Introduction to Information Technology

2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 12: Intelligent Systems in Business

Prepared by: Roberta M. Roth, Ph.D. University of Northern Iowa

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Chapter Preview
In this chapter, we will study: What is meant by artificial intelligence How expert systems are developed and how they perform How AI has been applied to other arenas, such as natural language processing and neural computing The concept and usefulness of intelligent agents Ethical and legal issues posed by AI
Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 12-2

Intelligent Systems?
Conventional computer systems do not

possess intelligence. They simply follow step-by-step instructions to complete a task If a computer system had intelligence, it would
Deal successfully with complex situations Learn from experience Adapt to new situations quickly

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Why do we want Intelligent Systems? To capture and represent human knowledge permanently To perform tasks requiring intelligence repetitively, consistently, and capably To document the performance of a task To conveniently disseminate knowledge and expertise to others

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Artificial Intelligence
Branch of computer science that Studies human intelligent behavior Attempts to replicate that human intelligent behavior in a computer system Employs symbolic processing of knowledge

and heuristics Does not really enable computers to think Does enable creation of systems with some human-like behaviors

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Applications of Artificial Intelligence

Expert Systems Natural language Intelligent computer-

technology Speech understanding Robotics Computer vision

assisted instruction Machine learning Handwriting recognition Intelligent agents

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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What is an Expert System?

Computer system that solves a problem as

successfully as a human expert Incorporates human expertise Acquires facts about the problem Applies its stored knowledge and expertise to the problem facts to derive a solution Makes recommendations Can explain its reasoning and logic Successful commercial application of AI
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Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Key Expert System Terms

Knowledge acquisition the process of obtaining knowledge and expertise from human experts Knowledge representation the method used to represent human knowledge and expertise in the computer system Knowledge inferencing the process of applying stored expertise to the facts about the problem to draw conclusions Knowledge transfer and use the communication of the problem solution and its justification to the system user
Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 12-8

More Expert System Terms

Knowledge base stored facts and methods of how to solve a problem Heuristic rule of thumb that can be applied in a problem solution Inference engine processing logic stored in the system that correctly applies the stored knowledge to the problem to develop a solution Domain expert one or more humans who have achieved a high level of expertise in solving a problem Knowledge engineer person who develops expert systems

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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How is an Expert System Created?

Knowledge engineer works with domain expert

to extract domain knowledge Knowledge engineer encodes domain knowledge in knowledge base using appropriate knowledge representation Knowledge engineer tests system on sample problems and refines system knowledge with help from domain engineer Refinement continues until system is solving problems with human expert capability

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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How Does an Expert System Perform?

System asks user a series of questions to gather

facts about the problem System uses inference engine to form conclusions from the facts, including a measure of certainty about the conclusions System displays its recommendation or solution to the problem If asked, the system can display its reasoning and logic as to how it arrived at the conclusion

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Expert System Structure

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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More on Expert Systems

Strengths Rapid, consistent problem solutions Ability to justify and explain reasoning Easy to replicate and distribute to nonexpert users Limitations Can only solve problems in a narrow domain Can only be applied to certain problem types Cannot learn from its experience Hard to acquire knowledge from human expert

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Other Intelligent Systems

Natural Language Processing The ability to communicate with a computer in your natural language
Voice (speech) recognition and speech

understanding system recognizes spoken words and understands their meaning Voice synthesis computer produces natural language voice output that sounds human

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Other Intelligent Systems

Neural Computing A computer model that uses architecture that mimics certain brain functions Performs pattern recognition well Can analyse large data sets and discover patterns where rules were previously unknown Can learn by analysing new cases and updating itself Many potential business applications

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Other Intelligent Systems

Case-Based Reasoning Uses solutions from similar problems and adapts them to new problems Useful in solving very complex cases Fuzzy Logic Enables systems to effectively deal with uncertainty Often use in combination with other technologies to improve productivity

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Intelligent Agents
Software agent that autonomously

performs tasks on behalf of a user with certain goals or objectives

Can tirelessly perform repetitive tasks over a network Includes knowledge base and ability to learn Can be static (on the client only) or mobile (move throughout a network) Often used to facilitate search and retrieval on the Internet and to assist in e-commerce tasks
Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 12-17

Virtual Reality
Simulation of a physical environment in a

highly realistic way Useful for communication and learning Many potential business applications, especially marketing

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Intelligent Systems Concerns

Potential to use the power of intelligent

systems in unethical ways Who will be accountable for decisions made by intelligent systems? Who owns knowledge and expertise? Can an expert be forced to reveal his/her expertise?

Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Chapter Summary
Artificial intelligence has produced a variety of

approaches to simulating some aspect of human behavior Expert systems have been most successful in business applications Natural language processing capability is improving Intelligent agents are very powerful tools in many of todays systems AI brings many ethical and legal concerns
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Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Introduction to Information Technology, 2nd Edition Turban, Rainer & Potter 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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