Enterprise

Information Portals

An enterprise information portal (EIP) is a Web-based interface and integration

of MIS, DSS, EIS, and other technologies that give all intranet users and selected
extranet users access to a variety of internal and external business applications
and services.
 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• AI is a field of science and technology based on
– Computer science
– Biology
– Psychology
– Linguistics
– Mathematics
– Engineering
• The goal is to develop computers than can
simulate the ability to think
– And see, hear, walk, talk, and feel as well
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 Attributes of Intelligent Behavior
• Think and reason.
• Use reason to solve problems.
• Learn or understand from experience.
• Acquire and apply knowledge.
• Exhibit creativity and imagination.
• Deal with complex or perplexing situations.
• Respond quickly and successfully to new situations.
• Recognize the relative importance of elements in a
situation.
• Handle ambiguous, incomplete, or erroneous
information.
Domains of Artificial Intelligence
 Expert
Systems
• An expert system (ES) is a knowledge-based
information system that uses its knowledge
about a specific, complex application area to
act as an expert consultant to end users.
 Components of an Expert System
• Knowledge Base
– Facts about a specific subject area
– Heuristics that express the reasoning procedures of an
expert (rules of thumb)
• Software Resources
– An inference engine processes the knowledge
and recommends a course of action
– User interface programs communicate with
the end user
– Explanation programs explain the reasoning process to
the end user

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 Components of an Expert System

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Methods of Knowledge Representation
• Case-Based
– Knowledge organized in the form of cases
– Cases are examples of past performance,
occurrences, and experiences
• Frame-Based
– Knowledge organized in a hierarchy or
network of frames
– A frame is a collection of knowledge about
an entity, consisting of a complex package
of data values describing its attributes
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Methods of Knowledge Representation
• Object-Based
– Knowledge represented as a network of objects
– An object is a data element that includes both
data and the methods or processes that act on
those data
• Rule-Based
– Knowledge represented in the form of rules
and statements of fact
– Rules are statements that typically take the
form of a premise and a conclusion (If, Then)
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 Benefits of Expert Systems
• Captures the expertise of an expert or group
of experts in a computer-based information
system
– Faster and more consistent than an expert
– Can contain knowledge of multiple experts
– Does not get tired or distracted
– Cannot be overworked or stressed
– Helps preserve and reproduce the knowledge
of human experts

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 Limitations of Expert Systems
• The major limitations of expert systems
– Limited focus
– Inability to learn
– Maintenance problems
– Development cost
– Can only solve specific types of problems
in a limited domain of knowledge

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