INTRODUCTION TO

KNOWLEDGE BASED SYSTEMS

BSC. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BY
STEPHEN KAHARA

Terminology
Data
Information
Knowledge

Terminology
What is data?
Data is comprised of the basic, unrefined, and generally

unfiltered information

What is information?
Information is much more refined data that has

evolved to the point of being useful for some form of

analysis
Processed data formalized, capture and explicated;
can easily be packaged into reusable form
What is knowledge?
Knowledge

is the sort of information that people use to

solve problems.
Meaningful links people make in their minds between
information and its application in action in a specific
setting

Knowledge
Knowledge includes:
facts,

concepts, procedures, models,

heuristics, examples.

Knowledge may be:

specific

or general
exact or fuzzy
procedural or declarative

Data Pyramid and ComputerBased Systems

Strategy makers apply morals, principles, and experience to
generate policies

Higher management generates knowledge by synthesizing

information

Middle management uses reports/info. generated though

analysis and acts accordingly

Basic transactions by operational staff using data

processing

Volume

IS

WBS

KBS

DSS, MIS

TPS

Wisdom (experience)

Knowledge (synthesis)

Information (analysis)

Data (processing of raw observations )

Sophistication and
complexity

Figure 1.1: Data pyramid: Managerial perspectives

Data Pyramid and Computer

Based Systems
Heuristics and
models

Wisdom

Novelty

Knowledge

Rules

Information

Experience

Concepts

Data

Understanding

Raw data through fact

finding
Researching

Absorbing

Doing

Interacting

Reflecting

Figure 1.2: Convergence from data to intelligence

Knowledge Based Systems

What is an Knowledge Based System?
A system which is built around a knowledge base.
i.e. a collection of knowledge, taken from a
human, and stored in such a way that the system
can reason with it.
A computer program that uses artificial
intelligence to solve problems within a specialized
domain that ordinarily requires human expertise.
A system that draws upon the knowledge of
human experts captured in a knowledge-base to
solve problems that normally require human
expertise

Expert System
a computer system that emulates the

decision-making ability of a human expert in

a restricted domain[Giarratano & Riley 1998]
Edward Feigenbaum
An intelligent computer program that uses

knowledge and inference procedures to solve

problems that are difficult enough to require
significant human expertise for their
solutions. [Giarratano & Riley 1998]
the term knowledge-based system is often

used synonymously

Expert System (ES)?

relies on internally represented knowledge to

perform tasks
utilizes reasoning methods to derive
appropriate new knowledge
usually restricted to a specific problem
domain
some systems try to capture common-sense
knowledge
General Problem Solver (Newell, Shaw,

Simon)
Cyc (Lenat)

Main Components of an ES
User

Expertise

Facts / Information

Expertise
Developer

User Interface

Knowledge Base

Inference Engine

Components of KBS
Knowledge base is a repository of
domain knowledge and
metaknowledge.

Enriches the
system with
self-learning
capabilities

Inference engine is a software program

that infers the knowledge available in
the knowledge base.

Explanation
and
reasoning

Provides
explanation and
reasoning
facilities

Knowledge
base

Inference
engine

Selflearning

User interface

Figure 1.4: General structure of KBS

Friendly
interface to
users
working in
their native
language

Main ES Components
knowledge base
contains essential information about the problem

domain
often represented as facts and rules
inference engine
mechanism to derive new knowledge from the

knowledge base and the information provided by the

user
often based on the use of rules
user interface
interaction with end users
development and maintenance of the knowledge

base

Early Expert Systems

Success Stories
DENDRAL
identification of chemical constituents

MYCIN
diagnosis of illnesses

PROSPECTOR
analysis of geological data for minerals
discovered a mineral deposit worth $100

million

XCON/R1
configuration of DEC VAX computer systems
saved lots of time and millions of dollars

The Key to Expert Systems

Success
convincing ideas

rules, cognitive models

practical applications
medicine, computer technology,

separation of knowledge and inference

expert system shell
allows the re-use of the machinery for different
domains

concentration on domain knowledge

general reasoning is too complicated

When (Not) to Use Expert

Systems

expert systems are not suitable for all

types of domains and tasks

conventional algorithms are known and

efficient
the main challenge is computation, not
knowledge
knowledge cannot be captured easily
users may be reluctant to apply an expert
system to a critical task

Expert System Elements

knowledge base
inference engine
working memory
agenda
explanation facility
knowledge acquisition facility
user interface

User Interface

Expert System Structure

Knowledge
Acquisition
Facility

Knowledge Base

Inference Engine Agenda

Explanation
Facility
Working Memory

Rule-Based Expert Systems

knowledge is encoded as IF THEN rules

these rules can also be written as production

rules

the inference engine determines which rule

antecedents are satisfied

the left-hand side must match a fact in the

working memory

satisfied rules are placed on the agenda

rules on the agenda can be activated (fired)
an activated rule may generate new facts

through its right-hand side

the activation of one rule may subsequently
cause the activation of other rules

IF THEN Rules
Rule: Red_Light
IF
the light is red
THEN
stop
Rule: Green_Light
IF
the light is green
THEN
go
Production Rules
the light is red ==>
the light is green ==>

antecedent
(left-hand-side)

consequent
(right-hand-side)

antecedent (left-hand-side)
stop
go

consequent
(right-hand-side)

Expert Systems Advantages

economical
lower cost per user
availability
accessible anytime, almost anywhere
response time
often faster than human experts
reliability
can be greater than that of human experts
no distraction, fatigue, emotional involvement,
explanation
reasoning steps that lead to a particular conclusion
intellectual property
cant walk out of the door

Reasons for building an

Expert System
One might build an expert system for

any or all of the following reasons:

To archive an experts knowledge, to insure

against the day when he/she leaves, or

retires, or dies.
To disseminate his/her knowledge, so that
it is available in more (possibly many more)
places than the location of the expert.
To ensure uniformity of advice/decisions.
As a basis for training other specialists.

Expert Systems Problems

limited knowledge
shallow knowledge
no deep understanding of the concepts and their

relationships

no common-sense knowledge
no knowledge from possibly relevant related domains
closed world
the ES knows only what it has been explicitly told
it doesnt know what it doesnt know

mechanical reasoning
may not have or select the most appropriate method for a
particular problem
some easy problems are computationally very expensive
lack of trust
users may not want to leave critical decisions to machines

Types of expertise
Mike Greenwells classification of types of

expertise, according to identifiable mental

components of the skill (with examples):
[source: Greenwell (1988)]

Types of expertise

(with

examples)
Deep
cognitive
skills

Judgmental High-level
skills
social skills

Highly
creative

Musician

Senior
manager

Analytical

Mathematician

Economist, Social
programmer scientist

Typist
Strictly
procedural

Driver

Author, poet

Social
worker

Summary

expert systems or knowledge based systems are

used to represent and process in a format that is

suitable for computers but still understandable by
humans
If-Then rules are a popular format

the main components of an expert system are

knowledge base
inference engine
The User Interface

ES can be cheaper, faster, more accessible, and

more reliable than humans

ES have limited knowledge (especially commonsense), can be difficult and expensive to develop,
and users may not trust them for critical decisions