What is an Expert System?

➢ An expert system is a computer program that is designed to solve complex problems

and to provide decision-making ability like a human expert..
➢ It performs this by extracting knowledge from its knowledge base using the reasoning
and inference rules according to the user queries.
➢ The system helps in decision making for complex problems using both facts and
heuristics like a human expert.
➢ It is called so because it contains the expert knowledge of a specific domain and can
solve any complex problem of that particular domain.
➢ These systems are designed for a specific domain, such as medicine, science, etc.
➢ The performance of an expert system is based on the expert's knowledge stored in its
knowledge base. The more knowledge stored in the KB, the more that system improves
its performance.
➢ One of the common examples of an ES is a suggestion of spelling errors while typing
in the Google search box.
Examples of the Expert System:
➢ MYCIN: It was one of the earliest backward chaining expert systems that was designed
to find the bacteria causing infections like bacteraemia and meningitis. It was also used
for the recommendation ofantibiotics and the diagnosis of blood clotting diseases.
➢ PXDES: It is an expert system that is used to determine the type and level of lung
cancer. To determinethe disease, it takes a picture from the upper body, which looks
like the shadow. This shadow identifiesthe type and degree of harm.
➢ CaDeT: The CaDet expert system is a diagnostic support system that can detect cancer
at early stages.
Representing and Using Domain Knowledge

The R1 program internally called XCON, for eXpert CONfigurer was a production-
rule-based system to assist in the ordering of DEC's VAX computer systems by
automatically selecting the computer system components based on the customer's
requirements.
It’s rules look like this:
If: the most current active context is distributing
mass bus devices and
there is a single-port disk drive that has not been
assigned to a massbus and
there are no unassigned dual port disk drives and

the number of devices that each mass bus should support is known and,
there is a mass bus that has been assigned at least
one disk drive and that should support additional
disk drives,
and the type of the cable needed to connect the disk drive
to the previous device on the mass bus is known
 Then: assign the disk drive to the massbus

As RI is doing a design task ( in contrast to the diagnosis task performed by

MYCIN)it is not necessary to consider all the possible alternatives one good one is enough.
As a result probabilistic information is not necessary in R1.
PROSPECTOR
Is a program that provides advice on mineral exploration.
It‘s rule looks like this

IF: magnetite and pyrite is disseminated or veinlet form is

present
then:( 2,-4) there is a favourable mineralization and texture
for the propylitic stageHere each rule contains two estimates.

➢ The first indicates that the presence of evidence described in the

condition part of the rule suggests the validity of the rules conclusion
➢ The second measures the extent to which the evidence is necessary to
the validity of the conclusion.2 indicates the presence of the evidence is
encouraging.. -4 indicates that the absence of the evidence is slightly
discouraging.

Explanation:

An expert system is said to be effective when people can interact with it easily.
To facilitate the interaction,the expert system must have the following two
properties:
1.Explain its reasoning: In many of the domains in which experts system operate
people will not accept results unless they have been convinced of the accuracy of
the of the reasoning process that produced those results.An expert system is said to
be effective when people can interact with it easily.
2.Acquire new knowledge and modifications of old knowledge: since expert
systems derive their power from the richness of the knowledge bases they is exploit
it ,it is extremely important that those knowledge bases be complete and as accurate
as possible.

One way to get the knowledge into a program is through interaction with the human
expert. Or to have a program that learns the expert behaviour from raw data.
• TEIRESIAS was the first program to support explanation and knowledge
acquisition.

TEIRESIAS served as a front end for the MYCIN expert system. The program asks
for a piece information that it needs in order to continue its reasoning.
The doctor wants to know why the program wants the information and later asks
the how the programarrived at a conclusion that it claimed had reached
• Mycirn attempts to solve its goal of recommending a therapy for a particular
patient by first finding thecause of the patient‘s illness.
• It uses its production rules to reason backward from goals to clinical observations.
• To solve the top level diagnostic goal, it looks for rules whose right side suggests
diseases.
• It then uses left sides of those rules(preconditions) to set up subgoals .
• These subgoals are again matched against rules and their preconditions are used
to set up additional goals.
• Whenever a precondition specifies a specific piece of clinical evidence ,mycin
uses that evidence, otherwise it asks the user to provide the information.
• The actual goal that MYCIN set up are more general than the they need to specify
the preconditions of a individual rule.
For ex:
• If a precondition satisfies that the identity of a organism X , MYCIN will set up
the goal ―infer identity
• The first Question that the user asks is WHY? Why do you need to know that?
• Because the clinical tests are either expensive or dangerous..
• It is important for the doctor to be convinced that the information is really needed
before ordering the test.
Because MYCIN is reasoning backward the question can be easily answered by
examining the goal tree.
●The user can ask the question How did you know that?

●The question can be answered by looking at the goal tree and chaining backward
from the stated fact tothe evidence that allowed a rule that determined the fact to
fire.

Expert Shells Structure:

Expert system shells are toolkits that can be used to develop expert systems. They
consist of some built expert system components with an empty knowledge base. Hence,
in most cases, the knowledge engineer is left with only populating the knowledge base.
It is essentially a special-purpose tool that is built-in in line with the requirements and
standards of a particular domain or expert-knowledge area applications. It may be
defined as a software package that facilitates the building of knowledge-based expert
systems by providing a knowledge representation scheme and an inference engine.
 Difference ES shells offer various ways to model the knowledge into the knowledge
base. They are
1. as rules

Knowledge is populated using rules. These rules can be programmed by Prolog, Java,
Python or any other preferred language based on the expert system shell being used
2. in the form of a decision tree

Figure 02: A tree-based expert system created based on the rules mentioned above
3. as objects (frames) — A data structure with typical knowledge about a particular object
or concept.
ES shell is an ideal option for the rapid development of expert systems. Due to this
reason, it can be considered as one of the most commercially viable approaches in expert
system implementation.
3. Expert System Shell Structure
The Expert System Shell refers to a software module containing an:
1. User interface (built-in)
2. Inference engine (built-in)
3. A structured skeleton of a knowledge base (in its empty state) with the suitable
knowledge representation facilities
Not only the above components but also some ES Shells provide facilities for database
connectivity through interpreter, web integration, and natural language processing (NLP)
features.

➢ The user interface is the portal available for both end-users (who use the expert
system to get solutions) and the knowledge engineer (who perform the knowledge
engineering and modelling).
➢ The knowledge base can be connected with an external database (like MySQL)
since the knowledge base is not optimal in storing extensive data. The knowledge
base cannot directly access the database and these access features are mediated
through an interpreter.
➢ Some ES Shells have inbuilt knowledge base editors which facilitate the
Knowledge Engineer to easily update and check the knowledge base. Knowledge
Engineer collects the expertise knowledge in a specific domain and models in
populating the knowledge base.
➢ Inference engine which is the most important part of an expert system access the
knowledge base and solves the problem by either backward chaining or forward
chaining of facts and rules in the knowledge base. In ES Shells, the inference
engine is also a built-in component that is usually programmed in ProLog.
➢ Most ES shells are composed of another component called ‘Explanation System’
which provides the user with reasons and explanations to provide a certain
answer, by considering the ‘case specification data’ available.
➢ In an expert system shell, the design of the user interface and other software
components are programmed by the software engineer. Therefore an expert
system is a collaborative design of 03 major parties: expert, knowledge engineer
and software engineer.

MOLE is different from SALT and META-DENDRAL

MOLE (Mission-Oriented Language and Environment):
o Concept: MOLE was designed as a programming environment specifically
tailored for developing applications in expert systems (ES).
 o Working Principle: MOLE emphasized providing tools and frameworks for
knowledge representation, inference, and problem-solving within expert
systems. It aimed to support the creation of domain-specific expert systems by
facilitating the representation of knowledge and the execution of reasoning
processes.
o Key Features: Knowledge representation in MOLE would typically include
methods such as rules, frames, semantic networks, or object-oriented
representations. It would have included an inference engine capable of forward
chaining, backward chaining, or other reasoning strategies to derive conclusions
from the knowledge base.
o Contributions: Elaine Rich's work on MOLE focused on making expert
systems more accessible and efficient by providing a structured development
environment that integrates various AI techniques for knowledge representation
and reasoning.
2. SALT (Stanford Automated Language Tool):
o Concept: SALT was developed at Stanford University and was primarily
focused on natural language processing (NLP) tasks.
o Working Principle: Unlike MOLE, which focused on expert systems, SALT
aimed to process and understand human language. It included techniques for
parsing sentences, extracting meaning, and generating responses or actions
based on linguistic inputs.
o Key Features: SALT used computational linguistics methods to analyze and
interpret natural language. It involved parsing techniques, semantic analysis,
and possibly syntactic processing to understand the structure and meaning of
sentences.
o Contributions: SALT contributed significantly to the development of NLP
tools and laid the groundwork for subsequent advancements in natural language
understanding systems.
3. META-DENDRAL:
o Concept: META-DENDRAL was a pioneering expert system developed at
Stanford University for the purpose of chemical data analysis.
o Working Principle: META-DENDRAL utilized knowledge-based techniques
to analyze mass spectrometry data and infer the structure of unknown chemical
compounds.
o Key Features: The system employed knowledge representation techniques
specific to chemistry, such as molecular structures and chemical bonding rules.
It used inference mechanisms to hypothesize and validate chemical structures
based on spectral data.
o Contributions: META-DENDRAL demonstrated the application of expert
systems in scientific domains, particularly in chemistry, by automating the
process of chemical analysis and structure determination, which was
traditionally performed by human experts.
Differences:
• Focus: MOLE focused on providing a programming environment for developing expert
systems across various domains.
• Application Domain: SALT specialized in natural language processing, while META-
DENDRAL focused on chemical data analysis.
• Techniques: Each system employed different AI techniques suited to their specific
domains: MOLE for knowledge representation and reasoning in expert systems, SALT
for natural language understanding and generation, and META-DENDRAL for
chemical structure determination using expert knowledge in chemistry.

Expert system can be made to behave in an effective manner.

Knowledge Acquisition:
• Quality and Relevance: The knowledge base of an expert system must be built from
accurate and relevant information provided by domain experts. This process, known as
knowledge acquisition, involves identifying, extracting, and formalizing knowledge
into a format usable by the system.
• Continuous Updating: Expert systems should be designed to accommodate updates
and revisions to the knowledge base over time. This ensures that the system remains
current and can adapt to new information or changes in the domain.
Knowledge Representation:
Structured Format: Representing knowledge in a structured and organized manner is crucial
for effective reasoning. Common methods include rules, frames, semantic networks,
ontologies, and object-oriented representations, depending on the nature of the domain and the
types of knowledge involved.
• Clarity and Accessibility: The knowledge representation should be clear and
understandable, facilitating easy maintenance and debugging by system developers and
domain experts.
Inference Engine:
• Reasoning Mechanisms: The inference engine is responsible for drawing conclusions
and making decisions based on the knowledge represented in the system. Effective
expert systems employ appropriate reasoning mechanisms such as forward chaining,
backward chaining, case-based reasoning, or probabilistic reasoning, depending on the
nature of the problem domain.
• Efficiency: The inference engine should be designed to operate efficiently, ensuring
quick response times for queries and computations.
Explanation Capabilities:
• Transparency: An effective expert system should be able to provide explanations for
its conclusions and recommendations. This transparency enhances user trust and
facilitates understanding of the system's reasoning process.
 • Traceability: Users and developers should be able to trace how the system arrived at a
particular decision or recommendation, often through the presentation of intermediate
steps or rules used in the reasoning process.
User Interface and Interaction:
• User-Friendliness: The user interface should be intuitive and user-friendly, allowing
users to interact with the system effectively. This includes providing clear prompts,
feedback, and guidance during interactions.
• Support for Domain Experts: The interface should also support domain experts in
maintaining and updating the knowledge base, potentially allowing them to input new
knowledge or correct errors directly.
Validation and Testing:
• Validation Process: Rigorous testing and validation are essential to ensure the
accuracy and reliability of the expert system. This includes testing against known cases,
conducting simulations, and comparing the system's outputs with expert judgments.
• Iterative Improvement: Expert systems should undergo iterative improvement based
on feedback from users and domain experts. This process helps to refine the knowledge
base, improve reasoning capabilities, and enhance overall system performance.
Integration and Deployment:
• Integration with External Systems: Depending on the application, expert systems
may need to integrate with external databases, software systems, or sensors to access
relevant data or perform actions.
• Deployment Considerations: Factors such as scalability, reliability, and security
should be addressed during the deployment phase to ensure the system operates
effectively in real-world environments.
Monitoring and Maintenance:
• Monitoring Performance: Continuous monitoring of the system's performance and
user interactions helps identify potential issues or areas for improvement.
• Maintenance: Regular updates and maintenance of the system, including knowledge
base updates and software upgrades, are necessary to ensure long-term effectiveness
and relevance.