What is AI?
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
What is AI?
AI = Artificial Intelligence
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
What is AI?
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Turing Test
 Believed a machine would be considered
intelligent if it passed a test of intelligence based
on comparing it to a person.
 Turing Test
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A person (“judge”) would ask questions via a computer
terminal of two “entities.” One entity would be a human,
the other a machine/computer.
“If the judge regularly failed to correctly distinguish the
computer from the human, then the computer was said
to have passed the test.” *
*© István S. N. Berkeley Ph.D. 1997.
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
What is AI?
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In the 1950s, scientists thought artificially intelligent
machines were just around the corner.
Clearly R2D2 & C3PO have yet to arrive.
Computers are very good at following rules
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These rules can include “rules of thumb” called heuristics
Good at playing games, Chess, GO
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So good in fact that in 1997, Deep Blue a computer chess
program won a series of chess games against the human world
champion of chess Gary Kasparov
Largely used brute force
Not only games have rules
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
What is AI?
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What else has rules?
 Grammar
 Spelling
 Some Medical diagnosis
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Drug interactions
Blood tests
Certain common illnesses
Spam filters
Web searches
Programs to catch “cheaters” in school such as “TurnItIn”
and “Moss”
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
What is AI?
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Expert Systems
 Software that attempts to duplicate the ways in
which professionals make decisions are called
expert systems.
 An expert is a specialist in a specific, often narrow
field who has gained an incredible amount of
knowledge about this narrow field
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A surgeon who specializes in sports medicine
National expert in the US Tax Code
A group of oncologists specializing in drug side effects
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
Expert Systems
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EasyDiagnosis – provides online analysis of important medical
symptoms in a user-friendly format. http://easydiagnosis.com/
CADUCEUS (expert system) - Blood-borne infectious bacteria
Dendral - Analysis of mass spectra
Dipmeter Advisor - Analysis of data gathered during oil exploration
Mycin - Diagnose infectious blood diseases and recommend antibiotics
(by Stanford University)
R1 (expert system)/ - Order processing
SHINE Real-time Expert System - Spacecraft Health INference Engine
STD Wizard - Expert system for recommending medical screening tests
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_system
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
What is AI?
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What about common sense?
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Computers are TERRIBLE at this!
Humans are awesome at this.
Common sense requires “rules of thumb” (Heuristics)
for ordinary things.
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Talking and chewing gum at the same time
What is time?
Where we are in “space” in relation to other objects
The nature of physical object
 How not to crush a light bulb
 How objects interact
How people interact
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner
What is AI
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CYC and Doug Lenat
 EnCYClopedia of everyday rules of how the world
works
 Applications to everything
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Military
Medical
Transportation system
 Air traffic control
Incredibly complex and difficult
Ongoing project by CYCorp
Copyright © 2008 by Helene G. Kershner