Chapter 13: Intelligent Information Systems

Question 1

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Answer 1

Consists of related technologies that try to simulate and reproduce human thought behavior

Question 2

Robots

Answer 2

One of the most successful applications of AI. They perform well at simple repetitive tasks and can be used to free workers from tedious or hazardous jobs.

• Personal robots: Used as prototypes to test certain services
• Soft robots: Made of elastomer, simpler to make and less expensive

Question 3

Expert Systems

Answer 3

Mimic human expertise in a field to solve a problem in a well-defined area

Question 4

Components of an expert system

Answer 4

1) Knowledge acquisition facility: Software package with manual or automated methods for acquiring and incorporating new rules and facts to help the expert system grow
2) Knowledge base: Similar to database, but keeps track of rules and explanations associated with facts
3) Explanation facility: Performs tasks similar to what a human expert does by explaining to end users how recommendations are derived
4) Inference engine: Manipulates a series of rules
5) Knowledge base management system (KBMS): Similar to a DBMS, used to keep the knowledge base updated, with changes to facts, figures, and rules
6) User Interface: Provides user-friendly access to the expert system

Question 5

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR)

Answer 5

Problem-solving technique that matches a new case (problem) with a previously solved case and its solution, both of which are stored in a database

Question 6

Intelligent Agents (Bots)

Answer 6

Software capable of reasoning and following rule-based processes

Question 7

Fuzzy Logic

Answer 7

• Allows a smooth, gradual transition between human and computer vocabularies
• Allows computers to reason in a fashion similar to humans

Question 8

Machine Learning

Answer 8

Process and procedure by which knowledge is gained through experience
- Ex: Social media, identifying faces in photos

Question 9

Natural language Processing (NLP)

Answer 9

• Developed so that users can communicate with computers in human language
• Provides a question-and-answer setting that is natural and easier for people to use
• Activities include: Interfacing (accepting human language as input and generating necessary output), knowledge acquisition (using computer to understand information)

Question 10

Applications/categories of Intelligent Agents

Answer 10

• Web marketing
• Virtual catalogs
  1) Shopping and information agents: Help navigate web
  2) Personal agents: Perform specific tasks for user
  3) Data-mining agents: Work with data in warehouse
  4) Monitoring and surveillance agents: Track and report on computer equipment and network system to predict crash