10 Intelligent Systems PDF

10
Intelligent systems

The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the
question of whether a submarine can swim.
Edsger Djikstra, early programmer

Overview
AI is an abbreviation for artificial intelligence a field of study that attempts to emulate human
intelligence.
To many people AI suggests that an attempt is being made to enable machines to think. This is
the goal of some researchers. However the main thrust of AI research is into developing useful
tools, and in developing the HCI so that computers are easier to use and hence behave in a
more intelligible way. Typical AI tasks involve activities such as responding to a user in natural
English, recognising faces, or assisting in finding answers.
In this unit we will investigate:
what is intelligence
areas of AI
expert systems
the responsibilities in employing intelligent systems
artificial neural networks
robotics
the possibility of artificial intelligence.
What is intelligence?
When presented with a problem some non-human creatures can come to a solution. Look at the
following examples taken from studies into animal behaviour:
a chimpanzee was placed in an area where there was a banana hanging well above her
head; after staring longingly at the banana for a while the chimp began looking round;
following some experimentation she found a box to stand on and a stick to hit the
banana down with
Kevin Savage 2011 Single user licence issued to Mitchell Ingall
Intelligent systems 333

in the wild, ravens have been observed to get grubs from inside of a log by using a
twig held in their beaks to spear the grubs out of the hole
when a honey bee finds nectar she will return to the hive and dance in a series of
patterns that indicate the distance and direction of the flowers; the other bees read this
dance and fly directly to the flowers
dolphins when shown a range of actions and gestures by a human are able to mimic
them; this remarkable achievement shows not only an awareness of what is required,
but also the ability to translate movements into relative body parts (e.g. waggle left
foot copied as waggle left tail fin).
Are these demonstrations of intelligence? The chimp solved a problem in a way not seen
before, the raven used a tool, the bees understand symbols, and the dolphin translates from one
form into another. They appear to involve the things we associate with intelligence, but are the
animals intelligent?
Before we can answer this question we must determine exactly what we do mean by
intelligence. This will be a first step in determining what artificial intelligence is.
Activity 10.1 Whos a clever boy then?
1. Would you classify each of the animal actions described above as exhibiting intelligence?
In each case give supporting reasons to say why or why not.
2. a By yourself, or as part of a small group, list the things that suggest intelligence to
you; what are the things that humans do that are intelligent?
b From this list develop your own definition of intelligence.
c Find definitions of intelligence in dictionaries or on-line and use them to amend your
definition.
3. a What is the difference between performing intelligently and actually being
intelligent?
b Computer chess games can now beat all but the very best human players. Are the
computers more intelligent than most people? Why or why not?
c The AI researcher Anatol Holt once said:
A brilliant chess move, while the room is filling with smoke because the house is
burning down, does not show intelligence. If the capacity for brilliant chess
moves without regard to life circumstances deserves a name, I would naturally
call it artificial intelligence.
Explain the irony in Holts statement.
4. Howard Gardner in Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences argued that
every individual has seven different types of intelligence:
verbal/linguistic being able to handle written and spoken language with ease
visual/spatial having a good sense of the shapes and spacing of objects
body/kinaesthetic being in good control of the coordination of your body
musical/rhythmical having a facility to work with music, sounds and beat
Leading Technology 334

interpersonal being able to relate well to others
intrapersonal having a good sense of self
logical/mathematical able to handle abstract and mathematical values.
He later extended these categories to include naturalistic the relating of information to
ones natural surroundings
On the basis of Gardners theory a person could be highly intelligent mathematically, but
unintelligent in interpersonal relationships, good at music, but poor at sport.
a Rate your own intelligence in terms of the nine categories (high, average, low).
b Gardner says Intelligence is a capacity. In terms of his theory what do you think
this might mean?
c It has been suggested that cognitive/information processing (the ability to process
information and relate it in memory) be added to the list. Is this part of intelligence?
d Gardner is considering adding existential (the ability to contemplate phenomena or
questions beyond the senses) and moral intelligence to his categories. Do these fit in
with the current categories?
e Gardners theory is not widely accepted nowadays Do you think the theory has some
validity? Give reasons to support your point of view.
5. Faced with the prospect of making a plane flight at night in a wild storm would you be
more confident if a human pilot was in control or a fully automated computerised system?
Consider the scenario and say which you would prefer, giving reasons.
What is artificial intelligence?
In the last exercise you formed a definition of intelligence. Your definition may have suggested
that human intelligence consists of aspects of the following four components:
ways of thinking (strategies of thought)
the ability to collect, store, organise and access knowledge
seeing inter relationships between facts and then drawing inferences from them
the ability to manipulate symbols (including sounds and written symbols).
Do you agree, or do you think some other aspects should be added?
If this is what human intelligence is, then what is AI? Marvin Minsky, one of the fathers of
AI, suggested the following definition:
(Artificial intelligence is)... the science of making machines do things that would require
intelligence if they were done by men.
This definition is however circular (as well as sexist) because it defines artificial intelligence by
referring back to intelligence. A better definition from Sowa might be:
Artificial intelligence is the study of knowledge representations and their use in
language, reasoning, learning and problem solving.
This refers to an important aspect of AI, the need for knowledge representation, a way of
modelling what goes into the human view of the world. Despite this, it is not a good

explanation of what intelligence involves and so tells us little about what an artificial
intelligence might be.
Looking back on what is involved in human intelligence perhaps the following could be given
as a definition of artificial intelligence:
AI is the bringing together in a human artefact the ability to think logically, to
manipulate symbols, to communicate, and to collect, store and apply knowledge in a
meaningful way.
The question now arises whether AI is possible can something made by a human be
intelligent? Clever programming and a sophisticated interface can make a computer appear
intelligent, but is there a chance of the machine being intelligent in itself?
A group of AI theorists suggest electronic computers will eventually be able to do everything
the human mind can do. This group, that has been described as strong AI or functionalists,
suggest that when computers reach the level of complexity of the brain they will be intelligent
and even conscious.
Another group believe there is something inherent in mind that will never be achieved by
computers. We will return to this discussion later in this unit.
Areas of study in AI
The definition given above suggests what an artificial intelligence might involve, but it does
not indicate the aspects of research underway. Perhaps a better way of understanding what AI
is, is to look at the areas that are being investigated and what the goals in these areas are.
As stated before AI is a very diverse field but investigations include research into the
following.
Expert Systems
An expert system is a computer program that mimics the decisions of a human expert in
some area. The program asks a series of questions and then by following logic (copied
from the human expert) the program comes to a supported conclusion. An example is a
doctors intelligent assistant. After listing the symptoms of a patient the doctor will be told
not only the likely ailment, but also a suggested form of treatment. Ultimately it is hoped
these systems will be able to be used where the human expert is not available (e.g. in third
world countries).
Natural Language
This involves attempts to get the computer to talk to us. If we can develop a program that
will enable us to talk freely to a computer to give it directions or to ask it questions, and
then have it reply in our natural language (English) we will have gone a long way to
breaking down the barrier to human-machine communication.
Robotics
It has long been a dream of people to be able to produce a mechanical slave that will
tirelessly do our bidding. We have actually reached this level of technology in many areas
(e.g. car manufacture) but we still need to solve some key problems in control,
programming and spatial awareness with mechanical devices.

Emulating Human Attributes
In addition to general studies in robotics many attempts have been made to copy human
senses such as vision, voice recognition and speech synthesis with varying degrees of
success.
Game Playing and Problem Solving
This area was widely investigated in the early days of AI research in the belief that the
lessons learned from teaching computers the rules of games such as chess and checkers
would lead to an understanding of human thought processes. While very powerful
programs were developed (e.g. a computer has been world backgammon champion) this
avenue proved to be a dead end. The logic of how we humans play games has little to do
with everyday thinking.
Psychology
By attempting to understand how the brain works some researchers have attempted to
model the brain electronically. Of more importance others have used the investigation of
how computers can be made to function to improve understanding of how the human brain
operates.
AI Languages
Early computer languages were machine oriented (machine code and assembly language).
Human oriented languages (Visual Basic, Pascal, C++) are easier to understand but still do
not model the way we think. Computer languages such as Prolog are an attempt to allow
users to program their thoughts and reasoning about a problem directly into the computer.
Artificial Neural Networks
ANNs are an area of study that has undergone a recent revival. The ability of ANNs to
mimic the operation of the human brain has suggested new solutions to old problems in
AI.
Many of the areas of AI research have now been investigated for over 50 years without much
success (e.g. pattern recognition). Other areas such as robotics, expert systems, and ANNs are
now being widely used. We will shortly look at these three areas in particular.
One point that has become very clear from the investigations is that the things people find easy
to do are difficult to computerise (recognise faces, speak etc.) while the things we find difficult
(calculus, massively repetitive tasks) computers accomplish with ease.
Activity 10.2 Get smart
1. a What advantages would computers that could communicate in natural language have?
b Suggest some situations where they would have a distinct advantage over
conventional computers.
2. a What is an Expert System?
b Give examples of some areas in which expert systems could be used.
c Give an example of an area in which an expert system should not be used. Support
this with reasons.

3. Pick one of form of emulating human activities, such as machine vision, voice recognition,
or speech synthesis, and find out how successful attempts to achieve it have been.
4. Report on an example of where a game playing computer has beaten a human.
5. Why do you think some people might oppose the development of AI?
Expert systems
A knowledge based system (KBS) is a specialised information system that is used to support
human decision making, learning and actions. There are KBSs that can help a doctor diagnose a
disease, assist technicians in detecting faults in electrical networks, that can generate geological
maps for mineral exploration, that help managers with planning and scheduling, and many
other applications.
A KBS is different from more general information systems in that they cooperate with human
users to access a knowledge base. A knowledge base (KB) is not just data but is a collection of
knowledge. This might be in the form of a set of rules, a series of articles, a list of facts,
diagrams or pictures, or any other way knowledge can be represented. This KB will have been
organised into a structure so that the knowledge is accessible, perhaps through a search engine
or some other form of indexing.
A KBS does not passively reply to enquiries or supply preset reports, but rather works in
collaboration with the human user to arrive at the required conclusion. While an information
system handles data and uses repetitive algorithmic procedures to access the facts by a
deductive method, the KBS handles knowledge and uses rules or heuristics to access the
knowledge base by an inferential process.
In this section we will investigate one form of KBS, a rule based expert system.
An expert system is a computer program that acts like a human expert. An expert someone with
specialised knowledge, skill or experience in a particular area, who can give information or
advice, or solve problems. Experts we are familiar with include car mechanics, doctors,
plumbers, accountants, and financial planners.
Usually the expert system operates by asking the user a series of questions. From the answers
the system asks more questions until the computer can reach a conclusion or provide an answer
to a problem. Typical expert systems work in financial services, medicine, accounting, process
control, production and human resources.
Rule-based expert systems such as these are one of the most commercially successful
applications of AI research.
The expert
A family doctor is an expert we are all familiar with.
After years of study at university, internship at hospitals, and finally further years of experience
in general practice, a GP can quickly suggest why you might be unwell. She can then prescribe
some treatment or medication to help you. When we visit her she will not only ask questions
about symptoms, but will also make some tests (e.g. take your temperature) and closely observe
behaviour and actions (e.g. a tremor or paleness). Using her knowledge linked to the experience

of having seen many other people with just these symptoms she will select or reject facts to
reach a conclusion as to what is wrong. She will then determine a suggested treatment to
correct the problem.
Expert systems work in similar ways. The system asks a series of questions that the user
answers. From each answer it narrows down its search until it can reach a definite conclusion.
It does this by working from its knowledge base linked to ways to search through and reason
from this knowledge base.
When an expert system reports its finding it will usually support the conclusion by showing
how this was reached.
Architecture
An expert system consists of a knowledge base of expertise and an inference engine, a way of
getting at the knowledge. Both of these are usually accessed through an expert system shell.

The expert system model
The knowledge base (KB) is the expertise written in an accessible way, usually as a set of rules.
As an example of this look at the following rule-based conclusion from the MYCIN blood-
disease-diagnosis ES:
if the infection is primary bacteraemia,
and the site of the culture is one of the sterile sites,
and the suspected portal of entry is the gastrointestinal tract;
then the identity of the organisms is bacteroids.
In addition a KB may consist not only of facts but also heuristics, the accumulated experience
used by the original expert to reach his or her conclusion. An example of such heuristics in a
financial ES might be the incorporation of factors such as credit rating (how well a client has
repaid previous debts) into whether a loan can be granted.
The inference engine is the rule interpreter used to access the information in the KB. Because it
is designed as a separate module a given inference engine can be used to work with different
KBs. Not all inference engines work on a yes/no result. The answers given by users of the

expert system can add weight by giving the user a range of values to choose from (e.g. 1.
strong, 2. medium, 3. weak, 4. very weak, etc). Some inference engines also have the ability to
apply a confidence factor (also called a certainty factor). In this way a user input can be given a
percentage possibility of being relevant. To continue the financial example above, the fact that
a client has repaid previous loans on time 90% of the time can be used to influence the chance
of the loan being granted. A variation of confidence/certainty factors is the use of fuzzy logic.
An important part of the inference engine is the validation module. This will explain how the
stated conclusion has been reached so that the user can check the reasoning and facts used by
the system. Without a validation module to support the conclusions few people would accept
the unsupported suggestions of a machine. If for example a financial expert system told an
agent to sell all of his stock in a valuable commodity he would require some very good reasons
before accepting the necessity of this course of action.
The shell is the interface and development environment for building and maintaining
knowledge-based applications. It links the inference engine and validation module to the set of
input rules in the KB. In HCI terms the shell provides a user-friendly, usually graphical,
interface so that an expert system can be programmed and used. There are many shell programs
available. Examples of shells include CLIPS, JESS, d3web, and eGanges.
Developing an expert system
The most difficult and time consuming step in the development process is that the expertise
must be obtained from an expert. The difficulty with knowledge acquisition lies in the problem
many experts have in articulating (putting into words) their expertise. A mechanic for example
may sense that something is wrong by listening to the sound of an engine. This feeling will be
based on the mechanics knowledge, methods and experience. Collectively these are known as
heuristics. To express the heuristics in a form that is suitable for communication to other people
and to install into a computer is a highly specialised task.
This task is carried out by a knowledge engineer. Through interviews, demonstrations and
detailed discussion a knowledge engineer will translate the experts heuristics into a
representation that is suitable for further use.
The time spent on this stage slows down the whole process of development of the expert
system and is known as the knowledge acquisition bottleneck. (A bottleneck is a narrowing of a
passageway that slows down the progress of whatever is travelling through the corridor.) In
developing an ES the knowledge acquisition is a slow, painstaking process that cannot be
hurried and so acts as a choke point that holds up the rest of the process.
It is during the knowledge acquisition stage that the development of an expert system differs
greatly from general software development. The knowledge engineer in addition to overcoming
the acquisition bottleneck must also ensure that:
the information collected does not vary over time, e.g. with changing conditions
the expertise collected is reliable
the expert has made sound judgements about the relevant data
the size of the knowledge base is reasonable.

Activity 10.3 Who knows?
1. a What is an expert system?
b Give three examples of commercial expert systems.
c Suggest one area of human expertise that could not be included in a computerised
expert system.
2. a Explain what the knowledge acquisition bottleneck is in your own words.
b The process of knowledge acquisition has been likened to mining.
To extract copper for example, geologists must first select a suitable area to mine. Once
the site is chosen bulldozers move in and strip off the overburden, the rock and soil above
the seam. The mineral is then dug up and sent to a refinery where the metal is extracted
from the ore. The whole process is difficult and time consuming and requires the use of
specialist ability.
In what ways is the knowledge acquisition step of developing an expert system
similar to the mining process? In your answer you may like to draw analogies with
the knowledge acquisition process in developing a specific expert system, e.g. an E.S.
to solve car faults.
3. Give examples of knowledge that might:
a vary over time b be unreliable
c involve judgements d be too large.
4. a Explain using a diagram how the various parts of an expert system fit together.
b Why is the validation module an important part of an expert system? Give an example
of your own to illustrate.
5. Expert systems apply the KB they are based on rigorously, fairly and predicably, but are
ineffective when they come up against something outside of their domain. As an example
the very effective MYCIN attempts to interpret everything (headache, broken bones,
pregnancy, etc.) in terms of bacterial infection. It has been found that the best way to
employ expert systems is in close cooperation with a person in order to take advantage of
the strengths of each.
a What factors make expert systems effective?
b Which human factors would balance the tendency of expert systems to be too literal
and narrow?
c What would your reaction be to having to work with one of these intelligent
assistants? Would you welcome the opportunities or might you feel threatened in
some way?
6. The advantage a doctor has over an expert system is that he or she does not just call on
knowledge and experience, but also on intuition. This might not be anything specific but
based on a sum total of all experiences in the past.
What might be some of the types of problems an expert system might not be able to deal
with?

7. Expert systems in the future will be more powerful than those in use today. They will be
used for many purposes.
For what tasks should they not be used, and why?
Decisions
One way of representing the logic in an expert system is to show how conclusions are reached
using a decision tree.
Say we wished to prepare an expert system to help foreign visitors recognise Australian coins.
We might represent the questions, answers and conclusions in the following way:

size

small medium large

silver gold silver gold round not round

5c $2 10c $1 20c 50c
Coin recognition decision tree
Depending on the identification of the size of the coin, questions are asked about its colour or
shape. Each answer will lead down the decision tree until a conclusion is found at the end.
The same information can also be represented on a decision matrix:
Size Colour Shape Coin
small silver round 5c
medium silver round 10c
large silver round 20c
large silver not round 50c
medium gold round $1
small gold round $2
The three columns on the left are called attributes or requirements to be satisfied. The column
on the right is the conclusion.

Activity 10.4 Decisions, decisions
1. Use this decision matrix to answer the questions that follow.
Solar
distance *
Moons
Gas
giant
Larger
than Earth
Probe ** Rings Planet
Y N N N N N Mercury
Y N N N Y N Venus
N Y N N Y N Mars
N Y Y Y Y N J upiter
N Y Y Y Y Y Saturn
N Y Y Y N Y Uranus
N Y Y Y N Y Neptune
N Y N N N N Pluto
* Closer to Sun than Earth ** Visited by space probe
a Is Uranus a gas giant?
b Identify a planet that has moons and rings and has also been visited by a space probe.
c Which two planets are further from the Sun than Earth and are not large planets
mostly composed of gas?
d Two of the planets are not separated (uniquely identified) by the attributes given.
Which are they?
e Is any attribute redundant, i.e. not required to help identify the planets? If so, which?
If not, why not?
f Give an example of information on the decision matrix that could change.
2. Develop a way to identify the family relationship a person has to the user, e.g. aunt,
nephew, etc. Do this for just three generations.
The tree diagram has been started for you.
generation

previous same following

line

same different

gender

male female

brother sister cousin

The completed branches of the decision tree show that if someone is of the same
generation, in the same family line, then the relationship is the users brother if male, or
their sister if female. If in the same generation but a different line then the person is their
cousin.
Complete the decision tree to include mother, father, aunt and uncle from the previous
generation, and daughter, son, nephew or niece from the following generation.
As an alternative present the family relationship as a decision matrix.
3. The All Sports and Social Club has the following rules to determine eligibility for
membership.
Full membership of the club is only available to local applicants who are over 18 and who
actively participate in a sport of some type, either as an administrator or player.
Local applicants who are not players but still active in the area of sport (e.g. coaches) may
become social members.
J unior members must play a sport, while country and interstate applicants must be active in
sport.
Represent this information as a tree diagram or decision matrix.
4. Develop a way to help Con the Fruiterer to identify a specific fruit and to suggest a way in
which it could be used in a meal, snack or dessert.
To do this decide on the 20 fruits and make a list of them.
Next identify the attributes you will use to help identify the fruit; these will include such
things as stone or seeds, edible skin, and so on.
Hint: If you use colour as an attribute make it one of the final attributes. Colours tend to be
very specific for fruit, and choosing a colour early will not leave the user with many other
choices to make.
Develop the rules and present them either as a decision tree or decision matrix
5. Prepare the decision matrix or tree for an expert system used to assist the Australian Film
Classification Board based on the following guidelines:
videos and movies depicting sexual situations are rated R; in addition, films that are
violent and involve either nudity or adult themes must also be rated R
other than films indicated as R above, any movie or video with either violence in it
or with any nudity is rated as M
if a film has passed the above tests but still explores adult themes or contains coarse
language, then it must be classified as PG
all other films can be rated as G.
In your response use Y to indicate yes involved, N to represent not involved, and a dash
( ) to indicate may be involved in determining the classification.
6. Prepare each of the above using an expert system shell.


SEI 10 Who is responsible?
We will now look at some of the social implications of using a rule based system
The use of expert systems bring with them many advantages. These include:
increased availability expertise can be as close and as fast as a computer
reduced cost the initial costs of developing the system will be overcome by the
ability to mass produce the expertise
reduced danger systems can be placed in situations that might be hazardous to
people
multiple expertise the knowledge of many experts can be contained in one system
consistent response an expert system will be consistent and reliable and not affected
by outside influences such as stress
handle complex problems an expert system can ably handle situations in which
there are too many parameters for a human expert to cope with
intelligent tutor the system can be used to assist a student in developing expertise.
An example of the potential user of an expert system highlights some of these advantages.
In many of the poorer third world countries doctors are scarce. This is as a result of both the
cost in time and money of training a doctor, and of finding one who is prepared to work in the
hardships and danger of these places. The training of a local technician to manage a medical
expert system may provide a solution to the problem. While the expert system may not replace
a doctor, if used properly it could greatly reduce the load on existing doctors by taking over
much of the routine diagnostics and treatment.
Using a partly trained technician in place of an expert raises the issue of responsibility. In the
delegating of authority to a machine who is responsible if something goes wrong; is it the
expert, the knowledge engineer, the manufacturer of the system, the salesperson or the user?
Two other relevant issues are: who owns the expertise in the system, and what are the
responsibilities of the operators of the system? To explore these and other social and ethical
aspects of expert systems your class could run the following role play.
Activity 10.5 3WD expert system role play
Preparation
The following role play is designed to explore some of the social and ethical issues involved
with expert systems. As set up there are 9 roles, however several of the roles could be taken by
more than one person, or alternatively two roles can be compressed into one person
depending on class size. In addition it is a good idea to have two recorders who document
issues raised and who report back to the class at the end of the exercise.
Each actor must read and think about their role before the debate. As with all role plays, each
actor must forget their own opinions and biases and project the views of the character they are
playing. Once the play is over there will then be the opportunity of expressing opinions, but in
a situation where the point of view of others has also been expressed. A sign with the role and
(fictitious) name should be prepared and placed in front of each character.

Situation
A group of people have come together to discuss the introduction of the Third World Doctor
(3WD) expert system. The solicitor is the key person who will ask firstly the volunteer doctor
and then the knowledge engineer to explain the background to the discussion. The solicitor will
then raise one by one the issues and invite each of the other participants to state their point of
view.
Volunteer Doctor
For the last three years you have worked as a volunteer in Somalia with the aid agency Feed Them.
During this time you have experienced at first hand not only the horror of the injuries, illnesses and
starvation, but also the frustration of having too few doctors for far too many patients. You have
returned to Australia to plead for more volunteers, but not many are prepared to give up comfortable
practices to work in dangerous situations. The knowledge engineer has approached you for expert
knowledge on the situation in Somalia which you have willingly given her. You will introduce the role
play by describing your experiences.
Knowledge Engineer
For the last three years you have been working with doctors specialising in treatment of patients in
depressed areas. Your work has resulted in the development of 3WD that can be used in places like
Somalia, the barrios of South America or the slums of India. (It could also be adapted for use in parts
of Australia, especially for people who would prefer working with a dispassionate machine than a
judgemental doctor.) You believe this is a major step forward in medical treatment because the
system will combine the best of computers and people. It will bring together the knowledge of
several experts in an easily accessed form, that could be used by a trained local technician. You are
keen to see the system introduced but also want to be paid for the time you spent, and the skill you
used in developing the system. You will describe the system, its benefits and how it could best be
used.
Programmer
The knowledge engineer has brought the design for her 3WD expert system to you, and you have
developed it into a fully tested and working implementation. This has taken you six months. The
system is very user friendly and it is easy to train even novice computer users in its operation. The
system will be consistent and reliable and not affected by outside influences such as stress. As with
all new technology you realise there will be opposition to it but you believe doctors and the public
must move with the times. You are very proud of 3WD but wonder who is going to pay for your time
and effort, and also if you will own the copyright on the system.
Marketing Company Owner
The programmer and knowledge engineer have brought 3WD to you and you are very excited at its
prospects. You can see many sales in third world countries at large profits to yourself. You are not
really interested in the humanitarian aspects of the system but you are keen to gain exclusive rights
to this system so that you can maximise your income. You realise the cost of the system may appear
high but compared with the cost (time and money) of training a doctor it is cheap. The system can be
made accessible immediately at a very reasonable price.
AMA Representative
As a representative of the Australian Medical Association your concerns are with the rights of the
doctors who are members of your organisation. You fear the spread of medical expert systems (such
as 3WD) will undermine the profession by making treatment cheaper and perhaps by replacing
doctors in some situations. In the future this might mean the lack of new doctors and limited
development of new treatments. You also believe medical expertise cannot be replaced by a
machine. Computers cannot make the judgements doctors can in face to face consultations based
on intuitive or non verbal clues, and cannot counsel disturbed patients. The training and level of
responsibility of the technicians also is an issue. Are they permitted to administer restricted drugs;
are they to perform minor surgery; at what point do they call on a trained doctor; etc.? You are totally
opposed to the use of medical expert systems.

Aid Worker
You are just back from work in the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border. You have seen
the ravages caused by sickness and disease and the lack of doctors. You are willing to be trained in
the use of 3WD and believe you could quickly train 20-30 other locals back in your clinic to use the
system. With it you will bring relief to thousands, and save the lives of many. You are desperate to
obtain the system and cannot see what all the delay is about. The sooner you can get trained and
get back to Thailand the quicker you can start helping people. Unfortunately you have no money
(your trip to Australia was for fund raising, and you have not had much success yet).
Politician
As a member of the Overseas Aid Committee you are sitting in on this discussion to judge if 3WD is
worthwhile (and safe) for the government to support. You are aware that the public has a great deal
of sympathy for causes that have been promoted in the media, but have little knowledge of the real
extent of third world problems. It is impossible to support every call for help and so while money
should go to the most deserving cause, in reality it will go to the most popular electorally. This also
means that the government cannot get caught up in any project that is at all controversial, as this
3WD may turn out to be. The AMA is a powerful lobby group and you must also listen to their
concerns.
Bio-ethics Committee Member
The Bio-ethics Committee is a group that has set itself up as a watchdog to ensure that research
and developments in science do not violate normal standards of behaviour. You are concerned
about the depersonalisation that may come about with the introduction of medical expert systems
and also the possibility of a wrong diagnosis being made or out of date medical information being
continued in the system. In the face of rapid progress in technology you are worried that basic
human values are being lost such as the doctor-patient relationship. A good doctor does more than
treat the ills of a patient, counselling is often as important. In addition you are worried the
introduction of medical expert systems might be part of a trend to eventually replace all doctors with
machines.
Solicitor
Your role in this debate is central. You will begin by introducing the volunteer doctor and the
knowledge engineer to give some background to the discussion. You will then raise the following
issues and invite the participants to comment on and discuss them:
Who owns the expertise, is it the volunteer doctor, the knowledge engineer, the
programmer, the marketeer or the person who purchases it?
Who is responsible if an error occurs, e.g. a wrong diagnosis and treatment leads to the
loss of the life of a patient? Also who is responsible for keeping the K.B. up to date?
Will the use of medical expert systems lead to a breakdown in the doctor-patient
relationship, and perhaps in time lead to the elimination of human doctors? (Alternatively is
there a place for treatment that involves no value judgements?)
Who is going to pay for the introduction of the system (cost of expert system and training of
technicians)?
What level of training and what level of responsibility should be given to technicians?
Should 3WD and other medical expert systems be introduced?
Follow up
As a follow up to the 3WD expert system role play express your opinion on paper to each of
the issues raised by the solicitor, but make your answers more general referring to all expert
systems.
The issues were:
1. Who owns the expertise?

2. Who is responsible if an error occurs and who is responsible for keeping the K.B. up to
date?
3. Will the use of expert systems lead to a breakdown in human relationships, or is there a
place for systems that involve no value judgements?
4. What level of training and what level of responsibility should be given to expert system
technicians?
5. Should medical expert systems be introduced?
Artificial neural networks
Are conventional computers like the human brain? Consider the following:
the human brain works at a pace of milliseconds, computers at a pace of billionths of
a second, yet we can recognise a face in a tenth of a second, a task that even the most
powerful computers find difficult why is this?
our brains are very fault tolerant, they can continue to function even with a minimum
of correct data; for example we can recognise words wh-- s-m- p-rt- of th-m ar- m-
ss--g.; computers are not fault tolerant and a powerful program can crash because of a
tiny bug
apart from inherited instincts, most of what we know has been learnt computers
have to be programmed
the brain is a machine that builds itself, computers are assembled from manufactured
parts.
So it seems that human brains are fundamentally different to traditional von Neumann
computers and in certain areas have advantages over them. This leads to the question can a
different sort of computer be developed that works more like our brains do?
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are an attempt to make a computational structure that is
similar in its operation to the human brain. To understand how ANNs work we must first gain
some understanding of how our brains work.
Neurons
The human brain is a mass of specialised nerve cells called neurons.
The role of neurons is to process information by receiving and transmitting electro chemical
signals. The dendrites of one neuron are near the ends of the axons of many other neurons. The
gap across which the signal passes is called a synapse. This gap, or synapse, may be as small as
1/40 000mm, while neural signals can travel up to 120m/s!
A neuron is the equivalent to an electrochemical button. As one neuron fires, i.e. sends an
impulse along its axon, it releases chemicals (neurotransmitters or neuromodulators) that cross
the synapse to nearby dendrites or soma. These detect the neurotransmitters/neuromodulators
and, depending on the amount or type received, may cause their own neuron to fire. In turn
these neurons cause others near them to react. Some inputs into the neuron are excitory (the
neuron fires more readily), while some are inhibitory (the neuron is less likely to fire).

The 100 000 000 000 neurons in the human brain are packed into a dense three dimensional
mass of cells each having connection to between 10 and 1000 other cells. The connections
between these cells, and the process of particular patterns of cell firings causing other cells to
fire or not fire is how thought, learning and memory take place. Mental activity can be seen to
be related to patterns or waves of signals passing through the complex neural network.
(Incidentally this mass of 100 billion cells in our brains uses less power than a 100W light
bulb.)

A neuron with magnified synaptic gap
While each neuron by itself is insignificant, the process of large numbers combining to work
together on a task leads to the power of the brain. The human brain can carry out 10
16

operations per second; supercomputers are only approaching 10
10
operations per second.
It is believed that learning is a process of burning in pathways in the neural networks.
As some synapses become larger and deliver a stronger signal to the receiving dendrite, others
become smaller and deliver weaker signals. The more often a path is used the better it is
recalled. By repeating an activity over and over the
neural pathway used for it is strengthened. (Think of
memorising a phone number by repetition.) There is
also research that suggests that dendrites can grow
spikes to meet synaptic knobs to improve
connections. Alternatively these spikes can shrink
with disuse. (This might equate to forgetting.)
Researchers are trying to replicate the brains style of
parallel distributed processing of neurons in a field
called connectionism. One aspect of this field
involves networks of artificial neurons.
A neural pathway

Artificial neurons
The natural neuron is basically a processing unit communicating with other neurons; it is a
binary device it either fires or it does not. This is a relatively simple device to reproduce
electrically.
The artificial neuron, or node, consists of two (or more) inputs which are combined in some
way so as to produce an output.

input
output
input
An artificial neural node
Usually the inputs are weighted, e.g. input may be multiplied by 1.5, while input is
multiplied by -2.
Within the node these inputs are combined through a function to produce an output. A positive
weight increases the chance of firing, a negative weight decreases the chance of firing. The
resulting output (if any) is then used as input by other artificial neurons as their input (which in
turn may be weighted). A combination of many of these artificial neurons forms the ANN.
The components of a simple artificial neuron are:
input connectors which receive signals as numbers from other neurons;
an activator which combines the effects of input values by weighting each to produce
the activation value; these weights can be adjusted;
a transferor which reads the activation value and decides if the neuron should emit an
output signal, and if so how strongly;
an output connector which conveys the output of this neuron to successor neurons in
the network.
input
connectors output
activator transferor connector

Components of an artificial neuron
In an artificial neural network (ANN) these nodes are arranged in distinct layers.

input layer hidden layer output layer
A feed forward ANN with three layers (3-4-2)

The left hand layer acts as input, i.e. these nodes accept input data and (without processing)
transmit it to the each node in the next layer. The right hand layer is the output. The layers of
nodes between input and output are described as hidden.
The above network is described as a fully connected, feed forward network. All nodes are
connected to all other nodes (fully connected) and all output from one node goes onto the next
layer only (feed forward). There are other designs where not all nodes are connected, or where
output is fed back into previous layers, but we will not investigate these.
Training a neural network
Seemingly complicated problems can be solved with very few neurons in an ANN. Each
individual neuron is weak, but because they work in teams, each sharing a bit of the job, they
can solve problems conventional computers fail to do.
Neural networks are trained, they are not programmed like conventional computers. Training
consists of repeated cycles of showing examples of sample data and adjusting the weights until
the desired output is achieved. When a network is first set up the values of the weights on each
node are random. These weights decide the final outcome of how a neural network responds to
a particular set of input data. Changing the weights will change the final output value.
To train the network it is presented with a sample input, the ANN processes it and produces an
output. The output is then compared with what was wanted, a target output. If the network
output and the target output disagree (most likely) the difference (or error) is fed back through
the network to adjust the weights to bring the output closer to the desired response. The sample
input is then presented once more and the network output again compared with the required
target output. Weights on nodes that get the ANN closer to the target output are strengthened,
those that do not are weakened. This process is called back propagation, and is used repeatedly
until the output is sufficiently close to the correct response.
This process of input, processing, output, comparing output with target data, and adjusting
weights by back propagation will be repeated tens of thousands of times until the level of error
is very small. At this stage the network has been trained and the weights are fixed. The network
can then be used with new, unseen, input patterns and the output accepted as being within that
error range.
As an example, we might want an ANN to be able to recognise the difference between healthy
blood cells and those with sickle-cell anaemia. (This is a condition in which red blood cells
cannot carry oxygen. Infected cells have a quarter moon, or sickle, shape.) In this case the input
would consist of a set of values read from a microscopic device. For training, the ANN would
be presented with a series of images of healthy, and images of diseased cells. After each
presentation if the network did not correctly recognise one from the other the weights would be
adjusted by back propagation.
The training process may have to be repeated thousands of times until the network could
distinguish between healthy and diseased samples. When it can the weights are fixed. After this
the ANN can be presented with a series of new blood slides to see if it can pick out the diseased
samples. If training is successful the network can be used to take the place of human
technicians freeing them for more specialised work.

As a network is being trained it produces correct answers more and more often. An error value
below 0.01 (1%) indicates a good level of training. Further training can continue to produce a
lower error level. The process of the error approaching zero is called convergence. If in training
the error value begins to rise the process is no longer converging. When this happens training
must cease and the network returned to the weights of the previous lowest error value.
As it moves toward a preset target state, the ANN learns from its failures. This adjusting of
weights until successful is called unsupervised learning. The human developer has no control
over the process, it is automatic.
Hidden layers
The final set of weights on each input on each neuron in an ANN is too complex to be
understood, it simply must be accepted as working in achieving the set goal. While we can see
the input and the output, the weights on the nodes in between are unknown. Because of this
these inner layers are described as hidden.
In a trained ANN knowledge is stored in the total distribution of weights throughout the hidden
layers and not in any single place. Unfortunately this has the disadvantage of having to take the
networks output on trust. This is of little import in that we are more interested in the ANN
working than wondering how it works. (Compare this to an expert system where we can get the
expert system to validate its conclusions.)
Human learning can be seen to proceed in a similar way to the training of an ANN. For
example we might want to know how to do a subtraction sum, or how to hit a tennis forehand.
Input from reading, teachers, experiences, etc., are processed by the neurons in the brain. If the
correct output is not achieved we will continue repeating the input and practising processing it
in slightly different ways until we get the sum right, or hit the tennis ball correctly. The more
we practise the lower the error level.
The knowledge, skills and processes we have learnt this way are known as heuristics.
The role of ANNs
One important aspect of an ANN is that it will not give an exact response. Any output is subject
to an error level which will indicate that the required response is more right than wrong. This
links into an area known as fuzzy logic in which there are no right answers, only answers that
are less wrong than others.
ANNs work well in pattern recognition (an area traditional computers have had little success),
such as face identification, screening pathology slides for malignant cells, and recognising
military vehicles. This last application has received heavy military funding in the search for a
way to automatically identify enemy tanks or planes.
ANNs also work well in non-algorithmic processing such as natural language processing,
image processing, manufacturing, quality and process control, recognition of text and
handwriting, and complex modelling.
The advantages that are provided with ANNs are:
speed we can input a great deal of information at one time (parallel input), e.g. a
picture may be input with each pixel delivered to a separate node

reliability ANNs are very robust, they can still function at a high degree of accuracy
even if parts have broken down; this is because all activities are mixed, and spread
throughout the network; ANNs are described as being fault tolerant, or exhibiting
graceful degradation, i.e. they do not fail suddenly
ANNs can handle incomplete or fuzzy information, especially with information on
which they have not been trained or seen before
ANNs can learn from experience, i.e. weights can be adjusted to meet requirements
more closely
generalising ANNs can recognise not just what they have been taught, but also
similar but new situations.
The disadvantages are that ANNs take a long time to train and the conclusions reached by an
ANN cannot be explained, and the result has to be taken on trust.
As yet this technology is still in its infancy and has a long way to go to challenge conventional
computing, but the successes achieved already point to a vital area of AI research.
Activity 10.6 Added weight
At this stage it might be instructive to work through some calculations on a trained network to
see how input values are processed to produce an output.
1. To start with we will look at one sample node:
+1.5

+2.0

-1.3
This node has weights of +1.5, +2.0 and -1.3 on the three input lines.
Suppose input signals of 1, 0 and 1 were received on the input lines. This would produce
a total of: 1 x +1.5 + 0 x +2.0 + 1 x -1.3 = +0.2
1 +1.5

0 +2.0 +0.2

1 -1.3
Calculate the total of the weighted input on the above node for the following input signals:
a (1, 1, 1) b (0, 0, 1) c (1, 1, 0) d (0, 1, 0)
2. This output total is called the activation value (AV).
Once the AV has been calculated it is passed onto the transferor. Here a mathematical
function determines the output of this node. The type of function depends on the design of
the network. A basic step-transfer function may simply give an output of 1 for a positive
AV, and a value of 0 for a negative AV. For an AV of 0, output is 1.

In the example above, which had an AV of +0.2, a step-transfer function would output 1
(because +0.2 is greater than 0).
What output would a step-transfer function give from the AVs calculated in Q1?
3. The following is a sigmoid transfer function. It is a variation on the step transfer function
giving outputs in a range between 0 and 1. To find the output plot the AV from the
horizontal axis down to the curve and then across to the vertical axis:

Using this function the AV of +0.2 from our example would lead to an output of 0.55.
Use the sigmoid transfer function to calculate the output from the AVs in Q1.
4. Now we will look at a simple network with two inputs, one hidden layer of two nodes, and
one output node:
-2
A X
1.5 3.2
Z
0.6 -0.3
B Y
1.2
Assuming a step-transfer function we will calculate the output of the above network.
With an input of (1, 0):
X
AV
= 1 x -2.0 + 0 x +1.5 = -2.0 X
out
= 0
Y
AV
= 1 x +0.6 + 0 x +1.2 = +1.8 Y
out
= 1
These two now feed into Z:
Z
AV
= 0 x +3.2 + 1 x -0.3 = -0.3 Z
out
= 0
The resultant output is 0.
For the network above calculate the output for the following inputs with a step-transfer
function:
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4

a (1, 1) b (0, 0) c (0, 1)
5. For the network above calculate the output using the sigmoid transfer function given above
in Q3 and an input of (1, 0).
6. Calculate the output from the following network for an input of (1, 0, 1) using a step-
transfer function:
A P Weights:
AP: 1.4 AQ: -2.2 AR: 1.3
Q AS: -0.5 BP: 1.5 BQ: -2.8
B Z BR: -1.4 BS: 3.0 CP: 1.9
R CQ: 2.5 CR: -2.2 CS: -0.4
C PZ: 2.0 QZ: -0.4 RZ: 1.3
S SZ: -1.0

Robotics
The Encyclopaedia Galactica defines a robot as a mechanical apparatus designed to do
the work of a man. The marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a
robot as Your Plastic Pal Whos Fun To Be With
Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
While the thought of robots brings to mind figures such as those in Douglas Adams books, or
Star Wars R2D2 and C3P0, current robots are not as romantic. Most are industrial machines
designed to be placed in one spot and do a fairly limited range of tasks. These devices are not
intelligent. A robot instructed to paint a panel will spray the area whether there is a panel there
or not.
A robot is a device that is re-programmable and multi-functional so that it can do a variety of
tasks.
To be a robot a device must also have some degree of autonomy. This means the following
devices cannot be classified as true robots:
dishwasher single task
remotely controlled vehicle no autonomy
traffic lights re-programmable, but only performs a single task
automatic doors not re-programmable.
True robots can do a variety of tasks such as welding, painting, assembling parts, etc. This is
achieved through changing the devices attached to them and through re-programming
The program the robotic device follows is stored in a computer. It is entered either as a series of
steps or by using a specialised robotic programming language such as Forth. A variation on
these is to use lead-through programming. With this a skilled operator has the robotic arm or
device strapped to his or her arm. The operator then performs a task such as spray painting
while the computer records the motions. Once the actions are in memory the robot can then
imitate the process millions of times without tiring.

Power source
Most robotic devices are electrically or hydraulically powered.
Electrically powered robots are used for general purpose activities. This form of device is
cheap and simple to build. They are also easy to run and maintain. There are however
disadvantages to this power source.
Electrical robotic devices have a low power to weight ratio so that devices with any real power
need to be very heavy. Electrical devices also tend to be limited to circular action only. Electric
motors have a rotary motion and devices using them need special attachments to move an arm
or part in a straight line.
Finally this type of device has a limited starting and braking torque. When an electric motor
starts it does not have much power to push. If the motor is stopped it cannot hold a steady
position easily. Electric engines work through magnetic action and so starting strength and a
steadily held stopped position are limited to the strength of the magnets.
For heavy precise work robots are more often hydraulically powered. For these a compressor is
used to place oil under pressure. Through hoses and the action of plungers the pressure in the
oil can move the device or to work attachments on it.
Hydraulic robots can move linearly (in a straight line) and have a high starting or stopping
torque, meaning they can be held in position firmly. They are also self lubricating. While
hydraulic robots are expensive, pneumatically powered devices (using air instead of oil) have
most of their advantages but are cheaper.
Degrees of freedom
Whatever the power source used, it is usually remote from the robotic device itself to give it
freedom of movement.
Movement is classified as rotary or linear, and the number of directions it can act in are
described as the degrees of freedom. As an example the human elbow has one degree of
rotational freedom and no degrees of linear freedom.

Robotic arm
linear motion
rotary motion

The above robotic arm can rotate about its base, on its stand, and at its two elbow joints. Its
jaws can move together or apart in a linear or straight line direction. In all this gives it five
degrees of freedom
Mobile robots
Many mobile so called robots today are not true robots as they are mostly guided by a person
from a distance, e.g. a bomb disposal robot. In fact there are very few mobile robots apart from
a group described as Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGV).
An AGV will usually follow a track of some kind such as a wire or a reflective surface. They
operate in factories or other plants and are controlled by a central computer to move parts or
components around. Some are smart enough to avoid collisions although there are problems
with the detection of some obstacles (a wall is easy to detect, but a table is 95% space).
Experimental AGVs include cleaning robots and security guards.
Effectors and sensors
Most robots interact with their environment through end effectors and sensors. An end effector
is a device that is fitted to a robotic arm to carry out a specific task such as paint spraying. A
sensor is a device to detect what is around the robot or where its various parts are.
End effectors are sometimes called an actuators. There are end effectors for specific tasks
including
gripping
cutting
welding
drilling
sanding
routing
spraying
picking or placing
holding special objects such as glass, and so on.
There are even end effectors for highly specialised tasks such as brick laying, sheep shearing or
chicken plucking.
A true robotic device should be able to take different end effectors and, with re-programming,
be able to carry out different tasks.
A robot may be fitted with sensors to detect its environment. These might include sensors to
detect the things it must work with so that they can be picked up or positioned correctly or to
find the objects around it so it will not bump into them. There are also position sensors so that it
can judge where its various parts are.
A robotic device is designed to work on its own without human intervention. The brain of the
robot has to be able to find the things it must work with, must be aware of where its parts are so
they can be moved to the correct place, and do so without colliding with external objects.
There are a range of forms the sensors may take. These include vision (camera), sonic (sound),
radar, infra-red, pressure (touch), and even speech recognition.

The role of robotic devices
Robots can do the unpleasant or dangerous or boring jobs rather than having people do them.
Tasks suitable for robots include:
working in extreme heat
spray painting in enclosed spaces
moving heavy, awkward objects
bomb disposal
handling radioactive, poisonous or infectious materials
repetitive, high concentration jobs
tasks requiring extreme precision.
Activity 10.7 Androids
1. a What is a robot?
b Which of the following do not fit the definition of a robot (with reasons):
i TV remote control ii smoke detector
iii cruise control on a car iv traffic lights
v fridge temperature control vi computer printer
vii garden watering system on a timer viii dish washing machine
ix alarm clock
c Identify a device in everyday life that you think could be classed as a robot.
2. Identify the type of movement and degrees of freedom for each of these robotic devices:
a b

3. What advantages do hydraulic motors have over electric motors for robots?
4. Give three examples of end effectors.
5. Suggest three situations where it would be better to use robots in place of people.

6. The University of W.A. conducted research into a sheep shearing robot called Shear
Magic. Despite the ability to correct itself after mistakes, and artificial vision to measure a
sheeps size and shape, early versions could only take off 90% of wool in 15 min. After
ten years the project was abandoned.
What do you think might have been the difficulties the developers were unable to
overcome that can be accomplished relatively easily by human shearers.
7. Find answers to the following:
a What is a nanometre?
b What is nanotechnology?
c What role has Richard Feynman played in the development of nanotechnology?
d Identify three actual or possible nanomachines.
e Suggest some applications of nanotechnology.
f How are nanomachines manufactured?
g What role has Eric Drexler played in the development of nanotechnology?
h Many people fear nanotechnology. Explain the basis of these fears. In your opinion
are these fears valid?
8. The Sony Corporation has produced a very popular Entertainment Robot called Aibo.
Despite costing around $3 000 these robotic dogs sell almost as quickly as they can be
produced.
a The Aibo is promoted as a new companion. Give some reasons why these devices
might be so popular.
b Aibo comes with voice recognition software. To what uses
could this be placed?
c Aibo 2 also comes with sensors for temperature, infrared,
acceleration, pressure and vibration. Suggest a situation or
activity that use could be made of each of these sensors.
d Aibos various parts have a range of degrees of freedom.
Use a diagram to show the range of movements that Aibo
could make given the following data:
mouth 1 degree of freedom
head 3 degrees of freedom
legs 3 degrees of freedom x 4 legs
ears 1 degree of freedom x 2 ears
tail 2 degrees of freedom
e Sony has not discontinued the production of Aibo. Find out why.
9. Issac Asimov in the short story I Robot proposed the Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot must never harm a human being, or through inaction, allow a human to come to
harm.

2. A robot must always obey a human being, unless this is in conflict with the first law.
3. A robot must protect itself from harm, unless this in conflict with the first two laws.
a Asimov envisioned a future with autonomous robots. Why do
you think he suggested the need for these laws?
b What is meant by the term unless this is in conflict with?
Why is it needed?
c The primary aim for an army in wartime is to kill. Is it possible
for a military robot (even non combatant) to obey the laws?
Why or why not?
10. Nero (Neuro-Evolving Robotic Operatives) is a game in which you
train ANN-based robots to complete tasks.
Visit nerogame.org, play the game, and then report on the
experience in terms of training, machine learning, and evolving AI.
Artificial intelligence
Having looked at some of the applications of AI it is now time to investigate the background of
AI and to question whether it is possible to create a non-human intelligence.
Pattern matching programs
The earliest attempts at simulating intelligence were pattern matching programs such as ELIZA
and PARRY.
ELIZA is the name of a computer program written between 1963-6 by Dr J oseph Weizenbaum
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Weizenbaum was a psychotherapist interested in
the potential of computers to act in a human like way.
Dr Weizenbaum wanted to simulate the actions of human counsellors who get patients to talk
about themselves by echoing back the patients words. The program did not understand what
was said to it but would respond to the users input, trying to obtain more information.
Here is a sample conversation:
USER: Im worried about my brother
ELIZA: Tell me more about your brother.
USER: I feel he does not understand me.
ELIZA: Oh, why does he not understand you?
USER: We cannot talk any more.
ELIZA: Tell me why you cannot talk any more.
USER: We have lost contact.
ELIZA: Why do you feel you have lost contact?.........etc., etc., etc.
Although Dr Weizenbaum did not expect ELIZA to be taken seriously he quickly found people
would respond to the computer in situations where they were too embarrassed to talk to a
person. It is said his secretary on first trying the program asked Weizenbaum to leave the room
so she could keep on interacting with ELIZA in private!
Sonny the robot in
the movie version of
I, Robot

Another program from the same time was PARRY. In this the computer played the role of a 28
year old paranoid gambler who was being pursued by a vengeful Las Vegas bookie. PARRY
would carry on a conversation with the user. In response to certain keywords it would grow
more suspicious and aggressive and would steer the conversation onto the Mafia or the police.
Almost anything wrong would be blamed on one or the other. Once mentioned it was easy for
the discussion to revolve around one of them, continually increasing the programs anger and
suspicion. In conversations with six psychologists via terminals, three of the psychologists
thought PARRY was human.
Here is a sample conversation with PARRY:
USER: What do you do for a living?
PARRY: I work at Sears
USER: How much do you get paid?
PARRY: That is none of your business.
USER: You seem defensive. How do you feel?
PARRY: I am perfectly fine.
USER: Do you want to see a doctor?
PARRY: I dont want to talk about that.
USER: Have you had any trouble with bookies?
PARRY: A bookie didnt pay me off once.
USER: Oh, what happened?
PARRY: I had an argument with a bookie who did not pay off. Later on I remembered he had friends
in the underworld and I thought he would use them to get even with me.
... etc.
Activity 10.8 ELIZA and PARRY
1. a In computer terms what does AI stand for?
b What is the area of computer research AI is concerned with?
c Why is AI important in helping develop the HCI?
2. Why might a person prefer to talk to a computer about their problems rather than a person?
3. In what ways is a human counsellor better than a computer counsellor?
4. Suppose a computerised counsellor were developed and marketed. If the program gave
poor advice leading to a deterioration in a patient's condition, who would be responsible
and why; the patient who bought the program, the people who sold it, or the person who
wrote the program?
5. Do you think human counsellors will ever be displaced by computer? Give reasons why,
or why not, you feel this is a possibility.
6. If possible carry on a conversation with a version of ELIZA or PARRY and record you
impressions.
Why do you think some people thought ELIZA (or PARRY) were real?

7. Dr J oseph Weizenbaum, the creator of ELIZA was amazed and disturbed when he
discovered that many people reacted to his program as if it were a real counsellor. Few
people stop to think about whether the use of a computer is right or wrong. Do you believe
the use of computers for counselling is unethical, or do they have some advantages over
human counsellors? Support your position.
The Turing test
ELIZA and PARRY were pattern matching programs that simply identified key words or phrases
and responded to them. While there was no attempt at understanding, they did however fool
some people into thinking they were interacting with another person. But what if there was
some understanding behind a conversation a human had with a computer?
Alan Turing was a British mathematician who did much to develop the
logic of early computers before and during the second world war. He
wondered how far computers could develop and proposed a
conversational test to establish when we could decide if computers had
reached the level of intelligence.
Turing proposed a situation where a human judge is presented with two
terminals, one of which is connected to a computer, the other to a
person in another room at another terminal. The judge does not know
which is which. The judge carries out a conversation through the two
terminals with the human and the computer, each of which attempts to
prove the other is the computer. If the human judge could not identify
which was the person and which the computer then the computer had
passed the test and for all practical purposes could be considered to be at the level of artificial
intelligence. This test is now known as the Turing test.

Turing test of computer intelligence
This test first appeared in an article Turing wrote in 1950 (Computing Machinery and
Intelligence) and has since sparked much debate. Turing himself described it as a test to detect
if a computer could think (the term AI was not coined until six years later).
Alan Turing

Many have disputed whether this a valid test of thought. Some have suggested the test is too
difficult. If the roles were reversed and the human had to prove he or she was a computer they
would fail miserably (any rapid, complicated calculation would do). For a computer to prove
humanness might be too strong and inflexible a requirement. An alternative might be for the
judge to merely detect some conscious presence underlying the replies as a test of intelligence.
This latter view is taken by a group described as functionalists (Marvin Minsky and others).
They suggest that any computer operation involves some level of consciousness. The mere
carrying out of a step of an algorithm is an atom of consciousness, and that thousands of these
steps together should therefore make up some a level of consciousness. After all, they claim,
human consciousness is a product of thousands of neurons (brain cells) working together.
(Minsky described the brain as a computer made of meat.)
J ohn Searle, the American philosopher, opposes the functionalists (he describes them as Strong
AI) and extended the Turing test with his Chinese Room concept. In this he imagines himself
placed in a room with all of the necessary instructions for manipulating small tiles with Chinese
characters on them. A sequence of Chinese symbols representing a story, and then some
questions, is fed into the room through a slot. By following the instructions to handle the
symbols Searle said he would be able to answer the questions and feed out a yes or no symbol
as an answer.
Searles point is that the mere carrying out of the instructions does not imply any understanding
has taken place. While he can arrange, group and respond to the symbols he will not have
understood a single word of the story.
Searle goes on to say that if he were replaced by a computer that has rules of grammar, a
dictionary, etc., it could also reply to questions in Chinese. However, he claims, that even if the
machine can fool a Chinese speaker, it does not understand Chinese.
Functionalists suggest it is only a matter of time before computers do everything our brains can
do, Searle claims computers are not essentially different from any mechanical device and will
never reach this level. The debate continues and we will revisit it shortly.
Back to the Turing test. How could the judge determine which was the computer? The judge
might try some nonsense questions to see if the computer could pick out the absurdity.
Checking for a sense of humour by telling a joke is another possibility. Perhaps some questions
could be asked that only a computer could answer (to avoid this the computer would have to
pretend to be dumber that it was!).
Another method is to probe for understanding of the real world.
Roger Schank poses the following situation.
A man is hungry and goes into a restaurant and orders a hamburger.
In one scenario the hamburger comes out burnt to a crisp, the man storms out without paying or
leaving a tip.
In the second scenario, a good hamburger is delivered, the man is very pleased, pays the bill, tips
and leaves.
The question in each case is, did the man eat the hamburger? To answer this question requires
both a knowledge of the real world and an understanding of logical consequences. Perhaps
questions like this might test Turings thinking computer.

Since Turings day computers have developed enormously. While few people would say we
have developed intelligent computers current computers could be programmed to pass the
Turing test. This is an example of the so called receding horizons effect as technology gets
closer to a goal the criteria for judging achievement of the goal are shifted further away. We
might no longer accept Turings Test as a measure of AI, but if someone suggests another test
perhaps that too may be achieved without accepting it as AI as our expectations continue to
grow.
Activity 10.9 Thinking machines
1. a In your own words describe the scenario of the Turing test for machine intelligence.
b If a computer passes the Turing test what does this demonstrate? How?
c What questions would you ask if you were the human judge in the Turing test to
determine which of the terminals in front of you was connected to a computer?
d Suggest an updated alternative to the Turing test that if achieved would indicate a
computer had reached the level of AI.
2. Explain why functionalists believe one day we will be able to produce intelligent
computers.
3. The AI philosopher J ohn Searle proposed the Chinese Room scenario.
a Explain what the scenario involves.
b Searle suggests that the link between symbol and meaning will always be absent from
machines and that mere symbol shuffling will never generate intelligence. Do you
agree with his argument and why or why not?
c Searle further claims computers have nothing to teach us about thought. Do you
agree?
4. (Artificial intelligence is)... the science of making machines do things that would require
intelligence if they were done by men. Marvin Minsky
a Do you think Turing would have agreed with Minskys definition of intelligence?
b Which aspect of Minskys definition is contained in the Turing test?
5. Humans are intelligent but we do make mistakes no one is infallible.
a If an intelligent computer never made mistakes how would it seem to humans?
b Why do you think we could not accept and work with an infallible partner.
6. The West German chess grandmaster Helmut Pfleger once played a simultaneous
exhibition against a group of opponents, three of which, unknown to him, were computers.
When told afterwards, he could not pick which were the computers, and one in particular
amazed him with its style and level of play (it won).
Did these machines pass the Turing test, and should they be considered intelligent? Give
reasons to support your answer.
7. Does the receding horizons effect mean we will never accept machine intelligence?

How we think
There are three groups of people who are attempting to reproduce human thought processes in
computers:
humanists investigate how people solve problems and then attempt to simulate these
processes on computer
logicists base their study on formal mathematical logic as being more predictable and
easier to model
structuralists believe the best way to simulate the workings of the mind is to
reproduce the information processing capabilities of the brain (this group includes
connectionists developing ANNs).
Between them these groups have investigated human strategies for processing knowledge and,
while improving our understanding of reasoning, are attempting to build their theories into
working programs.
The form of logic most used in algorithmic computers (e.g. if ... then ... else ... ) is classic (or
Aristotolean) logic. This method is based on premises that follow rules to reach a conclusion
e.g. a dog is an mammal, mammals are animals, therefore a dog is an animal. The process of
determining if a conclusion is true or false, based on its premises, is known as inference or
deduction. This form of logic is the basis of most current computers.
While the basis for most formal logics, this deductive logic does not always work well in the
real world because of contradictions that can constantly crop up to alter the basic assumptions
(e.g. birds fly, a penguin is a bird, therefore penguins fly). Non-monotonic logics have been
developed that are more flexible in that they keep a track of which conclusions depend on
which premises. When a contradiction is found the reasoning is traced back to determine which
assumptions need changing or removing
Inductive logic is the opposite to deductive in that it works from examples to form premises or
concepts. By looking at many specific instances of a thing or event common elements are
abstracted that form the general rules. As an example, by looking at many different forms of
dog the concept of dogness is gained. In this development three categories of attribute are
considered, must-have (e.g. four legs, teeth), must-not-have (e.g. fur, plastic parts) and may-
have (e.g. colour). Inductive logic, generalising on past successes and failures, is used in
artificial neural network computers.
In between deductive and inductive is fuzzy logic. This form was originated by an engineer
called Lotfi Zadeh in the early 1960s. In fuzzy logic data is expressed in terms of probabilities.
As an example there might be a 10% chance that a 150cm person is considered tall, and an 80%
chance a 180cm person is considered tall. Combining this with the probability the person is
overweight we can determine the chance of whether the person can fit into a small car. This
form of logic is used in expert systems and in ANNs. It is also very effective for controlling
machinery and the J apanese especially have built fuzzy logic into washing machines, vacuum
cleaners and even trains.
There are other forms of logic used in computers.
Case based logic works on analogy or example (somewhat like a more rigid inductive logic). In
this form problems are solved by finding a precedent. Case based logic assumes a large

database of previous solutions and the ability to recognise similarities. This method is used for
some expert systems but is limited to well documented problems that can be stated clearly and
simply.
Brute force logic is simply to try every possible combination until one is found that fits.
Computer chess is a good example. The computer has no idea of what chess is or any of the
strategies involved. What it has been programmed to recognise are the possible legal moves
(about 30-35 in a given situation) and the elements of a good position (e.g. control the centre
squares). The computer will then generate every possible combination of moves by itself and
its opponent for up to 10 or 12 moves in advance and choose the next one best move. (Try 35
12

on your calculator to see how much computation is required.)
A final form being explored is frame based logic. In this an attempt is made to intuitively link
related ideas into frames. For example the concept of car to us carries ideas of wheels, body,
driving, motion, roads, etc., etc. Frames may be linked by scripts e.g. the frame car plus the
frame driver plus the frame coast can be linked into a script of going-on-holiday. While this is
more a way to represent knowledge rather than a form of logic it is used to draw inferences and
conclusions about the real world.
One attempt based on frames is where Dr Doug Lenat and colleagues spent years entering ten
million pieces of information into a computer called Cyc. After ten years they claimed it had
the knowledge of the world of a five year old. This may seem a small result for such a massive
effort, but at five a human child is ready to start school and begin learning for herself.
Activity 10.10 Think for yourself
1. How is the approach of structuralists different from that of humanists in attempting to
determine how thought processes might be reproduced in a computer?
2. Using examples of each, show how inductive and deductive logic are opposite to each
other.
3. I can fit into my overcoat. My overcoat can fit into a suitcase. Therefore I can fit into the
suitcase.
a What form of logic is this?
b Why is the conclusion false?
c How could this fault be rectified?
4. Fuzzy logic works on combining probabilities to determine the chance of something being
correct or true. Why might this form of logic be suitable for controlling the way
autonomous machines operate in the real world?
5. a Identify each of the other three forms of logic outlined above and give an example of
each.
b Suggest real world situations where each could be used to control a computer.

The mind-body problem
The brain is the principal organ that controls intelligent behaviour, it is the seat of the things
that we associate with intelligence. These characteristics include, calculating, communicating,
explaining, imagining, inventing and creativity, justifying, learning, manipulating symbols,
reasoning logically, recognising, relating, remembering, thinking, understanding and
visualising
All of these thoughts, ideas and memories however can be related to electro-chemical activity
that takes place in the brain. They have a physical basis that is observable and measurable. By
planting electrodes in a brain observers can monitor the flow of thoughts and ideas. They can
measure things like awareness, excitement, joy and stress. On the other hand by using probes
that generate minute electrical currents they can stimulate emotions, moods or memories. From
these observations it appears that the brain is a biological machine made of neurons that runs on
electro-chemical activity.
What however of the characteristics of humanness such as self-awareness, emotions, volition
(free will) and cognition (ability to process knowledge). Are these linked to the physical
processes that take place in the brain or are they part of something that is separate? Is there
something unique that makes us conscious of ourselves as a human? Is there part of us that is
separate to the brain? For some there is. This entity is referred to as mind.
There is evidence that there is a mind that is separate from the body:
The body can act on the mind. An example of this is when drugs can cause a state of
altered awareness. The mind of the drug user experiences reality in a different way.
The mind can act on the body. One example of this is a case of psychosomatic illness
where a person believes they are ill and the body experiences all of the symptoms.
Another is the everyday experience of being embarrassed causing us to blush.
The mind-body problem is this, is the mind a function of a physical object, the brain, or is it
something more, something non-physical?
This is a problem that has been the basis of philosophical discussion for hundreds of years.
What is mind and, even, does mind exist? How can a material object (the brain) evoke
consciousness? How can consciousness (mind) influence the action of physical objects?
To demonstrate these concepts we will look at the main theories of mind-body.
Western philosophy Eastern philosophy
Materialism Dualism Idealism
(rationalists) (interactionists) (phenomenalists)
These can be seen to exist on a continuum:
Materialism This theory suggests that only the world available to our senses exists,
if you cannot see or touch something then it is not real. By this view mind does not
exist, only the physical body. The C.N.S. (brain and spinal cord) performs all the
functions of thought and intelligent behaviour.
Idealism The opposite theory, held in some Eastern traditions, is that matter does
not exist at all, everything is a figment of mind. We imagine there is a world around
us.

Dualism This is a half-way position, first proposed by the French philosopher Ren
Descarte, that brain and mind are two entities. The brain is material (physical) and the
mind is not (spiritual). There is no clear distinction between these two so that we
cannot say where one ends and the other begins, or how
intelligence and thoughts are shared between them.
AI researchers who believe machine understanding is possible
work from a materialist or a functionalist approach. Functionalists
disregard the discussion of origin and content of mind as irrelevant.
They work from a basic assumption that mind works (functions)
and from there seek to understand how it works by looking at its
organisation, the way it is put together.
Your personal belief in the nature of mind will determine your expectations of the possibilities
or limitations of AI. If you see self awareness, emotions, volition, etc. as simply attributes of a
mechanistic brain then you will have to accept that eventually a computer may be developed so
complex that it can match all of the processes of a human brain. If however you believe there is
something inherently human about mind, then there is a chance that computers will never
achieve a the full level of consciousness necessary for true intelligence.
These considerations have led to some very deep questions:
where do thoughts take place?
what happens to the mind (soul?) after the death of the body?
is consciousness mind, or is mind consciousness?
does intelligence imply mind (and if computers achieve intelligence will they have
minds)?
Activity 10.11 Theories of mind
The following are topics for discussion in groups. Before you join a group however it might
help if you place yourself on the Materialist/Idealist continuum. It is not necessary to belong
entirely in one category, you can place yourself anywhere along the line you feel comfortable
with.
Discuss the following:
1. Feelings, consciousness and inspirations are not physical, they cannot be weighed, looked
at, measured etc. If they are not physical they are immaterial (spiritual). They are part of
the mind, therefore mind is spiritual.
2. You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of
personal identity and free will are in fact no more than the behaviour of a vast assembly of
nerve cells.
Francis Crick Nobel prize winner for the structure of DNA
To a materialist all mental states must be reducible to physical states, i.e. thinking,
creativity, joy etc. must be simply chemical reactions or depolarising waves passing along
the neural circuits in the C.N.S.
Ren Descarte

Do you agree with this? Does I am experiencing joy equate to The neural currents in
my C.N.S. are fluctuating at a set level? The emotion of joy does parallel neural events
but is the private mental experience itself merely a function of the neural events?
3. How would a materialist explain non-physical phenomenon such as ESP (telepathic
reception, clairvoyance) or psychic projection (telepathic transmission, telekinesis, astral
travelling)? While the materialist might deny the possibility of these phenomenon there is
strong evidence they do exist.
4. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Matthew 26:41
What is a conscience, the feeling we get when the body wants to do something, but the
mind says it is wrong?
5. According to the functionalist view, in principle it will eventually be possible to build an
organic computer out of bits of matter such that the computer will not only be intelligent,
but it will be capable of experiencing a mental picture of its thought; it will not only be
capable of certain malfunctions but could actually feel an associated pain; it would not
only demonstrate outward signs of happiness but would actually feel happy.
a Do you think this is possible?
b What moral responsibility would it place on an owner who bought a computer that
was conscious? Would such ownership amount to slavery?
6. Humans are classified biologically as animals that have evolved along with all other
animals in the world. An alternative view is that humans are something more, they are
rational animals. This suggests that humans are the only animals with minds.
a What do you think are the necessary conditions for an entity to have mind. Consider
cognition (knowledge processing), emotion, volition (control of actions), self
awareness and consciousness.
b Do you believe no animals other than humans have minds, or all animals have minds,
or humans and just some other animals have minds?
c To what level does mind exist (e.g. human, mammal, reptile, fish, insect, worm,
amoeba, rock, silicon chip)?
d What survival value has evolution found in producing consciousness?
7. The operationalist point of view (basically Turings concept) is that a computer thinks
when it acts indistinguishably from the way a human acts when she or he is thinking. Does
intelligence require consciousness to exist?
8. Mind does not necessarily equate to consciousness. The unconscious mind is a powerful
part of our intelligence. It can influence us through dreams, hallucinations, obsessions,
Freudian slips and sudden inspiration. Does the unconscious mind have a separate
awareness to the conscious mind?
9. (The brain) ... resembles nothing so much as a bowl of cold porridge.
Alan Turing, mathematician
Must mind only be associated with biological devices?

10. The father of dualism, Ren Descarte, proposed I think therefore I am. Find out what he
meant by this.
The twentieth century the neurobiologist Antnio Damsio has challenged Descartes
dualism, citing the role of emotions and feelings in cognition. His counter statement is I
feel therefore I am. What do you think he meant by this, especially in relation to
Descartes point of view.
11. Opposition to the development of AI generally follows lines such as:
fear they will take over the world
impossible machines can not think
no examples no one has done it yet
emotional if intelligence is something mechanical then I am no better than a
machine
ethical it is wrong to develop non-human intelligence.
As a final question to conclude this discussion what is your view on the possibility of
machine intelligence? Be prepared to support this view with well thought out arguments.

Intelligence is in the
eye of the beholder


10 Intelligent Systems PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

10 Intelligent Systems PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

10

You might also like