Week 02 – Introduction to AI

Lesson 01- Foundation of AI

Introduction
The course on Intelligent System is about what is traditionally known as Artificial
Intelligence (AI). There are various definitions concerning the objectives of the
filed of AI. In simple terms, we may say that AI attempts to build machines that
can behave as if they are intelligent. Alternatively, we may say that AI attempts to
emulate models of natural intelligence on an artefact, which is the computer in the
today’s context.

Although we do not know an exact definition for the term ‘intelligence’, we can
still develop machines that can perform certain tasks which requires intelligence if
they are done by humans. For example, one needs intelligence to learn some
things, making decisions, problem solving, identification of patterns, etc.

Watch the robot shown in video. This robot has the ability to move in various
manners depending on the environments.

Video: Robot with ability to move in various manners

Activity 1.1

Identify several tasks performed by the robot, so as robot can claim that she is
intelligent.

1.1 Nature of Knowledge

Perhaps the term knowledge will help us to locate the status of AI in the world. In
fact, it is agreed that knowledge is the main ingredient of Intelligence. We are
familiar with various types of knowledge including the following.

 Technology
 Mathematics
 Engineering
 Science

For instance, technology is about know how knowledge. This knowledge is as old as
the civilization of mankind. Again mathematics is one of the oldest subject and
uses logic as the main approach to drawing conclusions. Mathematics begins with
set of axioms which are agreed up on as true, and establishes relationships among
these axioms to formulate theories. New mathematical theories are always built on
top of the older theories, by preserving the validity of the old theories. Engineering
is the systematic way of the use of technology with an emphasis on design,
optimizing, modelling, etc. Among other areas, Science is a modern type of
knowledge, which talks about know why knowledge. Science explains the things on
the basis of experimental evidences. Science and technology together has
contributed immensely to the modern developments. Mathematics has been used
as a powerful tool for identification of inconsistencies in any systems of knowledge.
In addition, mathematics can explicitly present the world knowledge. This is why
mathematics has gone into almost all areas.

It should also be noted that there are so many other systems of knowledge that
have contributed to the development of the world. Among others, areas such as
accountancy, management, law, linguistics, sociology and education can be cited.
In the modern context, these areas also draw the power from subject areas such as
mathematics and science. Sometimes these areas are also known as soft-sciences.

Formal and Informal Knowledge

In a broader sense, knowledge can be classified into two categories as formal and
informal knowledge. These types of knowledge are also called explicit and implicit
(tacit) knowledge respectively. Starting from school, we learn various types of
knowledge which are discovered and formalised. For instance, all mathematics,
science, technology, etc. are known as formal knowledge. Obviously, formal
knowledge has such a huge potential to solve problems. We can also easily develop
computer programs to implement systems of formal knowledge.

However, we cannot we really underestimate the problem solving capacity of types

of knowledge such as common sense, experience, beliefs, trail and error, etc.
These types of knowledge are labelled as informal or tacit knowledge. For
example, there is no theory or formal method to settle a baby when he cries. It’s
done through mother’s common sense. Cooking is yet another example, where we
use so many commonsense, experiences, etc., but not a hard theory. We cannot
also forget that all formal knowledge are developed by brilliant persons on the
basis of their experience, common sense, etc., which are informal knowledge. This
is why people say that formal knowledge is rooted in informal knowledge.
Undoubtedly, writing computer programs to implement informal knowledge are not
straight forward.

We can also say that AI attempts to develop computer models (programs) of

informal knowledge too, for solving real world problems.

Activity 1.2
Name a real world task and identify types of informal knowledge used in such a
system.

1.2 Intelligent Machines – Dream or reality?

Ever since the very first day of civilization of mankind, people developed various
artefacts to make their lives easy. In early days, those artefacts were limited to
make physical tasks easy. All tools, livers, pulley, and various other machines
helped to do physical tasks with less energy from humans. As time goes on it was
quite natural to think of artefacts that makes intellectual task of humans easy.
Among others abacus, rulers and counting machines are examples for artefacts that
have helped people to do some intellectual tasks.

With the emergence of the digital computer, the concept of machines has been
revolutionized. As such computers have been selected to emulate the intelligent
features in the form of software.
In 1956, the filed called Artificial Intelligence was introduced to design and
develop intelligent machines. Since then AI has been developed with so many areas
including Expert systems, Fuzzy Logic, Artificial Neural Networks, Natural Language
Processing, Agent systems, Computer Vision, etc. With the aid of AI, traditional
concept of automation has changed into autonomous systems.

AI is no longer a dream. AI techniques have shown their potential to solve various

problems including the development of smart space robot, complex scheduling and
planning systems, auto pilot systems and recognition of objects in complex scenes,
which cannot be achieved otherwise. In many instances, AI programs have gone
beyond human level performance, and even defeated grand chess mater.

Undoubtedly, intelligent software through AI techniques will be at the heart of

modern smart software systems. All the new software trends including ubiquitous
computing, evolutionary computing, etc. are necessarily powered by Artificial
Intelligence techniques.

AI techniques are capable of providing solutions for real world problems, which
does not fit into any mathematical, statistical or algorithmic model. Nowadays, AI
is also drawing from mathematics and science to strengthen its reasoning capacity
with more conclusive evidence.

In the current context, traditional viewpoint of development of human like

machines has taken a more sophisticated approach to postulate the concept of
man-machine coexistence.

Video: Policeman with robot arm in I-Robot

In this video, there is a policeman who has an artificial arm, which exhibits a
sequence of events that justify man-machine co-existence. This is because; here
the artificial arm of the policeman can help him to do things which are dangerous
to be done by the other arm. So when necessary, the robot arm helps the man
with extra energy, otherwise it behaves as a normal arm.

Activity 1.3
Identify what ubiquitous computing is. Search for AI contribution to ubiquitous
computing.

1.3 Influential areas for AI

AI is essentially a multi-disciplinary area. This is because the nature of knowledge
and intelligence are not the theme that merely belongs to science and technology.
AI draws from any area which talks about the themes like knowledge and
intelligence. Below are some of the major influential areas for AI

 Philosophy
 Mathematics
 Economics
 Neuroscience
 Psychology (1887-)
 Computer engineering (1940-)
  Control theory and Cybernetics (1984-)
 Linguistics (1957-)
 Education, Physics, Biology, etc.

Philosophy (428BC (even before)–to date)

Throughout the history, Philosophers have been interested in many areas including
the nature of knowledge, origin of knowledge, connection between knowledge and
action, formalization of knowledge and mind-matter relationship. As such,
relationship between AI and philosophy is inseparable. Aristotle was the first
philosopher to formalize the knowledge through the concept of logic, which
appears to play a key role in the context of mind. Rene Descartes was the first to
treat the mind different from the matter, yet mind has a strong physical basis.
Modern AI researchers are very much interested in realizing the mind to develop
smart artifacts.

Mathematics (c.800- Present)

Perhaps mathematics has been the most influential single subject for AI. Among
other applications, mathematics provides formal rules for drawing conclusions,
analyses the computability of various algorithms and procedures, and handling of
reasoning with uncertain information. Although Aristotle introduced the formal
logic, its mathematical development began by the work of George Boole (1815-
1864). It should be stated that hardware of modern computers and other digital
electronics devices are governed by Boolean algebra. Persian mathematician, al-
Khowarazmi gets the credit for the formal study of algorithms through
mathematical concepts. Furthermore, Gödel’s incompleteness theorem states that
there are truth statements whose truth cannot be established by any algorithms.
This idea motivated, Allen Turing, another great mathematician, to study about
which functions are capable of being computed. The area of theory of
computability is entirely manipulated by mathematics.

In addition to logic and computability, another great contribution from

mathematics to AI can be seen as the theory of probability. Among other theories
in probability, Baye’s theorem has played a key role in uncertainty handling in AI
systems.

Economics (1776-Present)
Economics is concerned with several areas including decision making so as to
maximize payoff, how that can be done, how we do that when payoff may be far in
the future. Although Greek philosophers had contributed to development of
Economics, the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith is the first to treat it as a science.
Decision theory, Game theory, Operational Research and Markov chain in
Economics has done a great contribution to AI in the context of making rational
decisions.

Neuroscience (1861-Present)
Neuroscience is concerned with the study of the nerve system, with a particular
emphasis on how our brains process information. Santiago Cajal (1852-1934)
identified the brain as network of neurons, which are the processing units. As per
the processing power of the brain, perhaps the best analogy for the brain is
considered as the modern computer. However, performance of brains is far from
those of computers. As depicted in Russell and Norving (2003), below is a
comparison of features of brain and the modern computer.

Computer Human brain

Computational units 1 CPU, 108 gates 1011 neurons

Storage units 1010 bits RAM 1011 neurons
1011 bits disk 1011 synapses
Cycle time 10-9 second 10-3 second
Bandwidth 1010 bits/second 1014 bits/second
Memory updates/sec 109 1014

Obviously, researchers in intelligent machine must have attempted to realize the

intelligence by observing the features of brains. This is because brain performs the
activities that require intelligence. As such, well known AI techniques called
Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) have proposed a computer model of human brain.
In fact, AI was born well before introducing AI as a discipline in 1956.

Computer Engineering
The affect of digital computer for AI and many other subject areas is non-
comparable. It is a fact that computer technology invented a new dimension for
development of artifacts. Computers can work as any machine or work with any
machine. Since computer is a programmable machine, people could develop
software programs to implement intelligent features and run the software on the
hardware of even a general purpose computer. As such, due to computer
technology, the development of intelligent machines becomes a software exercise,
without going into the development of intelligent artifacts from the scratch.

Control theory and cybernetic (1948-present)

Control theory is about how artifacts can operate under their own control. This is
in fact an interesting area since we have already seen that living things are capable
of changing their behavior in response to environment. So why not to develop
machines of similar type? Note that self-regulating feedback control systems such
as steam engine governors (17the century) and thermostat (15th centaury) are much
older than AI. Modern thinking about control theory through mathematical
formulation of cognition postulated the area called Cybernetics (1948).

Linguistics (1957- present)

This is about how languages relate to thoughts. This area plays a key role in
understanding of building of machine that can commutate using natural languages
such as Sinhala, Tamil and English. Development of machines that can manipulate
languages has still become research challenge.

Other areas
There are so many other areas that have done a bigger contribution to the
development of AI. For example, the filed of Education has provided various
learning theories and learning models that would enable the development of
machines that are capable of learning. Again biological theories on genetics like
areas have widened the boundaries of AI by introducing areas such as evolutionary
computing and genetic programming. Quantum theory from physics has also
revolutionized the development of high performance computers. In summary, AI
can be benefited from the development in almost all subject areas in the world.