Category Archives: Technology
16 Jun Genetic Cross-Pollination
Cross Pollination Many approaches exist for simulating intelligent behavior on computers. In the past, the most popular approach was to focus on developing a technique and applying it to a problem. Most basic research has focused on single paradigms and their properties. Sometimes, however, in domains where multiple approaches to problem solving are possible, some […]
10 Jun Survival of the Fittest Knowledge
Genetic Algorithms in Search I think we can safely assume that intelligent applications, including accurate language interpreters and translators, will possess large amounts of knowledge to be processed and searched. Genetic algorithms are great for searching for obscure data in massive search spaces. The mechanism for association in computers can be defined as searching, just as humans describe their […]
09 Jun In Search of Depth and Breadth
Depth-First Search Search is one of many functions needed in intelligent systems. Web search in systems like Google, Bing, Yahoo and Alta Vista use complex algorithms to help you find the information you want based on words. Words are patterns of letters strung together in a unique way. Searching is a kind of pattern matching. […]
07 Jun Finding a Tree in the Forest
Complex Search Finding the information you need can be a problem, particularly when you have to look through tons (or terabytes) of data. I recall when geocaching first became popular. The idea that a technology could create a model for an entertaining activity that connects people in unusual ways is quite diverting. Will it still be popular […]
05 Jun Intelligent Traveling Salesmen
Another Sample Problem Several specific reasoning or inference problems have provided fodder for AI textbooks and experiments. One of these is the traveling salesman problem (Get an explanation and an example applet here): Given a traveling salesman who must get to x number of cities, find the shortest route the salesman can travel to reach […]
03 Jun Distributed Knowledge Representation
Distributed KR Knowledge representation schemata may be top-down, or bottom-up. In a top-down approach, one would define an area or domain of knowledge, then list the concepts within the domain and their attributes. Behaviors within the domain are often defined by that domain, and the concepts may not be able to exist independently. This approach helps enforce a […]
02 Jun Framing Formal Logic
Formal Logic Formal logic often uses set theory. Set theory uses existential (an assertion that something applies to some members of a set) and universal (a statement that applies to all members in a set) quantifiers. Despite the utility and noncommittal correctness of existential quantifiers, set operations using existential quantifiers are weaker then those using universal quantifiers. The […]
30 May State of the Art in Knowledge Representation
KR Evolves Slowly The state of the art in computer programming has evolved toward data-driven techniques. In early programs, the data was “hard-coded” into the program with specific functions operating differently on each data item and type. Gradually, programmers began storing data and templates in different files, attempting to write orthogonal procedures to introduce a modularity […]
28 May Data and Modeling
Data modeling is essential in the early stages of any information system design. By moving toward a data-centered model, we can make our data, and our system, smarter. There are many data-modeling techniques, but we will focus on two for now: Entity Relationship Diagramming (ERD), and Object Role Modeling or object relational modeling (ORM). Entity […]