Expert systems

Expert systems

1. What is an expert system?

   • It is a piece of software which uses databases of expert knowledge to offer advice or make decisions in such areas as medical diagnosis.

2. How does it work?

   • Expert systems doesn't have human capabilities. They use only basic facts to use in a certain situation.

3. Advantages

   • Expert advice available all the time
   • Knowledge of expert staff can be captured to some extent before they move on
   • Can be used as a training aid to increase the expertise of staff
   • Makes rational decisions without any emotional overhead
   • Doesn't get tired or overworked
   • Efficient way of getting answers as it doesn't involve additional help such as automated help systems
   • Natural language interface would make the expert system more human friendly

4. Disadvantages

   • Usually only covers a narrow range of knowledge
   • A lot of effort and cost has to go into making a good expert system
   • Not as good as having human experts to hand
   • Most expert systems are menu driven which does not deal very well with ambiguous problems.
   • Advanced interfaces such as natural language processing still has some way to go before they are truly effective
   • Does not learn from mistakes unless user feedback and human maintenance is part of its ongoing development
   • unlikely to come up with creative solutions