Chapter 13 Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition

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
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Artificial Intelligence in Business

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Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

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
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Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

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
Management Information Systems, 4th Edition

Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition

Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

Fuzzy Logic
Based on rules that have no discrete boundaries More closely mimics human problem solving Used in appliances, locomotives, managerial decision making

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition

Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition

Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

Management Information Systems, 4th Edition

Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

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
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Artificial Intelligence in Business (Cont.)

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Contribution of Expert Systems

Planning
Decision making Monitoring Diagnosis

Training
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Contribution of Expert Systems (Cont.)

Incidental learning Replication of expertise Timely response Consistent solutions

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Development of Expert 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 of Expert 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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Construction of Expert Systems (Cont.)

Knowledge Engineering
Asking experts appropriate questions and translating into a knowledge base Some ESs take years Knowledge engineer: programmer who specializes in developing ESs
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Construction of Expert Systems (Cont.)

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
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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 Issues

Too 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 Issues

Too 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
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