Chapter 1

Foundations of
Knowledge-based
Systems

B. Okuku 1
 Introduction
 Intelligence: Covers many cognitive skills,
including
 Learning
 Understanding language
 The ability to solve problems
 Artificial Intelligence addresses all of those.
 Most progress to date in AI has been made in
the area of problem solving
 -- concepts and methods for building programs that
reason about problems rather than calculate a
solution.
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 Introduction
 Artificial Intelligence (AI): Its scientific goal
is to understand intelligence by building
computer programs that exhibit intelligent
behavior.
 It is concerned with
 The concepts and methods of symbolic
inference, or reasoning, by a computer
 How the knowledge used to make those
inferences will be represented inside the
machine.
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 Data, Information and Knowledge
 Data: The fundamental, indivisible objects within
an application.
 Information: The implicit functional
associations between data in the application.
 Knowledge: The explicit functional associations
between items of information and/or data.
Concepts

If the temperature outside

Knowledge is 50 C, it feels cold.
Value

Information The temperature

outside is 50 C.

Data 50 C

Facts and Figures 4

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 Knowledge – A brief definition
 Knowledge: The symbolic representation of
aspects of some named universe
 The definition has two assumptions
 We can symbolize knowledge – It can be represented
in some way.
 The knowledge domain can be named or referenced in
some way.
 Knowledge consists of
 Symbols
 The relationship between symbols
 The rules or procedures for manipulating the symbols
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 Knowledge Classification
 Knowledge can be classified into
 Priori knowledge: Universally true and cannot be
denied without contradiction.
 Examples are mathematical laws, logical statements.
 Posteriori knowledge: Represents information that is
verified using sensory experiences.
 Knowledge can be denied based on new knowledge without
the need for contradictions.
 Further classification includes
 Procedural knowledge: Knowing how to do something.
 Declarative knowledge: Knowing that something is
true or false.
 Tacit knowledge: Unconsciously knowing how to do
something.
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 Definition of KBS
 A knowledge based system (KBS) is a software
system capable of supporting the explicit
representation of knowledge in some specific
competence domain and of exploiting it through
appropriate reasoning mechanisms in order to
provide high-level problem-solving performance.
 KBS is a specific, dedicated, computer-based
problem-solver, able to face complex problems,
which, if solved by man, would require advanced
reasoning capabilities, such as deduction,
abduction, hypothetical reasoning, model-based
reasoning, analogical reasoning, learning, etc.
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 Components of a KBS
 From an abstract point of view, a KBS is
composed of two parts
 A central part which implements the basic
problem-solving capabilities of the KBS.
 A peripheral part which is aimed at providing
additional functions necessary for a practical
and effective use of the KBS e.g. user
interface, an explanation system etc.

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Components of a KBS

Domain Knowledge Knowledge Base

Reasoning Mechanism

Problem

Working Memory

Solution Knowledge-Based
System

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 Types of KBS
 In the early nineties several other types of
"reasoning" systems became a commercial
proposition. These include:
 Neural networks: Characterized by a way of reasoning
not based on explicit rules and whose knowledge is
acquired by training the system more or less
automatically on a set of cases from a particular
domain.
 Machine learning systems : Knowledge is acquired
from training on a set of cases
 Case-based reasoning systems: A loose term referring
to systems that are able to find a matching case in a
large set of cases (sometimes based on decision tree
like formalisms).
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 Types of KBS
 Genetic algorithm systems: Can find a solution
to a problem by applying principles from
genetics to a set of components
 They are different instances of the general
class of KBS, systems that apply
knowledge to infer new information from a
set of inputs.
 The main difference between the instances
is how this knowledge is represented and
obtained.
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 Introduction to Knowledge
Engineering
 Any application that requires access to specialist
knowledge is a potential application area for introduction
of KBS technology.
 Knowledge Engineering is the process of developing
knowledge based systems in any field, whether it be in
the public or private sector, in commerce or industry”
 Knowledge engineering consists of five activities:
 Knowledge Acquisition,
 Knowledge Representation,
 Design of an Inference strategy,
 Design of an Explanation facility.
 System Validation,
 Other things to be considered include
 Software Design
 Implementation
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 Introduction to Knowledge
Engineering
 Practitioners knowledge engineering are
called Knowledge Engineers.
 Knowledge Engineering indicates a
professional approach to development with
respect to
 Qualifications
 Skills
 Personality
 Attributes

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 Tasks of a Knowledge Engineer
 Extracting knowledge from people
 Representing it in some form
 Including it in a computer program which
makes use of that knowledge
 Validating the software system produced

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 Tasks of a Knowledge Engineer
 A Knowledge Engineer must –
 Apply Methods
 Use Tools
 Apply Quality Controls
 Have Standards
 Plan and Manage Projects
 Take into account Human, Financial and
Environmental constraints
 Be bound by a professional code of conduct
 Update their knowledge and skills
 Adhere to rules, regulations and legal requirements
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