Business Info Systems- Artificial Intelligence

-Consists of related technologies that try to simulate and reproduce human thought and behavior-Includes thinking, speaking, feeling, and reasoningAI technologies-Concerned with generating and displaying knowledge and facts-Knowledge engineers try to discover "rules of thumb"-Enable computers to perform tasks usually handled by humans-Capabilities of these systems have improved in an attempt to close the gap between artificial intelligence and human intelligencePattern recognition!

-Decision makers use information technologies in decision-making analyses:What-isWhat-if-Other questions:Why?What does it mean?What should be done?When should it be done?

-One of the most successful applications of AI-Perform well at simple, repetitive tasks-Currently used mainly on assembly lines in Japan and the United States-Cost of industrial robots-Some robots have limited visionSeeing, touching, grasping, handling tasks-Honda's ASIMOOne of the most advanced and most popular robotsWorks with other robots in coordination-Personal robotsLimited mobility/vision, and some speech capabilities-Robots have some unique advantages in the workplace compared with humans

-One of the most successful AI-related technologies-Mimic human expertise in a field to solve a problem in a well-defined area-Consist of programs that mimic human thought behavior-In a specific area that human experts have solved successfully-Work with heuristic data

-Knowledge acquisition facility-Knowledge baseFactual knowledgeHeuristic knowledgeMeta-knowledge-Knowledge base management system (KBMS)-User interface-Explanation facility-Inference engine-Forward chainingSeries of "if-then-else"Condition pairs are performedThe "if" condition is evaluated firstThen the corresponding "then-else" action is carried out-Backward chainingStarts with the goal—the "then" partBacktracks to find the right solution-Semantic (associative) networksRepresents information as links and nodes-FramesStore conditions or objects in hierarchical order-ScriptsDescribe a sequence of events

-Airline industry-Forensics lab work-Banking and finance-Education-Food industry-Personnel management-Security-US Government-Agriculture

-Human expertise is needed but one expert can't investigate all the dimensions of a problem-Knowledge can be represented as rules or heuristics-Decision or task has already been handled successfully by human experts-Decision or task requires consistency and standardization-Subject domain is limited-Decision or task involves many rules and complex logic-Scarcity of experts in the organization

-Very few rules-Too many rules-Well-structured numerical problems are involved-Problems are in areas that are too wide and shallow-Disagreement among experts-Problems require human experts

-Never become distracted, forgetful, or tired-Duplicate and preserve the expertise of scarce experts-Preserve the expertise of employees who are retiring or leaving an organization-Create consistency in decision making-Improve the decision-making skills of nonexperts

-Problem-solving technique-Matches a new case (problem) with a previously solved case and its solution stored in a database-If there's no exact match between the new case and cases stored in the database-System can query the user for clarification or more information-If no match is found after the above query-Human expert must solve the problem

-Bots (short for robots)Software capable of reasoning and following rule-based processes-Are becoming more popularEspecially in e-commerceCharacteristics:-Adaptability-Autonomy-Collaborative behavior-Humanlike interface-Mobility-Reactivity-Web marketingCollect information about customers, such as items purchased, demographic information, and expressed and implied preferences-"Virtual catalogs"Display product descriptions based on customers' previous experiences and preferences

-Help users navigate through the vast resources available on the Web-Provide better results in finding information-ExamplesPricewatchBestBookBuyswww.mysimon.comDogPile-Searches the Web by using several search engines-Removes duplicate results

-Perform specific tasks for a user-Such as:Remembering information for filling out Web formsCompleting e-mail addresses after the first few characters are typed

-Work with a data warehouse-Detect trend changes-Discover information and relationships among data items that were not readily apparent-Having this information early enables decision makers to come up with a solution that minimizes the negative effects of the problem

-Track and report on computer equipment and network systemsTo predict when a system crash or failure might occur-Example: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

-Allows a smooth, gradual transition between human and computer vocabularies-Deals with variations in linguistic terms by using a degree of membership-Designed to help computers simulate vagueness and uncertainty in common situations-Works based on the degree of membership in a set-Used in:Search engines, chip design, database management systems, software development, and more-Examples:DryersRefrigeratorsShower systemsTVsVideo camcorders

-Networks that learn and are capable of performing tasks that are difficult with conventional computersExamples:-Playing chess, recognizing patterns in faces and objects, and filtering spam e-mail-Used for poorly structured problems-Uses patternsNot the if-then-else rules that expert systems use-Creates a model based on input and output-Used for many tasks, including:Bankruptcy predictionCredit ratingInvestment analysisOil and gas explorationTarget marketing

-Used mostly in techniques to find solutions to optimization and search problemsApplications:-Jet engine design, portfolio development, and network design-Find the combination of inputs that generates the most desirable outputsTechniquesSelection or survival of the fittestCrossoverMutation

-Developed so that users can communicate with computers in human language-Provides question-and-answer setting that's more natural and easier for people to use-Products aren't capable of a dialogue that compares with conversations between humansHowever, progress has been steadyCategories:-Interface to databases-Machine translation-Text scanning and intelligent indexing programs for summarizing large amounts of text-Generating text for automated production of standard documents-Speech systems for voice interaction with computersInterfacing:-Accepting human language as input-Carrying out the corresponding command-Generating the necessary outputKnowledge acquisition:-Using the computer to read large amounts of text and understand the information well enough to:-Summarize important points and store information so the system can respond to inquiries about the content

-I-related technologies can improve the quality of decision support systems (DSSs)-Including expert systems, natural language processing, and artificial neural networks-You can add AI technologies to a DSS's model base component-Integrating expert system capabilities into the user interface component can improve the quality and user friendliness of a DSS