– Used to build new ES

• Forward Chaining

– Result-driven process

• Backward Chaining

– Goal-driven process

Construction of Expert Systems (Cont.)

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Construction of Expert Systems (Cont.)

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Factors Justifying the Acquisition of Expert Systems

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Expert Systems in Action

• Medical management

• Telephone network maintenance

• Credit evaluation

• Tax planning

• Detection of insider securities trading

• Detection of common metals

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Expert Systems in Action (Cont.)

• Mineral exploration

• Irrigation and pest management

• Diagnosis and prediction of mechanical failure

• Class selection for students

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Limitations of Expert Systems

• Three limitations of ESs:

– Can handle only narrow domains

– Do not possess common sense

– Have a limited ability to learn

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Ethical and Societal IssuesToo Sophisticated Technology

• Increasing dependence on machine intelligence raises legal and ethical issues.– Who is legally responsible for advice provided by a

program?

– Is expert judgment needed to interpret program output?

– Does machine expertise replace or complement the ‘real thing’?

– How do we know if the experts behind expert systems are expert at all?

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Ethical and Societal IssuesToo Sophisticated Technology

• Malfunctions of an ES can be caused by anyone involved in the development

– Experts who contribute knowledge

– Knowledge engineer who builds the system

– Professional who uses the ES

– The person who is affected by the decision

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Summary• Artificial intelligence has some basic concepts

• Artificial intelligence is used in business and other fields

• Expert systems are helpful in solving unstructured problems

• Knowledge gathering is important for knowledge bases