Expert Systems

Expert Systems

1. 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
   • Does not get tired or overworked.
   • Efficient way of getting answers as it does not involve additional help staff e.g. automated help systems
   • Natural language interface would make the expert system more human friendly

2. 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