Automated Decision Systems, AI, and Expert Systems: Key Concepts

Posted on Jan 12, 2025 in Business Administration and Innovation Management

CH11

61) A relatively new approach to supporting decision making is called automated decision systems (ADS), sometimes also known as decision automation systems (DAS). Give a definition of an ADS/DAS in simple terms?

Answer: In simple terms, an ADS is a rule-based system that provides a solution, usually in one functional area, to a specific repetitive managerial problem, usually in one industry.

62) What are the various components of an airline revenue management system? Describe the function of each one.

Answer:

  • The pricing and accounting system: This handles ticket data, published fares, and pricing rules.
  • The aircraft scheduling system: This handles flight schedules based on customer demand.
  • The inventory management system: This handles bookings, cancellations, and changes in departure data.

63) Describe, with examples, the two basic ideas most experts agree that artificial intelligence (AI) is concerned with.

Answer:

  • The study of human thought processes (to understand what intelligence is)
  • The representation and duplication of those thought processes in machines (e.g., computers, robots)

64) List five disciplines of artificial intelligence.

Answer:

Philosophy, Human Behavior, Neurology, Logic, Sociology, Psychology, Human Cognition, Linguistics, Biology, Pattern Recognition, Statistics, Information Systems, Robotics, Management Science, Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics

65) List five applications of artificial intelligence.

Answer:

Expert Systems, Game Playing, Computer Vision, Automatic Programming, Speech Understanding, Autonomous Robots, Intelligent Tutoring, Intelligent Agents, Natural Language Processing, Voice Recognition, Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms, Fuzzy Logic, Machine Learning

66) Describe the Turing test for determining whether a computer exhibits intelligent behavior.

Answer: According to this test, a computer can be considered smart only when a human interviewer cannot identify the computer while conversing with both an unseen human being and an unseen computer.

67) What are three components that may be included in an expert system in addition to the three major components found in virtually all expert systems?

Answer:

  • Knowledge acquisition subsystem
  • Blackboard (workplace)
  • Explanation subsystem (justifier)
  • Knowledge-refining system

68) What is knowledge engineering?

Answer: Knowledge engineering is the collection of intensive activities encompassing the acquisition of knowledge from human experts (and other information sources) and conversion of this knowledge into a repository (commonly called a knowledge base).

69) Name and describe three problem areas suitable for expert systems.

Answer:

  • Interpretation: Inferring situation descriptions from observations.
  • Prediction: Inferring likely consequences of given situations.
  • Diagnosis: Inferring system malfunctions from observations.
  • Design: Configuring objects under constraints.
  • Planning: Developing plans to achieve goals.
  • Monitoring: Comparing observations to plans and flagging exceptions.
  • Debugging: Prescribing remedies for malfunctions.
  • Repair: Executing a plan to administer a prescribed remedy.
  • Instruction: Diagnosing, debugging, and correcting student performance.
  • Control: Interpreting, predicting, repairing, and monitoring system behaviors.

70) The development of expert systems is often described as a tedious process. What activities does it typically include?

Answer:

  • Identifying proper experts
  • Acquiring knowledge
  • Selecting the building tools
  • Coding the system
  • Evaluating the system