Expert Systems

•Knowledge Base - database of facts and rules

•Inference Engine - Program written in PROLOG

•Explanatory shell – Asks questions and displays conclusions

Expert systems are used for:

•Medical Diagnosis •Geological prospecting

•Car mechanics

•Computer configuration

Advantages of Expert Systems:

•Can duplicate human expertise

•Are consistent

•Can contain information from more than one expert

•Can be accessed online

Disadvantages of Expert Systems:

•Expensive to build

•Inflexible

•May contain errors

•Who takes responsibility for decisions?