In AI, expert systems software reproduces
or imitates the decision-making ability of a human expert. Generally, an expert
system is designed specially to solve the complex issues by reasoning via
bodies of knowledge, represented mainly as if-then rules rather than through
conventional procedural code.
An expert system simulates the judgment and behavior of
a human or an enterprise that has expert knowledge and experience in a specific
field. Nowadays, you can see industries like financial services,
telecommunications, healthcare, customer service, transportation, video games,
manufacturing and aviation to name a few are using expert systems for
day-to-day decision making and problem-solving.
Components of an Expert System
An Expert System is defined as an interactive
and highly reliable computer-based decision-making system. This type of system
uses both facts as well as heuristics to solve complex decision-making issues.
As discussed, it is a computer application that solves the most complex issues
in a particular domain.
The expert system consists of the following
components:
User Interface: The UI is one of the most crucial parts of an
expert system. This UI component takes the user's query in a readable form and
smoothly passes it to the inference engine. After that, it displays the
outcomes to the user. User Interface helps the users interact with the expert
system.
Inference Engine: The inference engine is the brain of an
expert system. It contains rules to solve a particular issue. Inference engine
refers to the knowledge from the Knowledge Base. It selects facts as well as
rules to apply when you try to answer the user's query. It provides reasoning
about the information in the knowledge base. Inference engine also helps in
deducting the issue to find the solution. This component is very helpful for
formulating conclusions.
Knowledge: The knowledge base is no other than a
repository of facts. It stores all the knowledge about the issue domain. It is
like a large casket of knowledge which is obtained from different experts of a
particular field. Hence, we can say that the success of an expert system
depends on accurate and precise knowledge.
The expert systems software can
resolve many problems which generally would require a human expert. It is based
on the knowledge acquired from an expert. It is also capable of expressing as
well as reasoning about some domain of knowledge. Expert systems were the
predecessor of the present-day AI, deep learning and machine learning systems
as well.
Benefits of Using Expert Systems Software
As a software program, the expert system
combines a searching and sorting program with a knowledge database. The
knowledge engineer creates and structures the knowledge database by completing
certain logical, physical as well as psychosocial tasks. Due to the
reason, expert systems software sometimes
referred to as knowledge-based information systems. The benefits of using
expert systems are:
·
It improves the quality of the decision.
·
It cuts the expense of consulting experts for problem-solving.
·
It provides fast, accurate and efficient solutions to the problems
in a narrow area of specialization.
·
It can consolidate scarce expertise and used it efficiently.
·
It offers a consistent answer for the repetitive issue.
·
It maintains a significant level of information.
·
An expert system helps you to get fast and accurate answers.
·
It can give you a proper explanation of decision making.
·
An expert system can solve complex and challenging issues.
·
This type of system can work steadily sans getting emotional,
tensed or fatigued.
By widely distributing human expertise through expert systems,
enterprises can realize the benefits in consistency, accuracy, and reliability
in solving issues.
Last, but certainly not the least, an expert system software is an
interactive and reliable computer-based decision-making system. A growing
number of managers are asking if expert system software the right solution for
them, and if so, then how they can start using them. Those who want to explore
the new technology can buy expert systems from a reliable company specialized
in AI software solutions. Business enterprises using expert systems say that
this type of system is indeed a valuable tool for disseminating and capturing
skill and knowledge, sometimes to create competitive advantage. Some of the
greatest opportunities for expert systems lie in small, day-to-day tasks like
credit verification or capital budgeting analysis.