Chapter 2:

The Representation of Knowledge

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Objectives
Introduce the study of logic Learn the difference between formal logic and informal logic Learn the meaning of knowledge and how it can be represented Learn about semantic nets Learn about object-attribute-value triples

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Objectives Continued
See how semantic nets can be translated into Prolog Explore the limitations of semantic nets Learn about schemas Learn about frames and their limitations Learn how to use logic and set symbols to represent knowledge

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Objectives Continued
Learn about propositional and first order predicate logic Learn about quantifiers Explore the limitations of propositional and predicate logic

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What is the study of logic?

Logic is the study of making inferences given a set of facts, we attempt to reach a true conclusion. An example of informal logic is a courtroom setting where lawyers make a series of inferences hoping to convince a jury / judge . Formal logic (symbolic logic) is a more rigorous approach to proving a conclusion to be true / false.
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Why is Logic Important

We use logic in our everyday lives should I buy this car, should I seek medical attention. People are not very good at reasoning because they often fail to separate word meanings with the reasoning process itself. Semantics refers to the meanings we give to symbols.

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The Goal of Expert Systems

We need to be able to separate the actual meanings of words with the reasoning process itself. We need to make inferences w/o relying on semantics. We need to reach valid conclusions based on facts only.

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Knowledge in Expert Systems

Knowledge representation is key to the success of expert systems. Expert systems are designed for knowledge representation based on rules of logic called inferences. Knowledge affects the development, efficiency, speed, and maintenance of the system.

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Definitions of Knowledge
a) (1) the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2)acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique b) (1) the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) the range of one's information or understanding c) the circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through reasoning : cognition the fact or condition of having information or of being learned
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d)

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Epistemology
Epistemology is the formal study of knowledge . Concerned with nature, structure, and origins of knowledge.

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Categories of Epistemology
Philosophy A priori

A posteriori

Procedural

Declarative

Tacit

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A Priori Knowledge
Also called theoretical knowledge That which precedes Independent of the senses Universally true Cannot be denied without contradiction e.g., coin flips will give 50% heads and 50% tails

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A Posteriori Knowledge
Also called empirical knowledge That which follows Derived from the senses Now always reliable Deniable on the basis of new knowledge w/o the necessity of contradiction E.g., 100 coin flips give only 39 heads what can you conclude?

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Procedural Knowledge
Knowing how to do something: Fix a watch Install a window Brush your teeth Ride a bicycle

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Declarative Knowledge
Knowledge that something is true or false Usually associated with declarative statements E.g., Dont touch that hot wire.

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Tacit Knowledge
Unconscious knowledge Cannot be expressed by language E.g., knowing how to walk, breath, etc.

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Knowledge in Rule-Based Systems

Knowledge is part of a hierarchy. Knowledge refers to rules that are activated by facts or other rules. Activated rules produce new facts or conclusions. Conclusions are the end-product of inferences when done according to formal rules.

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Knowledge in Rule-Based Systems II

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Expert Systems vs. ANS

ANS does not make inferences but searches for underlying patterns. Expert systems
o o o o Draw inferences using facts Separate data from noise Transform data into information Transform information into knowledge

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Metaknowledge
Metaknowledge is knowledge about knowledge and expertise. Most successful expert systems are restricted to as small a domain as possible. In an expert system, an ontology is the metaknowledge that describes everything known about the problem domain. Wisdom is the metaknowledge of determining the best goals of life and how to obtain them.
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Figure 2.2 The Pyramid of Knowledge

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Knowledge Representation Methods

A number of knowledge-representation techniques have been devised: Production Rules Semantic nets Frames Scripts Logic Conceptual graphs
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Production Rules
Frequently used to formulate the knowledge in expert systems. A formal variation is Backus-Naur form (BNF)
metalanguage for the definition of language syntax a grammar is a complete, unambiguous set of production rules for a specific language a parse tree is a graphic representation of a sentence in that language provides only a syntactic description of the language
not all sentences make sense

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Example: Production Rules

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Example: Parse Tree of a Sentence

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Production Rules

Advantages: simple and easy to understand straightforward implementation formal foundations for some variants Disadvantages: simple implementations are very inefficient some types of knowledge are not easily expressed in such rules large sets of rules become difficult to understand and maintain

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Semantic Nets
A classic representation technique for propositional information (sometimes called propositional net) Propositions a form of declarative knowledge, stating facts (true/false) Propositions are called atoms cannot be further subdivided. Semantic nets consist of nodes (objects, concepts, situations) and arcs or links (relationships between them). For nodes
Labels indicate the name Nodes can be instances (individual objects) or classes (generic nodes)
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Links-Semantic Nets
Links represent relationships
The relationships contain the structural information of the knowledge to be represented The label indicates the type of the relationship

Common types of links:

IS-A relates an instance or individual to a generic class A-KIND-OF relates generic nodes to generic nodes

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Figure 2.4 Two Types of Nets

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Semantic Net Example

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Figure 2.6: General Organization of a PROLOG System

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PROLOG and Semantic Nets

In PROLOG, predicate expressions consist of the predicate name, followed by zero or more arguments enclosed in parentheses, separated by commas. Example: mother(becky,heather) means that becky is the mother of heather

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PROLOG Continued
Programs consist of facts and rules in the general form of goals. General form: p:- p1, p2, , pN p is called the rules head and the pi represents the subgoals Example: spouse(x,y) :- wife(x,y) x is the spouse of y if x is the wife of y
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Object-Attribute-Value Triple
One problem with semantic nets is lack of standard definitions for link names (IS-A, AKO, etc.). The OAV triplet can be used to characterize all the knowledge in a semantic net.

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Problems with Semantic Nets

To represent definitive knowledge, the link and node names must be rigorously defined.
A solution to this is extensible markup language (XML) and ontologies.

Problems also include combinatorial explosion of searching nodes, inability to define knowledge the way logic can, and heuristic inadequacy.

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Problems with Semantic Nets II

Disadvantages of semantic nets could be classified as: Expressiveness
no internal structure of nodes relationships between multiple nodes no easy way to represent heuristic information extensions are possible, but cumbersome best suited for binary relationships

Efficiency
may result in large sets of nodes and links search may lead to combinatorial explosion
especially for queries with negative results

Usability
lack of standards for link types naming of nodes
classes, instances

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Schemata
Knowledge Structure an ordered collection of knowledge not just data. Semantic Nets are shallow knowledge structures all knowledge is contained in nodes and links. Schema is a more complex knowledge structure than a semantic net. In a schema, a node is like a record which may contain data, records, and/or pointers to nodes.
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Frames
One type of schema is a frame (or script timeordered sequence of frames). Frames are useful for simulating commonsense knowledge. Semantic nets provide 2-dimensional knowledge; frames provide 3-dimensional. Frames represent related knowledge about narrow subjects having much default knowledge.

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Frames Continued
A frame is a group of slots and fillers that defines a stereotypical object that is used to represent generic / specific knowledge. Commonsense knowledge is knowledge that is generally known. Prototypes are objects possessing all typical characteristics of whatever is being modeled. Problems with frames include allowing unrestrained alteration / cancellation of slots.
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Logic and Sets

Knowledge can also be represented by symbols of logic. Logic is the study of rules of exact reasoning inferring conclusions from premises. Automated reasoning logic programming in the context of expert systems.

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Figure 2.8 A Car Frame

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Forms of Logic
Earliest form of logic was based on the syllogism developed by Aristotle. Syllogisms have two premises that provide evidence to support a conclusion. Example:
Premise: Premise: Conclusion: All cats are climbers. Garfield is a cat. Garfield is a climber.

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Venn Diagrams
Venn diagrams can be used to represent knowledge. Universal set is the topic of discussion. Subsets, proper subsets, intersection, union , contained in, and complement are all familiar terms related to sets. An empty set (null set) has no elements.

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Figure 2.13 Venn Diagrams

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Propositional Logic
Formal logic is concerned with syntax of statements, not semantics. Syllogism:
All goons are loons. Zadok is a goon. Zadok is a loon.

The words may be nonsense, but the form is correct this is a valid argument.
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Boolean vs. Aristotelian Logic

Existential import states that the subject of the argument must have existence. All elves wear pointed shoes. not allowed under Aristotelian view since there are no elves. Boolean view relaxes this by permitting reasoning about empty sets.

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Figure 2.14 Intersecting Sets

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Boolean Logic
Defines a set of axioms consisting of symbols to represent objects / classes. Defines a set of algebraic expressions to manipulate those symbols. Using axioms, theorems can be constructed. A theorem can be proved by showing how it is derived from a set of axioms.

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Other Pioneers of Formal Logic

Whitehead and Russell published Principia Mathematica, which showed a formal logic as the basis of mathematics. Gdel proved that formal systems based on axioms could not always be proved internally consistent and free from contradictions.

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Features of Propositional Logic

Concerned with the subset of declarative sentences that can be classified as true or false. We call these sentences statements or propositions. Paradoxes statements that cannot be classified as true or false. Open sentences statements that cannot be answered absolutely.

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Features Continued
Compound statements formed by using logical connectives (e.g., AND, OR, NOT, conditional, and biconditional) on individual statements. Material implication p q states that if p is true, it must follow that q is true. Biconditional p q states that p implies q and q implies p.
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Features Continued
Tautology a statement that is true for all possible cases. Contradiction a statement that is false for all possible cases. Contingent statement a statement that is neither a tautology nor a contradiction.

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Truth Tables

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Universal Quantifier
The universal quantifier, represented by the symbol means for every or for all. ( x) (x is a rectangle x has four sides) The existential quantifier, represented by the symbol means there exists. ( x) (x 3 = 5) Limitations of predicate logic most quantifier.
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Summary
We have discussed:
Elements of knowledge Knowledge representation Some methods of representing knowledge

Fallacies may result from confusion between form of knowledge and semantics. It is necessary to specify formal rules for expert systems to be able to reach valid conclusions. Different problems require different tools.
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