Unit – IV

Expert Systems
Introduction

 Expert systems (ES) are one of the prominent research domains of AI.
 The expert systems are the computer applications developed to solve
complex problems in a particular domain, at the level of extra-ordinary
human intelligence and expertise.
 Expert System is an interactive and reliable computer-based decision-
making system which uses both facts and heuristics to solve complex
decision-making problems. `
 It is considered at the highest level of human intelligence and expertise. 
 The purpose of an expert system is to solve the most complex issues in a
specific domain.
 The Expert System in AI can resolve many issues which generally would
require a human expert.
 It is based on knowledge acquired from an expert.
 Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems are capable of expressing and
reasoning about some domain of knowledge.
 Expert systems were the predecessor of the current day artificial
intelligence, deep learning and machine learning systems.
Examples of Expert Systems

 MYCIN: It was based on backward chaining and could identify various

bacteria that could cause acute infections. It could also recommend drugs
based on the patient's weight. It is one of the best Expert System Example.
 DENDRAL: Expert system used for chemical analysis to predict molecular
structure.
 PXDES: An Example of Expert System used to predict the degree and type
of lung cancer
 CaDet: One of the best Expert System Example that can identify cancer at
early stages
 Characteristics of Expert System

 The Highest Level of Expertise: The Expert system in AI offers the highest level of expertise.
It provides efficiency, accuracy and imaginative problem-solving.
 Right on Time Reaction: An Expert System in Artificial Intelligence interacts in a very
reasonable period of time with the user. The total time must be less than the time taken by an
expert to get the most accurate solution for the same problem.
 Good Reliability: The Expert system in AI needs to be reliable, and it must not make any a
mistake.
 Flexible: It is vital that it remains flexible as it the is possessed by an Expert system.
 Effective Mechanism: Expert System in Artificial Intelligence must have an efficient
mechanism to administer the compilation of the existing knowledge in it.
 Capable of handling challenging decision & problems: An expert system is capable of
handling challenging decision problems and delivering solutions.
Components of the Expert System
Components of Expert Systems

 The components of ES include −

 Knowledge Base
 Inference Engine
 User Interface
 Knowledge Base

 It contains domain-specific and high-quality knowledge.

 Knowledge is required to exhibit intelligence.
 The success of any ES majorly depends upon the collection of highly accurate
and precise knowledge.
 What is Knowledge?
 The data is collection of facts. The information is organized as data and facts about the
task domain. 
 Data, information, and past experience combined together are termed as knowledge.
 Components of Knowledge Base
 The knowledge base of an ES is a store of both, factual and heuristic knowledge.
 Factual Knowledge − It is the information widely accepted by the Knowledge
Engineers and scholars in the task domain.
 Heuristic Knowledge − It is about practice, accurate judgement, one’s ability of
evaluation, and guessing.
 Knowledge representation
 It is the method used to organize and formalize the knowledge in the knowledge base. It is in the
form of IF-THEN-ELSE rules.
 Knowledge Acquisition
 The success of any expert system majorly depends on the quality, completeness, and accuracy of
the information stored in the knowledge base.
 The knowledge base is formed by readings from various experts, scholars, and the Knowledge
Engineers.
 The knowledge engineer is a person with the qualities of empathy, quick learning, and case
analyzing skills.
 He acquires information from subject expert by recording, interviewing, and observing him at
work, etc.
 He then categorizes and organizes the information in a meaningful way, in the form of IF-THEN-
ELSE rules, to be used by interference machine.
 The knowledge engineer also monitors the development of the ES.
 Inference Engine

 Use of efficient procedures and rules by the Inference Engine is

essential in deducting a correct, flawless solution.
 In case of knowledge-based ES, the Inference Engine acquires and
manipulates the knowledge from the knowledge base to arrive at a
particular solution.
 In case of rule based ES, it −
 Applies rules repeatedly to the facts, which are obtained from earlier rule
application.
 Adds new knowledge into the knowledge base if required.
 Resolves rules conflict when multiple rules are applicable to a particular
case.
 To recommend a solution, the Inference Engine uses the
following strategies −
 Forward Chaining
 Backward Chaining
 Forward Chaining
 It is a strategy of an expert system to answer the question, “What can happen next?”
 Here, the Inference Engine follows the chain of conditions and derivations and finally
deduces the outcome.
 It considers all the facts and rules, and sorts them before concluding to a solution.
 This strategy is followed for working on conclusion, result, or effect.
 For example, prediction of share market status as an effect of changes in interest rates.
 Backward Chaining
 With this strategy, an expert system finds out the answer to the question, “Why this
happened?”
 On the basis of what has already happened, the Inference Engine tries to find out which
conditions could have happened in the past for this result.
 This strategy is followed for finding out cause or reason. For example, diagnosis of
blood cancer in humans.
Difference between forward chaining and backward chaining
 User Interface

 User interface provides interaction between user of the ES and the ES itself.
 It is generally Natural Language Processing so as to be used by the user who is
well-versed in the task domain.
 The user of the ES need not be necessarily an expert in Artificial Intelligence.
 It explains how the ES has arrived at a particular recommendation.
 The explanation may appear in the following forms −
 Natural language displayed on screen.
 Verbal narrations in natural language.
 Listing of rule numbers displayed on the screen.
 The user interface makes it easy to trace the credibility of the deductions.
 Requirements of Efficient ES User Interface
 It should help users to accomplish their goals in shortest possible way.
 It should be designed to work for user’s existing or desired work practices.
 Its technology should be adaptable to user’s requirements; not the other way round.
 It should make efficient use of user input.
 Expert Systems Limitations

 No technology can offer easy and complete solution.

 Large systems are costly, require significant development time, and computer
resources.
 ESs have their limitations which include −
 Limitations of the technology
 Difficult knowledge acquisition
 ES are difficult to maintain
 High development costs
 Participant in Expert Systems
Development

Participant Role
Domain Expert He is a person or group whose expertise and knowledge is taken to
develop an expert system.

Knowledge Engineer Knowledge engineer is a technical person who integrates knowledge

into computer systems.

End User It is a person or group of people who are using the expert system to get
to get advice which will not be provided by the expert.
 Applications of Expert System

 The following table shows where ES can be applied.

Application Description
Design Domain Camera lens design, automobile design.
Diagnosis Systems to deduce cause of disease from observed data, conduction
Medical Domain
medical operations on humans.
Comparing data continuously with observed system or with prescribed
Monitoring Systems behavior such as leakage monitoring in long petroleum pipeline.

Process Control Systems Controlling a physical process based on monitoring.

Knowledge Domain Finding out faults in vehicles, computers.

Detection of possible fraud, suspicious transactions, stock market trading,
Finance/Commerce
Airline scheduling, cargo scheduling.
 Expert System Technology

 There are several levels of ES technologies available.

 Expert systems technologies include −
 Expert System Development Environment − The ES development
environment includes hardware and tools.
 They are −
 Workstations, minicomputers, mainframes.
 High level Symbolic Programming Languages such as LISt Programming (LISP)
and PROgrammation en LOGique (PROLOG).
 Large databases.
 Tools − They reduce the effort and cost involved in
developing an expert system to large extent.
 Powerful editors and debugging tools with multi-windows.
 They provide rapid prototyping
 Have Inbuilt definitions of model, knowledge representation, and
inference design.
 Shells − A shell is nothing but an expert system without
knowledge base. A shell provides the developers with
knowledge acquisition, inference engine, user interface, and
explanation facility. For example, few shells are given below −
 Java Expert System Shell (JESS) that provides fully developed
Java API for creating an expert system.
 Vidwan, a shell developed at the National Centre for Software
Technology, Mumbai in 1993. It enables knowledge encoding in
the form of IF-THEN rules.
 Development of Expert Systems:
General Steps

 The process of ES development is iterative. Steps in developing the ES include

−
 Identify Problem Domain
 The problem must be suitable for an expert system to solve it.
 Find the experts in task domain for the ES project.
 Establish cost-effectiveness of the system.
 Design the System
 Identify the ES Technology
 Know and establish the degree of integration with the other systems and databases.
 Realize how the concepts can represent the domain knowledge best.
 Develop the Prototype
 From Knowledge Base: The knowledge engineer works to −
 Acquire domain knowledge from the expert.
 Represent it in the form of If-THEN-ELSE rules.
 Test and Refine the Prototype
 The knowledge engineer uses sample cases to test the prototype for any
deficiencies in performance.
 End users test the prototypes of the ES.

 Develop and Complete the ES

 Test and ensure the interaction of the ES with all elements of its
environment, including end users, databases, and other information
systems.
 Document the ES project well.
 Train the user to use ES.
 Maintain the System
 Keep the knowledge base up-to-date by regular review and update.
 Cater for new interfaces with other information systems, as those
systems evolve.
 Benefits of Expert Systems

 Availability − They are easily available due to mass production of software.

 Less Production Cost − Production cost is reasonable. This makes them
affordable.
 Speed − They offer great speed. They reduce the amount of work an
individual puts in.
 Less Error Rate − Error rate is low as compared to human errors.
 Reducing Risk − They can work in the environment dangerous to humans.
 Steady response − They work steadily without getting motional, tensed or
fatigued.
 Limitations of the Expert System

 Unable to make a creative response in an extraordinary situation

 Errors in the knowledge base can lead to wrong decision
 The maintenance cost of an expert system is too expensive
 Each problem is different therefore the solution from a human expert can also
be different and more creative