Chapter -2 Expert Systems

• An expert system is a computer program that

uses artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to
What is simulate the judgment and behavior of a
an human or an organization that has expertise
and experience in a particular field.
expert • The concept of expert systems was developed
system? in the 1970s by computer scientist Edward
Feigenbaum, a computer science professor at
Stanford University and founder of Stanford's
Knowledge Systems Laboratory.
 • Modern expert knowledge systems use
machine learning and artificial intelligence to
How simulate the behavior or judgment of
domain experts. These systems can improve
does an their performance over time as they gain
expert more experience, just as humans do.
system • Expert systems accumulate experience and
facts in a knowledge base and integrate
work? them with an inference or rules engine -- a
set of rules for applying the knowledge base
to situations provided to the program
 • Knowledge Representation: Expert systems store and organize domain-
specific knowledge in a structured format, enabling them to understand and
work within a specific area of expertise.
• Inference Engine: Expert systems employ an inference engine to apply
logical reasoning and rules to the knowledge base, allowing them to draw
conclusions and make recommendations or decisions.
Capabiliti • Problem Solving: Expert systems have the capability to address complex

es of
problems within their domain, offering solutions, recommendations, and
diagnostic insights.

Expert
• User Interaction: They can interact with users in a user-friendly manner,
often through natural language interfaces or graphical interfaces, making
expert knowledge accessible to a wider audience.
Systems • Learning and Adaptation: Some expert systems can learn and improve over
time by incorporating new information and experiences into their
knowledge base, enhancing their performance and accuracy.
Components of Expert Systems

• There are five components of the expert system in ai:

Architecture of an Expert System
• Knowledge Base –
• The knowledge base represents facts and rules.
• It consists of knowledge in a particular domain as well as rules to solve a problem,
procedures and intrinsic data relevant to the domain.
• Inference Engine –
• The function of the inference engine is to fetch the relevant knowledge from the knowledge
base, interpret it and to find a solution relevant to the user’s problem.
• The inference engine acquires the rules from its knowledge base and applies them to the
known facts to infer new facts.
• Inference engines can also include an explanation and debugging abilities.
• Knowledge Acquisition and Learning Module –
• The function of this component is to allow the expert system to acquire more and more
knowledge from various sources and store it in the knowledge base.
• User Interface –
• This module makes it possible for a non-expert user to interact with the expert system and
find a solution to the problem.
• Explanation Module –
• This module helps the expert system to give the user an explanation about how the expert
system reached a particular conclusion.
 • Accuracy: Expert systems are immune to emotional or human
inaccuracy. They base their choices on facts and rules.
• Permanent: When human specialists leave their positions, the
technical information could follow. Knowledge-based systems
offer an everlasting reservoir of information and knowledge.
Benefits • Logical deduction: Expert systems use a variety of principles,

of Expert such as if-then rules, to derive conclusions from data already

known.

Systems • Cost-control: When compared to the cost of hiring human

specialists, expert systems are comparatively cheap. They can
assist in making judgments more quickly and inexpensively.
• Several experts: The knowledge base of an expert system is
augmented by multiple experts. This gives more information to
draw upon and stops one expert from influencing the decision-
making process.
Fields of application & Case studies
• Expert systems can be effective in specific domains or subject areas where
experts are required to make diagnoses, judgments or predictions.
• Financial services, where they make decisions about asset management,
act as robo-advisors and make predictions about the behavior of various
markets and other financial indicators.
• Mechanical engineering, where they troubleshoot complex
electromechanical machinery.
• Telecommunications, where they are used to make decisions about
network technologies used and maintenance of existing networks.
• Healthcare, where they assist with medical diagnoses.
• Agriculture, where they forecast crop damage.
• Customer service, where they help schedule orders, route customer
requests and solve problems.
• Transportation, where they contribute in a range of areas, including
pavement conditions, traffic light control, highway design, bus and
train scheduling and maintenance, and aviation flight patterns and air
traffic control.
• Law, where automation is starting to be used to deliver legal services,
and to make civil case evaluations and assess product liability.
 • Expert systems that are in use include the following
examples:
• CaDet (Cancer Decision Support Tool) is used to
identify cancer in its earliest stages.

some • DENDRAL helps chemists identify unknown organic

molecules.
examples • DXplain is a clinical support system that diagnoses
various diseases.
of expert • MYCIN identifies bacteria such as bacteremia and
systems meningitis, and recommends antibiotics and dosages.
• PXDES determines the type and severity of lung
cancer a person has.
• R1/XCON is an early manufacturing expert system
that automatically selects and orders computer
components based on customer specifications.
 Expert System Technologies

• Rule-Based Systems: Rule-based expert systems use a set of "if-then" rules to represent knowledge and make
decisions. Rules are written in a formalized format, making them easy to interpret by the system.
• Inference Engine: The inference engine is responsible for processing the rules and knowledge in the system's
knowledge base to draw conclusions and make inferences. It applies logical reasoning to solve problems and
make recommendations.
• Knowledge Base: The knowledge base stores domain-specific knowledge, including facts, rules, heuristics, and
case-based information, in a structured format. It serves as the repository of knowledge used by the inference
engine.
• Knowledge Acquisition Tools: These tools assist in capturing, structuring, and organizing knowledge from
experts or external sources. They help in transferring human expertise into the expert system.
• User Interface: Expert systems often include user-friendly interfaces that allow users to interact with the
system. These interfaces can be in the form of natural language interfaces, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), or
chatbots.