Block 1

MCS-224
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND

MACHINE LEARNING
Block 1
Artificial Intelligence – Introduction 05
Block 2
Artificial Intelligence – Knowledge Representation 171
Block 3
Machine Learning - I 267
Block 4
Machine Learning - II 391
School of Computer and Information Sciences (SOCIS)

Indira Gandhi National Open University 1
PROGRAMME DESIGN COMMITTEE
Prof. (Retd.) S.K. Gupta , IIT, Delhi Sh. Akshay Kumar, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Ela Kumar, IGDTUW, Delhi Dr. P. Venkata Suresh, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. T.V. Vijay Kumar JNU, New Delhi Dr. V.V. Subrahmanyam, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Gayatri Dhingra, GVMITM, Sonipat Sh. M.P. Mishra, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Mr. Milind Mahajan,. Impressico Business Solutions, New Delhi Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Sh. Shashi Bhushan Sharma, Associate Professor,SOCIS, IGNOU
COURSE DESIGN COMMITTEE

Prof. T.V. Vijay Kumar JNU, New Delhi Sh. Akshay Kumar, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. S. Balasundaram, JNU, New Delhi Dr. P. Venkata Suresh, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. D.P. Vidyarthi, JNU, New Delhi Dr. V.V. Subrahmanyam, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Anjana Gosain, USICT, GGSIPU, New Delhi Sh. M.P. Mishra, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Dr. Ayesha Choudhary, JNU, New Delhi Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Sh. Shashi Bhushan Sharma,Associate Professor,SOCIS,IGNOU
SOCIS FACULTY
Prof. P. Venkata Suresh, Director, SOCIS, IGNOU Prof. V.V. Subrahmanyam, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Sandeep Singh Rawat, SOCIS, IGNOU Prof. Divakar Yadav, SOCIS, IGNOU
Dr. Akshay Kumar, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Dr. M.P. Mishra, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
PREPARATION TEAM
BLOCK 1 & BLOCK-2 BLOCK 3 & BLOCK-4
Prof Ela Kumar (Content Editor- Block 1 & 2) Prof Anjana Gosain (Content Editor – Block 3 & 4)
Department of Computers & Engg. IGDTUW, Delhi USICT-GGSIPU, Delhi
Prof.Parmod Kumar (Language Editor- Block 1 & 2) Dr. Rajesh Kumar (Language Editor – Block 3 & 4)
SOH, IGNOU, New Delhi SOH, IGNOU, New Delhi
Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, (Writer- Unit 1) Dr. Venu Gopal,(Writer- Unit 9)
Assistant Professor SOCIS, IGNOU General Manager,Sify Technologies, Noida,U.P
(Unit-1 : Partially Adapted from MCSE003 Artificial Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, (Writer – Unit 10)
Intelligence & Knowledge Management) Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Dr. Anant Kumar Jayswal, (Unit-10 : Partially Adapted from MCS 043
(Writer – Unit 2 & Unit 3) Advanced Database Management Systems)
Assistant Professor,Amity School of Engineering & Technology Dr. Parmod Kumar Sagar, (Writer-Unit 11)
Prof. Arvind (Writer Unit-4) Assistanr Professor(Sr.G)Department of Computer Applications,
Department of Mathematics, Hansraj College SRM Institute of Science and Technology,
University of Delhi Delhi NCR Campus Modinagar, U.P.
Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, (Writer- Unit 5 & Unit 6) Prof. Sachin Kumar (Writer-Unit 12)
Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU Department of Computer Science and Engineering
(Writer- Unit 5,6)-(Partially Adapted from MCSE003 Artificial Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College, Ghaziabad, U.P.
Intelligence & Knowledge Management) Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, (Writer- Unit 13)
Dr. Manish Kumar, (Writer- Unit 7) Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU Ms. Divya Kwatra, (Writer Unit 14)
(Writer- Unit 7 Partially Adapted from AST-01) Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science
Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, (Writer- Unit 8) Hansraj College, University of Delhi
Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU Ms. Sofia Goel, (Writer Unit 15)
(Writer- Unit 8)-(Partially Adapted from MCSE003 Research Scholar, SOCIS, IGNOU
Artificial Intelligence & Knowledge Management)
Ms. Sanyukta Kesharwani (Writer - Unit 16)
Director(Reserach), Scholastic Seed Inc., Delhi
COURSE COORDINATOR
Dr. Sudhansh Sharma
Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
PRINT PRODUCTION
Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal
Assistant Registrar,MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi
August, 2023
© Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2023
ISBN: 978-93-5568-926-9
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without
permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068 or visit University website http://www.ignou.ac.in.

Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, by the Registrar, MPDD, IGNOU,
New Delhi.
Laser Typeset by: Hi-Tech Graphics, F-28/3, Okhla Ind. Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-110020.
2 Print at: M/s Educational Stores, S-5 Bulandshahar Road Industrail Area, Site-1, Ghaziabad (UP)-201009
COURSE INTRODUCTION
This course MCS-224 Titled “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” is
a 4 credit course and it relates to the conceptual understanding of the Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning. Generally, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is
considered as the discipline, to deal with the solution of the hard and insolvable
problems using reasonable amount of time, by exploiting the knowledge of
the problem domain. In view of the significance of knowledge in AI, in this
course, a number of knowledge representation formalisms are introduced. The
formalisms discussed include Propositional Logic, First Order Predicate Logic,
Rule-based systems, Semantic Networks and Frames. Further, the course
introduces the various concepts of Machine learning, Viz. Supervised learning,
Unsupervised Learning and their respective application areas. Currently these
two fields i.e. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are in high demand,
the course will help the learners to build the understanding of these fields.
In order to be well versed with this course you need to have some understanding
of Discrete Mathematics, and Python as a programming language. The course
is comprised of four blocks, in all covering 16 units. The entire coverage is
divided in a manner that Block-1 and Block-2 covers the understanding of
Artificial Intelligence, i.e. Unit 1 to 8 relates to Artificial Intelligence. Whereas,
the Block-3 and Block-4 (i.e. unit 9 to 16) covers the fundamentals of Machine
Learning.
The concise structure of this course is given below :
Block-1 Artificial Intelligence - Introduction:
• Unit-1 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
• Unit-2 Problem Solving using Search
• Unit-3 Uninformed and Informed Search
• Unit-4 Predicate and Propositional Logic
Block-2 Artificial Intelligence - Knowledge Representation
• Unit-5 First Order Logic
• Unit-6 Rule based Systems and other formalism
• Unit-7 Probabilistic Reasoning
• Unit-8 Fuzzy and Rough Set
Block-3 Machine Learning - I:
• Unit-9 Introduction to Machine Learning Methods
• Unit-10 Classification
• Unit-11 Regression
• Unit-12 Neural Networks and Deep Learning:
Block-4 Machine Learning - II:
• Unit-13 Feature selection and Extraction
• Unit-14 Association Rules
• Unit-15 Clustering
• Unit-16 Machine Learning Programming using Python
After going through the content of this course MCS-224 Titled “Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning”, you will be in the position to begin your
journey in this upcoming and promising field of Artificial Intelligence and
3
Machine Learning.
4
Block
1
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE –
INTRODUCTION
Unit 1
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 09
Unit 2
Problem Solving using Search 39
Unit 3
Uninformed and Informed Search 85
Unit 4
Predicate and Propositional Logic 137
5
PROGRAMME DESIGN COMMITTEE
Prof. (Retd.) S.K. Gupta , IIT, Delhi Sh. Akshay Kumar, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Ela Kumar, IGDTUW, Delhi Dr. P. Venkata Suresh, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. T.V. Vijay Kumar JNU, New Delhi Dr. V.V. Subrahmanyam,Associate Professor,SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Gayatri Dhingra, GVMITM, Sonipat Sh. M.P. Mishra, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Mr.Milind Mahajan,Impressico Business Solutions, Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
New Delhi
Sh.Shashi Bhushan Sharma, Associate Professor,
SOCIS, IGNOU
COURSE DESIGN COMMITTEE
Prof. T.V. Vijay Kumar JNU, New Delhi Sh. Akshay Kumar, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. S.Balasundaram, JNU, New Delhi Dr.P.Venkata Suresh,Associate Professor,SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof D.P. Vidyarthi, JNU, New Delhi Dr.V.V.Subrahmanyam,Associate Professor,SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Anjana Gosain, USICT, GGSIPU, New Delhi Sh. M.P. Mishra, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Ayesha Choudhary, JNU, New Delhi Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Sh.Shashi Bhushan Sharma, Associate Professor,
SOCIS, IGNOU
SOCIS FACULTY
Prof. P. Venkata Suresh, Director, SOCIS, IGNOU
Prof. Sandeep Singh Rawat, SOCIS, IGNOU Prof. Divakar Yadav, SOCIS, IGNOU
Dr. Akshay Kumar, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU Dr. Sudhansh Sharma, Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
Dr. M.P. Mishra, Associate Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
PREPARATION TEAM
Dr.Sudhansh Sharma, (Writer- Unit 1) Prof Ela Kumar (Content Editor)
Assistant Professor SOCIS, IGNOU Department of Computers & Engg. IGDTUW, Delhi
(Unit-1 : Partially Adapted from MCSE003
Prof.Parmod Kumar (Language Editor)
SOH, IGNOU, New Delhi
Dr. Anant Kumar Jayswal, (Writer – Unit 2 & Unit 3)
Assistant Professor
Amity School of Engineering and Technology
Prof. Arvind (Writer Unit-4)

Department of Mathematics,
Hansraj College University of Delhi
COURSE COORDINATOR
Dr. Sudhansh Sharma
Assistant Professor, SOCIS, IGNOU
PRINT PRODUCTION
Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal
Assistant Registrar,MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi
August, 2023
© Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2023
ISBN: 978-93-5568-926-9
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without
permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068 or visit University website http://www.ignou.ac.in.

Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, by the Registrar, MPDD, IGNOU,
New Delhi.
Laser Typeset by: Hi-Tech Graphics, F-28/3, Okhla Ind. Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-110020.
Print at: M/s Educational Stores, S-5 Bulandshahar Road Industrail Area, Site-1, Ghaziabad (UP)-201009
6
BLOCK INTRODUCTION
The Block-1 Titled “Artificial Intelligence – Introduction” is comprised of four
units, the details are as follows :
• Unit-1 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
• Unit-2 Problem Solving using Search
• Unit-3 Uninformed and Informed Search
• Unit-4 Predicate and Propositional Logic
In Unit 1 – “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence”, we will give an overview
of the discipline of AI in terms of some general concepts and definitions and
through enumeration (without any detailed discussion) of tools and techniques
of AI that help in solving problems requiring non-symbolic representations and
non-algorithmic processes for solutions. In this context, we mentioned that
knowledge of the problem domain plays an important role in solving difficult
problems.
Unit-2 – “Problem Solving using Search “ and Unit-3 – “Uninformed and
Informed Search “ Covers the various searching techniques, involved in the
field of Artificial Intelligence.
Finally, Unit-4 - “Predicate and Propositional Logic” discusses the fundamentals
of predicate and propositional logic. Here, we discuss Propositional Logic (PL)
as a vehicle for knowledge representation, for making inferences and for solving
problems, the concepts you learn in this units helps to establish your connect
with next Block i.e. Block no. 2 of this course.
7
8
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Objectives
1.3 Basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
1.4 Brief history of Artificial Intelligence
1.5 Components of Intelligence
1.6 Approaches to Artificial Intelligence
1.7 Comparison between Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning
(ML) and DeepLearning (DL).
1.8 Application Areas of Artificial Intelligence Systems
1.9 Intelligent Agents
1.9.1 Stimulus - Response Agents
1.10 Summary
1.11 Solutions/Answers
1.12 Further Readings
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Today, artificial intelligence is used in a wide variety of applications, including
engineering, technology, the military, opinion mining, sentiment analysis,
and many more. It is also used in more advanced domains, such as language
processing and applications for aerospace.
AI is everywhere in today's world, and people are gradually becoming accustomed
to its presence. It is utilised in systems that recognise both voices and faces.
In addition to this, it can provide you with shopping recommendations that
are tailored to your own purchasing preferences. Finding spam and preventing
fraudulent use of credit cards is made much easier when you have this skill. The
most cutting-edge technology currently on the market are virtual assistants like
Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, Microsoft's Cortana, and Google's own Google
Assistant. It's possible that you're already familiar with the technology involved
in artificial intelligence (AI). Are you?
AI has become very popular all over the world today. It imitates human
intelligence in machines by programming them to do the same things people do.
As a technology, AI is going to have a bigger impact on how people live their
daily lives. Everyone wants to connect to Artificial Intelligence as a technology
these days. Before we can understand AI, we need to know and talk about
some basic things. For example, what is the difference between knowledge and
intelligence? The key to starting this unit is the answer to this question.
9
Artificial Intelligence The accumulation of information and abilities that a person has gained through
– Introduction their life experiences is known as knowledge. While intelligence refers to one's
capacity to put one's knowledge into practise. To put it simply, knowledge is
what we have learned over the years, and it expands as time passes. Because
of this, it represents the culmination of everything that we have realised over
the course of our lives. It is important to highlight that having information does
not automatically make one intelligent; rather, intelligence is what makes one
smart.
There is a well-known proverb that says "marks are not the measure of
intelligence." This is due to the fact that intelligence is not a measurement of
how much information one possesses. In fact, it is the measure of how much
we comprehend and put into practise. People who are knowledgeable may gain
a lot of information, but an intelligent person understands how to comprehend,
analyze, and use the information. You could have a lot of knowledge but still
be the least intelligent person in the room. Knowledge and intelligence are
inextricably linked, and each contributes to the other's development. Knowledge
enables one to learn the understandings that others have of things, whereas
intelligence is the foundation for one's ability to grasp the things themselves.
Now that we have an understanding of the distinction between intelligence and
knowledge, our next issue is: what exactly is artificial intelligence? Incorporating
intelligence into a machine is related to the field of Artificial Intelligence, whereas
both concepts, namely the representation of knowledge and its engineering, are
the basis of traditional AI research. This topic will be discussed in section 1.3
of this unit, but in a nutshell, incorporating intelligence into a machine is related
to the field of Artificial Intelligence. Knowledge engineering is a subfield of
artificial intelligence (AI) that applies rules to data in order to simulate the way
in which an expert would think about the information. It does this by analysing
the structure of a job or a decision in order to figure out how one arrives at a
conclusion.
The subsequent units of this course, you will learn about some of the concepts
that are essential for knowledge representation, such as frames, scripts, and
other related topics. In addition, this course will address the issues that are
associated with the knowledge representation for uncertain situations, such
as employing the method of fuzzy logic, rough sets, and the Dempster Shafer
theory, among other relevant topics.
Some of the prerequisites to get started with this subject.
a) Strong understanding of Basic concepts of Mathematics viz. Algebra,
Calculus, probability andStatistics.
b) Experience in programming using Python or Java.
c) A good understanding of algorithms.
d) Reasonably good data analytics skills.
e) Fundamental knowledge in discrete mathematics.
f) Finally, internal will to learn
10
1.2 OBJECTIVES Introduction to
Artificial Intelligence
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
• Understand the difference between knowledge and intelligence
• Answer – what is AI?
• Identify various approaches of AI
• Compare Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) & Deep
Learning (DL).
• Understand the concept of agents in AI
1.3 BASICS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

Knowledge and intelligence are two important concepts, and we were able to
gain an understanding of the fundamental distinction between the two terms.
Now that we have your attention, let's talk about what artificial intelligence
actually is. The meaning of Artificial Intelligence will be covered in this
section; however, before we get started, it is important to note that the field of
Artificial Intelligence is related to the process of incorporating intelligence into
machines; the specifics of this process, as well as the mechanism itself, will be
covered in this unit as well as the subsequent units of this training.
The following is a list of eight definitions of artificial intelligence that have
been provided by well-known authors of artificial intelligence textbooks.
1) According to Haugeland in 1985, "The Exciting New Effort to Make
Computers Think... Machines with Minds, in the Full and Literal Sense,"
2) According to Bellman, "the automation of behaviours that we connect with
human thinking, activities such as decision-making, problem-solving, and
learning..." 1978
3) "The study of mental capabilities through the application of computer
models," (also known as "The Study of Mental Capabilities"), Charniak
and McDermott's 1985.
4) According to Winston (1992), "the study of the calculations that make it
possible to perceive, reason, and act."
5) "The art of building machines that execute functions that demand intellect
when performed by people," as defined by Kurzweil in the year 1990.
5) "The art of building machines that execute functions that demand intellect
when performed by people," as defined by Kurzweil in the year 1990. To
the Rich and the Knight, 1991
7) According to Schalkoff (1990), "a field of study that aims to explain and
replicate intelligent behaviour in terms of computational processes."
8) According to Luger and Stubblefield (1993), "the discipline of computer
science that is concerned with the automation of intelligent behaviour."
11
Artificial Intelligence According to the concepts presented earlier, there are four distinct objectives
– Introduction that might be pursued in the field of artificial intelligence. These objectives are
as follows:
• The creation of systems that think in the same way as people do.
• The creation of systems that are capable of logical thought.
• The creation of machines that can mimic human behaviour.
• The creation of systems that behave in a logical manner
In addition, we discovered through our conversation in the earlier section 1.1 of
this Unit, that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the intelligence that is incorporated
into machines; in other words, AI is the ability of a machine to display human-
like capabilities such as reasoning, learning, planning, and creativity. We learned
this information because AI is the ability of a machine to display human-like
capabilities. Taking into mind the Emerging AI technologies to sense, interpret,
and act according to the circumstances, relevant exemplary solutions are
summarised in Figure 1, which attempts to encapsulate the understanding of
the question "What is Artificial Intelligence?"
AI TECHNOLOGIES ILLUSTRATIVE SOLUTIONS
Sense Computer Vision

Virtual
Agents
Audio Processing
Identify
Analytics
Com prehend Natural Language Processing Cognitive

Human Robotics
Brain
Knowledge Representation Speech
Analytics
s
Recommendation
Systems
Machine Learning
Act Data
Visualization
Expert Systems
Figure-1: What is Artificial Intelligence? – Emerging AI Technologies
The applications of artificial intelligence (AI) that are shown in figure-1 do not
all require the same kinds of AI. In a general sense, one may say that AI can be
categorised into the following levels:
• software level (i.e., Embodied AI). Where, the software level consists of
things like search engines, virtual assistants, speech and facial recognition
systems, picture analysis tools, and other things like that.
• Hardware level (Embedded) includes Robots, autonomous vehicles, drones,
the Internet of Things, and other technologies fall under the category of
embedded artificial intelligence (AI).
On the basis of the functionalities the AI can be classified based on Type 1 and
Type 2
12
Introduction to
Strong
AI
Figure 1(a) – Classification of Artificial Intelligence
Here’s a brief introduction the first type of AI i.e., Type 1 AI. Following are the
three stages of Type 1 - Artificial Intelligence:
a) Artificial Narrow Intelligence-(ANI)
b) Artificial General Intelligence-(AGI)
c) Artificial Super Intelligence-(ASI)
Figure 1(b) –Three Stages of Type-I Artificial Intelligence
The various categories of Artificial Intelligence are discussed as follows:

a) Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), also called Weak AI or Narrow AI:
Weak AI is a term for thinking that is "simulated." Such systems seem to
act intelligently, but they don't have any awareness of what they are doing.
For example, a chatbot might talk to you in a way that seems natural, but it
doesn't know who it is or why it's talking to you. Artificial intelligence is a
system that was built to do a certain job.
b) Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): Strong or General Artificial
Intelligence, also called "actual" thinking. That is, acting like a smart human
and thinking like one with a conscious, subjective mind. For instance, when
two humans talk, they probably both know who they are, what they're
doing, and why. 13
Artificial Intelligence Systems with strong or general artificial intelligence can do things that
– Introduction people can do. These systems tend to be harder to understand and more
complicated. They are set up to handle situations where they might need
to solve problems on their own without help from a person. Uses for these
kinds of systems include self-driving cars and operating rooms in hospitals.
c) Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) - Super intelligence: The term "super
intelligence" usually refers to a level of general and strong AI that is smarter
than humans, if that's even possible. The ASI is seen as the logical next
step after the AGI because it can do more than humans can. This includes
making decisions, making rational decisions, and even things like building
emotional relationships. Their is a marginal difference between AGI and
ASI.
☞ Check Your Progress 1
Q1 How Knowledge differs from intelligence? What do you understand by the
term Artificial Intelligence (AI)? List the various technologies and their
corresponding illustrative solutions.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
Q2 Classify AI on the basis of the functionalities of AI
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
Q3 Compare ANI, AGI and ASI, in context of AI
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
1.4 BRIEF HISTORY -ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE

AI's ideas come from early research into how people learn and think. Also very
old is the idea that a computer could act like a person. Greek mythology is
where the idea of machines that can think for themselves comes from.
• Aristotle, who lived from 384 BC to 322 BC, made a syllogistic logic system
that was not formal. This is where the first formal system of deductive
reasoning got its start.
At the start of the 17th century, Descartes said that animal bodies are just
complex machines.
• Pascal made the first mechanical digital calculator in the year 1642.
14
In the 1800s, George Boole came up with a number system called "binary Introduction to
algebra" that showed (some) "laws of thought." Artificial Intelligence
• Charles Babbage and Ada Byron worked on programmable mechanical

calculators.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, mathematicians and philosophers
like Gottlob Frege, Bertram Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, and Kurt Godel
built on Boole's first ideas about logic to make mathematical representations of
logic problems.
When electronic computers came along, it was a big step forward in how we
could study intelligence.
McCulloch and Pitts made a Boolean circuit model of the brain in 1943. They
wrote about how neural networks can be used to do math in the paper "A Logical
Calculus of Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity."
• In 1950, Turing wrote a paper called "Computing Machines and Intelligence."
This article gave a good overall picture of AI. To learn more about Alan
Turing, go to http://www.turing.org.uk/turing.
Turing's paper talked about a lot of things, one of which was how to solve
problems by using heuristics as guides to look through the space of possible
solutions. He used the game of chess to explain how his ideas about how
machines can think work. He even said that the machine could change its own
instructions so that machines could learn from what they do.
The SNARC was built by Marvin Minsky and Dean Edmonds in 1951. It was
the first randomly wired neural network learning machine (SNARC stands for
Stochastic Neural Analog Reinforcement Computer). It was a computer with a
network of 40 neurons and 3000 vacuum tubes.
Samuel made a number of programmes to help people play checkers between
1952 and 1956.
In 1956, Dartmouth was the site of a well-known meeting. At the conference, the
people who came up with the idea of AI met for the first time. At this meeting,
the name "Artificial Intelligence" was chosen.
• Newell and Simon's book The Logic Theorist came out. Many people think
it was the first show to use artificial intelligence.
In 1959, Gelernter made a Geometry Engine. In 1961, James Slagle's Ph.D.
dissertation at MIT was a programme called SAINT. It was written in LISP, and
a first-year college student could use it to solve calculus problems.
Thomas Evan made a programme called "Analogy" in 1963 that could solve
analogy problems like those on an IQ test. The first collection of articles about
artificial intelligence was put together by Edward A. Feigenbaum and Julian
Feldman. It was called "Computers and Thought." It was released in 1963.
In 1965, J. Allen Robinson came up with a way to prove things mechanically.
He called it the Resolution Method. This made it possible for formal logic to
work well as a language for representing programmes. In 1967, Feigenbaum,
15
Artificial Intelligence Lederberg, Buchanan, and Sutherland at Stanford showed how the Dendral
– Introduction programme could be used to understand the mass spectra of organic chemical
compounds. This was the first programme that worked well and was based on
scientific knowledge. The SRI robot Shakey showed in 1969 that it was possible
to move, see, and solve problems all at the same time.
From 1969 to 1979, the first systems based on knowledge were set up in place.
• In 1974, MYCIN showed how powerful rule-based systems can be
for representing and drawing conclusions about knowledge in medical
diagnosis and treatment. For the Knowledge Representation Version 2 CSE
IIT, Kharagpur, plans were made. There were also some frames that Minski
had made. There are logic-based programming languages like Prolog and
Planner. In the 1980s, Lisp Machines was made and sold. In 1985, neural
networks were once again all the rage. In 1988, probabilistic and decision-
theoretic methods were used again.
Early AI was based on general systems that didn't know much. AI researchers
realised that for machines to be able to reason about complex tasks, they need
to know a lot about a narrow field.
Dean Pomerleau made ALVINN at CMU in 1989. Autonomous Land Vehicle
in a Neural Network is what ALVINN stands for. This is a system that learns
to drive by watching someone else do it. It has a neural network that gets an
image from a two-dimensional camera that is 30x32 units. The output layer tells
the vehicle where it needs to go. The system drove a car from the East Coast to
the West Coast of the United States, which is about 2,850 miles. A person only
drove about 50 of these miles. The system took care of the rest.
In the 1990s, AI made a lot of progress, especially in machine learning, data
mining, intelligent tutoring, case-based reasoning, multi-agent planning and
scheduling, uncertain reasoning, understanding and translating natural language,
vision, virtual reality, games, and other areas.
Rod Brooks' COG Project at MIT made a lot of progress toward making a
humanoid robot with the help of a lot of people.
In the 1990s,
• 1997 was the year of the first official Robo-Cup soccer game. It was played
on a tabletop with 40 teams of robots talking to each other.
• As more and more people use the web, web crawlers and other AI-based
programmes that pull information from it are becoming more and more
important.
• Deep Blue In 1997, Gary Kasparov, who was the world champion at the
time, lost to IBM's Deep Blue chess programme.
In 2000,
• The Nomad robot goes to remote parts of Antarctica to look for meteorite
samples.
• Space probes that are made of robots can work on their own to learn more
16
about space. They keep an eye on what's going on around them, make Introduction to
decisions, and take action to get where they want to go. In April 2004, the Artificial Intelligence
first three-month missions of NASA's Mars rovers went well. The Spirit
rover was looking at a group of hills on Mars that took two months to reach.
It is finding strangely eroded rocks that might be new pieces of the puzzle
that is the history of the area. Spirit's twin sister, Opportunity, was looking
at the layers of rock in a crater.
• Internet agents: As the Internet grows quickly, more people want to use
Internet agents to keep track of what users are doing, find the information
they need, and figure out which information is the most useful. The reader
can learn more about AI by reading about it in the news.
1.5 COMPONENTS OF INTELLIGENCE

According to the dominant school of thought in psychology, human intelligence
should not be viewed as a singular talent or cognitive process but rather as
a collection of distinct components. The majority of attention in the field
of artificial intelligence research has been paid to the following aspects of
intelligence: learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and language
comprehension.
Learning: There are numerous approaches to develop a learning system.
Making mistakes is the simplest way to learn. A basic software that solves
"mate in one" chess issues, for example, might test different moves until it finds
one that answers the problem. The programme remembers which move worked
so that the next time the computer is given the identical situation, it can provide
an immediate response. The simple act of memorising things like answers to
problems, words in a vocabulary list, and so on is known as "rote learning" or
memorization.
We'll talk about another classification that doesn't depend on the way knowledge
is represented or how it is represented. According to this system, there are five
ways to learn:(ii)
(i) Rote Learning or memorising.
(ii) Learning by Instructions
(iii) Learning by analogy.
(iv) Learning by Induction
(v) Learning by deduction.
Rote Learning: Rote learning is the simplest method of learning since it
involves the least amount of interpretation. The information is simply copied
into a database in this method of learning. This is the technique for memorising
multiplication tables.
On a computer, rote learning is relatively simple to implement. The difficulty
of implementing what is known as generalisation is more difficult. Generalized
learning allows the student to perform better in situations they haven't faced
before. A programme that learns the past tenses of regular English verbs by
rote will not be able to form the past tense of "jump" until it has been presented 17
Artificial Intelligence with "jumped" at least once, whereas a programme that can generalise from
– Introduction examples will be able to learn the "added" rule and thus form the past tense of
"jump" even if it has never encountered this verb before. Modern techniques
allow programmes to generalise complex rules based on data.
Learning by Instructions: The next method of learning is to be instructed.
Because new knowledge must be contributed to an existing knowledge base in
order to be useful, this type of learning necessitates greater inference. When a
teacher instructs a student, this is the type of learning that occurs.
Learning by analogy: When you learn by analogy, you generate new ideas
by connecting previously learned concepts. Textbooks frequently employ this
method of instruction. For example, in the text, some problems are solved as
examples, and students are subsequently given problems that are comparable to
the examples. This type of learning also occurs when someone who can drive a
light car attempts to drive a heavy vehicle.
Learning by Induction: Learning through induction is the most common
method of learning. This is a method of learning that employs inductive
reasoning, which is a style of reasoning that involves drawing a conclusion from
a large number of good instances. If we encounter a lot of cows, we might notice
that they have four legs, are white, and have two horns in the same position
on their head, for example. Even though inductive reasoning frequently leads
to valid conclusions, the conclusions are not always unarguable. For example,
with the above-mentioned concept of cow, we might come across a black cow,
a three-legged cow who has lost one leg in an accident, or a single-horn cow.
Learning by deduction: Finally, we discuss deductive learning, which
is founded on deductive inference, a non-debatable mode of thinking. By
irrefutable method of reasoning, we mean that if the hypotheses (or given facts)
are accurate, the conclusion arrived through deductive (i.e., any irrefutable)
reasoning is always correct. This is the most common method of thinking in
mathematics.
Inductive learning is a crucial component of an agent's learning architecture. An
agent learns based on:
• What it is learning, such as concepts, problem-solving techniques, or game-
playing techniques, etc.
• The representation, predicate calculus, frame, script, and other elements
that were employed.
• The critic, who expresses their opinion of the agency in general.
Learning based on feedback is normally categorized as:
• Supervised learning
• Unsupervised learning
• Reinforcement Learning.
Supervised Learning: It has a function that learns from inputs and outputs that
are shown as examples. Some examples of this kind of learning are figuring
18
out useful things about the world from what you see, making a map from the Introduction to
current state's conditions to actions, and learning how the world changes over Artificial Intelligence
time.
Unsupervised Learning: There is no way to know what the inputs are and
what the expected outputs are in this type of learning. So, the learning system
has to figure out on its own which properties of objects it doesn't know about
are important. For example, figuring out the shortest way to get from one city to
another in a country you know nothing about.
Reinforcement (Rewards) for Learning: In some problems, the task or
problem can only be seen, not said. Also, the job may be an ongoing one. The
user tells the agent how happy or unhappy he or she is with the agent's work by
sometimes giving the agent positive or negative rewards (i.e., reinforcements).
The agent's job is to get as many rewards (or reinforcements) as possible. In a
simple goal-attainment problem, the agent can be rewarded when it reaches the
goal and punished when it doesn't.
You need an action plan to get the most out of this kind of task. But when it
comes to tasks that never end, the future reward might be endless, making it
hard to decide how to get the most out of it. One way to move forward in this
kind of situation is to ignore future rewards after a certain point. That is, the
agent may want rewards that will come soon more than rewards that will come
a long time from now.
Delayed-reinforcement learning is the process of determining how to behave
in situations when rewards are contingent on previous actions.
Reasoning: To reason is to draw conclusions that are appropriate for the situation.
Both deductive and inductive reasoning can be used to make conclusions.
An example of a deductive inference is, "Fred is either in the museum or in
the cafe. He isn't in the cafe, so he must be in the museum." An example of
inductive inference is, "In the past, accidents just like this one have been caused
by instrument failure." The difference between the two is that in the deductive
case, the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion, while
in the inductive case, the truth of the premises supports the conclusion that
instrument failure caused the accident, but more research could show that the
conclusion is actually false, even though the premises are true.
Programming computers to make inferences, especially deductive inferences,
has had a lot of success. But you can't say that a programme can reason just
because it can draw conclusions. To reason, you have to draw conclusions that
make sense for the task or situation at hand. Giving computers the ability to tell
what is important and what isn't is one of the hardest problems AI has to face.
Problem-solving: Problems usually go like this: given these data, find x. AI is
used to solve a very wide range of problems. Some examples are finding the
best way to win a board game, figuring out who someone is from a picture, and
planning a series of steps that will allow a robot to do a certain task.
Methods for solving problems can be either specific or general. A special-
purpose method is made to solve a specific problem and often takes advantage
of very specific parts of the situation where the problem is happening. A general
19
Artificial Intelligence method can be used to solve many different kinds of problems. The difference
– Introduction between the current state and the goal state can be reduced step by step with
means-end analysis, which is a technique used in AI. The programme chooses
actions from a list of ways, which for a simple robot might include pick up, put
down, move forward, move back, move left, and move right, until the current
state is changed into the goal state.
Perception: Perception involves scanning the surroundings with numerous
sense organs, genuine or artificial, and internal processes for analyzing the
scene into objects, their features, and relationships. The fact that one and the
same item can have various appearances depending on the angle from which
it is viewed, whether or not parts of it are projecting shadows, and so on,
complicates analysis.
Artificial perception has progressed to the point where a self-controlled car-like
device can drive at modest speeds on the open road, and a mobile robot can
search a suite of bustling offices for and remove empty drink cans. FREDDY, a
stationary robot with a moving TV 'eye' and a pincer 'hand,' was one of the first
systems to merge perception and action (constructed at Edinburgh University
during the period 1966-1973 under the direction of Donald Michie). FREDDY
could recognise a wide range of items and could be taught to create simple
artefacts from a jumble of parts, such as a toy automobile.
Language-understanding: A language is a set of signs with predetermined
meaning. For example, traffic signs establish a mini-language; it is a matter of
convention that the hazard-ahead sign signifies trouble ahead. This language-
specific meaning-by-convention is distinct from what is known as natural
meaning, as evidenced by phrases like "Those clouds signify rain" and "The
drop in pressure suggests the valve is malfunctioning."
The productivity of full-fledged human languages, such as English, separates
them from other types of communication, such as bird sounds and traffic sign
systems. A productive language is one that is rich enough to allow for the
creation of an infinite number of different sentences.
1.6 APPROACHES TO ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE
In the previous sections of this unit, we learned about various concepts of
Artificial Intelligence but now the question is “how do we measure if Artificial
Intelligence is making a machine to behave or act or perform like human being
or not?”
Perhaps, in the future, we will reach a point where AI can behave like humans,
but what guarantees do we have that this will continue? Is it possible to make
a system that acts like a human to test the certainty of Artificial Intelligence? "
The following approaches constitute the foundation for evaluating an AI entity's
human-likeness:
• Turing Test
• Approach of The Cognitive Modelling
20
• Approach of The Law of Thought Introduction to
• Approach of The Rational Agent
Let’s take a look at how these approaches perform:
In the past, researchers have worked hard to reach all four of these goals. But
it is hard to find a good balance between approaches that focus on people and
approaches that focus on logic. People are often "irrational" in the sense of
being "emotionally unstable," so it's important to tell the difference between
human and rational behaviour.
Researchers have found through their studies that a human-centered approach
must be an empirical science with hypotheses and experiments to prove them.
In a rationalist approach, math and engineering are used together. People in
each group sometimes say bad things about the work done by the other groups,
but the truth is that each way has led to important discoveries. Let's take a
closer look at each one. Acting humanly: The approach of the Turing Test: Alan
Turing, who is the most well-known name among the pioneers, thought about
how to test an A.I. product to see if it was intelligent. Alan Turing came up with
the idea for the Turing Test in 1950 (Turing).
Let's try to answer the question, "What is the Turing Test in AI?" Alan Turing,
who is the most well-known name among the pioneers, thought about how to
test an A.I. product to see if it was intelligent. Turing came up with a test,
which is now known as the Turing Test, to see if something is smart. Below is
a summary of the Turing test. See figure 2 for more details.
Figure 2: Turing Test
For the purpose of the test, There are three rooms that will be used for the test.
In one of the rooms, there is a computer system that is said to be smart. In each
of the other two rooms, there is one person sitting. One of the people, who we'll
call C, is supposed to ask questions of the computer and the other person, who
we'll call B, without knowing who each question is for and, of course, with
the goal of figuring out who the computer is. On the other hand, the computer
would reply in a way that would keep C from finding out who it is.
The only way for the three of them to talk to each other is through computer
terminals. This means that the identity of the computer or person B can only be
determined by how intelligent or not the responses are, not by any other human
or machine traits. If C can't figure out who the computer is, then the computer
must be smart. More accurately, the computer is smart if it can hide its identity
from C.
21
Artificial Intelligence Note that for a computer to be considered smart, it should be smart enough not
– Introduction to answer too quickly, at least not in less than a hundredth of a second, even if
it can do something like find the sum of two numbers with more than 20 digits
each.
Criticism to Turing Test: There have been a number of criticisms of the Turing
test as a machine intelligence test. The Chinese Room Test, developed by John
Searle, is one of the most well-known Criticism. The crux of the Chinese
Room Test, which we'll discuss below, is that convincing a system, say A, that
it possesses qualities of another system, say B, does not suggest that system
A actually possesses those qualities. For example, a male human's ability to
persuade people that he is a woman does not imply that he is capable of bearing
children like a woman.
The scenario for the Chinese Room Test takes place in a single room with two
windows. A Shakespeare scholar who knows English but not Chinese is sitting
in the room with a kind of Shakespeare encyclopaedia. The encyclopaedia is
printed so that for every pair of pages next to each other, one page is written in
Chinese characters and the other page is an English translation of the Chinese
page. Through one of the windows, Chinese characters with questions about
Shakespeare's writing are sent to the person inside. The person looks through
the encyclopaedia and, when he or she finds the exact copy of the sequence of
characters sent in, reads the English translation, thinks of the answer, and writes
it down in English for his or her own understanding. The person then looks in the
encyclopaedia for the corresponding sequence of Chinese characters and sends
the sequence of Chinese characters through the other window. Now, Searle says
that even though the scholar acts as though he or she knows Chinese, this is not
the case. Just because a system can mimic a quality doesn't mean that it has that
quality.
Thinking humanly: It is the cognitive modeling approach to thinking like a
human, from this point of view, the Artificial Intelligence model is based on
Human Cognition, which is the core of the human mind. This is done through
three approaches, which are as follows:
• Introspection, which means to look at our own thoughts and use those
thoughts to build a model.
• Psychological Experiments, which means running tests on people and
looking at how they act.
• Brain imaging, which means to use an MRI to study how the brain works in
different situations and then copy that through code.
Thinking rationally i.e. The laws of thought approach: This approach Relates
to use the laws of thought to think logically: The Laws of Thought are a long
list of logical statements that tell our minds how to work. This method, called
"Thinking Rationally," is based on these laws. By putting in place algorithms
for artificial intelligence, these laws can be written down and made to work. But
solving a problem by following the law is very different from solving a problem
in the real world. Here are the biggest problems with this approach.
22
Acting rationally i.e. The rational agent approach: In every situation, a Introduction to
rational agent approach tries to find the best possible outcome. This means that Artificial Intelligence
it tries to make the best decision it can given the circumstances. It means that
the agent approach is much more flexible and open to change. The Laws of
Thought approach, on the other hand, says that a thing must act in a way that
makes sense. But there are some situations where there is no logically right
thing to do and there are more than one way to solve the problem, each with
different results and trade-offs. At that point, the rational agent method works
well.
Q4 Briefly discuss the various components of intelligence
.....................................................................................................................
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Q5 How do we measure if Artificial Intelligence is making a machine to behave
or act or perform like human being or not?”
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Q6 What is Turing Test? What is the Criticism to the Turing Test?
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1.7 COMPARISON - ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE, MACHINE LEARNING &
DEEP LEARNING
Artificial intelligence is a big field that includes a lot of different ways of doing
things, from top-down (knowledge representation) to bottom-up (machine
learning). In recent years, people have often talked about three related ideas:
artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL)
(DL). AI is the most general term, machine learning is a part of AI, and deep
learning is a type of machine learning. Figure 5 shows how these three ideas
are related to each other. Figure 2(b) shows that AI is a broad field with many
different subdomains. However, AI's recent rise in popularity is largely due to
how well machine learning, especially deep learning, works. So, this entry will
talk about these two areas of AI: Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning
(DL) Figure 2 (a)
23
– Introduction
Deep Machine Artificial

Learning Learning Intelligence
Fig 2(a):AI, ML, DL
SUB DOMAINS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Figure 2(b) : Various Sub Domains of Artificial Intelligence
To make a system that is artificially intelligent, you have to carefully do Reverse-

Engineering of human traits and machine abilities. Also, to understand how an
AI system really works, you have to get a good grasp of the different parts of AI
and how they can be used in different industries or industrial fields.
Introduction to Machine Learning (ML): Machine learning is a branch of
artificial intelligence (AI). It explains one of the most important ideas in AI,
which has to do with learning through experience and not through being taught.
One of the most recent advances in AI, this way of learning is made possible by
applying machine learning to very large data sets. Machine learning algorithms
find patterns and learn how to make predictions and recommendations by
using data and experiences instead of explicit programming instructions. The
algorithms also change as they get new data and learn from their experiences.
This makes them more effective over time.
Algorithms for machine learning are based on ways that people learn from their
experiences. This means that they are programmed to learn from what they
do and get better at what they do. They don't need to be told what to do to get
the desired results. They are set up so that people can learn by looking at the
data sets they can access and comparing what they see to examples of the final
results. They also look for patterns in the output and try to figure out how to use
the different parts to get the output they want.
ML shows a machine how to draw conclusions and make decisions based on
what it has learned in the past. It looks for patterns and analyses past data to
figure out what these patterns mean so that a possible conclusion can be reached
without the need for human experience. Businesses save time and make better
decisions by using automation to evaluate data and come to conclusions.
24
Introduction to
Figure 3 :Machine Learning : Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics
Introduction to Deep Learning (DL) Deep Learning is a subfield of machine

learning that focuses on algorithms called "Artificial Neural Networks" (ANN)
that are based on how the brain is built and how it works. Deep Learning is a
type of machine learning that can handle a wider range of data sources, needs
less pre-processing of data, and often gives more accurate results than traditional
machine learning methods.
A neural network is made up of layers of software-based calculators called
"neurons" that are linked together. This neural network can take in a huge
amount of data and process it through many layers. At each layer, the network
learns more complex features of the data. The network can then decide what to
do with the data, find out if it was right, and use what it has learned to decide
what to do with new data. Deep learning is a way of programming computers
that uses the way neural networks work to teach computers to do things that
humans do naturally. So, Deep Learning is a way to teach a computer model to
run classification algorithms based on an image, text, or sound. Once a neural
network knows what an object looks like, it can spot that object in a new picture.
Deep learning is becoming more popular because its models can get better
results. It uses large sets of labeled data and neural network architectures to
train the models..
Q7 Compare Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep
Learning (DL).
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.....................................................................................................................
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25
Artificial Intelligence Q8 Compare Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive analytics performed
– Introduction under Machine Learning.
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1.8 APPLICATION AREAS OF ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS
Artificial intelligence is the most important factor in the transformation of
economies straight from the ground up, and it is contributing as an efficient
alternative. It has a lot of potential to perform optimization in any industry,
whether it smart cities or the health sector or agriculture or any other prospective
sector of relevance, and below we have included a few of the systems in which
AI is functioning as the major source of competitive advantage:
a) Healthcare: The application of AI in healthcare can help address issues of
high barriers to access to healthcare facilities, particularly in rural areas that
suffer from poor connectivity and a limited supply of healthcare professionals.
This is especially true in areas where the supply of healthcare professionals is
limited. The deployment of use cases like as AI-driven diagnostics, personalised
treatment, early diagnosis of potential pandemics, and imaging diagnostics,
amongst others, is one way to accomplish this goal.
Figure 4: Potential Use of AI in Health Care
b) Agriculture: AI has the potential to bring in a food revolution while

simultaneously satisfying the ever-increasing need for food (global need to
produce 50 percent more food and cater to an additional 2 billion people by
2050 as compared to today). It also has the ability to resolve issues such as
inadequate demand prediction, a lack of secure irrigation, and the abuse or
misuse of pesticides and fertilizers. These are only some of the problems that
it could solve. The increase of crop output through real-time advising is one
example of a use case. Other use cases include the advanced detection of pest
infestations and the forecast of crop prices to advise sowing methods.
26
Introduction to
Figure 5: AI for Precision Farming -
All of the stages of the agricultural value chain indicated above in figure 5 have
the potential for the application of artificial intelligence and other associated
technologies to have an impact on the levels of production and efficiency at
those stages.
c) Smart Mobility, including Transports and Logistics: Autonomous fleets for
ride sharing, semi-autonomous features such as driver assistance, and predictive
engine monitoring and maintenance are all possible use cases for smart mobility,
which includes transportation and logistics. Other areas where AI can have a
positive impact include self-driving trucks and delivery, as well as better traffic
control.
d) Retail: The retail industry was one of the first to use AI solutions. For
example, personalised suggestions, browsing based on user preferences, and
image-based product search have all been used to improve the user experience.
Other use cases include predicting what customers will want, keeping track of
inventory better, and managing deliveries more efficiently.
e) Manufacturing: AI-based solutions are expected to help the manufacturing
industry the most. This will make possible the "Factory of the Future" by
allowing flexible and adaptable technical systems to automate processes and
machinery that can respond to new or unexpected situations by making smart
decisions. Impact areas include engineering (AI for R&D), supply chain
management (predicting demand), production (AI can cut costs and increase
efficiency), maintenance (predictive maintenance and better use of assets),
quality assurance (e.g., vision systems with machine learning algorithms
to find flaws and differences in product features), and in-plant logistics and
warehousing.
f) Energy: In the energy sector, possible use cases include modelling and
forecasting the energy system to make it less unpredictable and make balancing
27
Artificial Intelligence and using power more efficient. In renewable energy systems, AI can help store
– Introduction energy through smart metres and intelligent grids. It can also make photovoltaic
energy more reliable and less expensive. AI could also be used to predict
maintenance of grid infrastructure, just like it is in manufacturing.
g) Smart Cities: Integrating AI into newly built smart cities and infrastructure
could also help meet the needs of a population that is moving to cities quickly
and improve the quality of life for those people. Some possible use cases include
controlling traffic to reduce traffic jams and managing crowds better to improve
security.
h) Education and Skilling: Quality and access problems in the education
sector might be fixed by AI. Possible uses include adding to and improving the
learning experience through personalized learning, automating and speeding
up administrative tasks, and predicting when a student needs help to keep them
from dropping out or to suggest vocational training.
i) Financial industry: The financial industry also uses AI. For example, it helps
the fraud department of a bank find and flag suspicious banking and finance
activities like unusual debit card use and large account deposits. AI is also used
to make trading easier and more efficient. This is done by making it easier to
figure out how many securities are being bought and sold and how much they
cost.
Top Used Applications of Artificial Intelligence
• Tools and checkers for plagiarism
• Recognizing faces;
• Putting an AI autopilot on commercial planes
• Applications for sharing rides (E.g.: Uber, Lyft)
• E-mail spam filters; voice-to-text features; search suggestions
• Google's predictions based on AI (E.g.: Google Maps)
• Protecting against and stopping fraud.
• Smart personal assistants (E.g.: Siri, Alexa)
There are various ways to use artificial intelligence. The technology can be used
in different industries and sectors, but the adoption of AI by different sectors has
been affected by technical and regulatory challenges, but the biggest factor has
been how it will affect business.
1.9 INTELLIGENT AGENTS

An agent may be thought of as an entity that acts, generally on behalf of someone
else. More precisely, an agent is an entity that perceives its environment through
sensors and acts on the environment through actuators. Some experts in the
field require an agent to be additionally autonomous and goal directed also.
A percept may be thought of as an input to the agent through its censors, over a
unit of time, sufficient enough to make some sense from the input.
28
Percept sequence is a sequence of percepts, generally long enough to allow the Introduction to
agent to initiate some action. Artificial Intelligence
In order to further have an idea about what a computer agent is, let us consider
one of the first definitions of agent, which was coined by John McCarthy and
his friends at MIT.
A software agent is a system which, when given a goal to be achieved, could
carry out the details of the appropriate (computer) operations and further, in
case it gets stuck, it can ask for advice and can receive it from humans, may
even evaluate the appropriateness of the advice and then act suitably.
Essentially, a computer agent is a computer software that additionally has the
following attributes:
(i) it has autonomous control i.e., it operates under its own control
(ii) it is perceptive, i.e., it is capable of perceiving its own environment
(iii) it persists over a long period of time
(iv) it is adaptive to changes in the environment and
(v) it is capable of taking over others’ goals.
As the concept of Intelligent Agents is of relatively new, different pioneers and
other experts have been conceiving and using the term in different ways. There
are two distinct but related approaches for defining an agent. The first approach
treats an agent as an ascription i.e., the perception of a person (which includes
expectations and points of view) whereas the other approach defines an agent
on the basis of the description of the properties that the agent to be designed is
expected to possess.
Let us first discuss the definition of agent according to first approach. Among
the people who consider an agent as an ascription, a popular slogan is “Agent
is that agent does”. In everyday context, an agent is expected to act on behalf
of someone to carry out a particular task, which has been delegated to it. But to
perform its task successfully, the agent must have knowledge about the domain in
which it is operating and also about the properties of its current user in question.
In the course of normal life, we hire different agents for different jobs based on
the required expertise for each job. Similarly, a non-human intelligent agent
also is imbedded with required expertise of the domain as per requirements of
the job under consideration. For example, a football-playing agent would be
different from an email-managing agent, although both will have the common
attribute of modeling their user.
According to the second approach, an agent is defined as an entity, which
functions continuously and autonomously, in a particular environment, which
may have other agents also. By continuity and autonomy of an agent, it is
meant that the agent must be able to carry out its job in a flexible and intelligent
fashion and further is expected to adapt to the changes in its environment
without requiring constant human guidance or intervention. Ideally, an agent
that functions continuously in an environment over a long period of time would
also learn from its experience. In addition, we expect an agent, which lives in a
29
Artificial Intelligence multi-agent environment, to be able to communicate and cooperate with them,
– Introduction and perhaps move from place to place in doing so.
According to the second approach to defining agent, an agent is supposed to
possess some or all of the following properties:
 Reactivity: The ability of sensing the environment and then acting
accordingly.
 Autonomy: The ability of moving towards its goal, changing its moves or
strategy, if required, without much human intervention.
 Communicating ability: The ability to communicate with other agents and
humans.
 Ability to coexist by cooperating: The ability to work in a multi-agent
environment to achieve a common goal.
 Ability to adapt to a new situation: Ability to learn, change and adapt to the
situations in the world around it.
 Ability to draw inferences: The ability to infer or conclude facts, which
may be useful, but are not available directly.
 Temporal continuity: The ability to work over long periods of time.
 Personality: Ability to impersonate or simulate someone, on whose behalf
the agent is acting.
 Mobility: Ability to move from one environment to another.
Task environments or problem environments are the environments, which
include all the elements involved in the problems for which agents are thought
of as solutions. Task environments will vary with every new task or problem
for which an agent is being designed. Specifying the task environment is a
long process which involves looking at different measures or parameters.
Next, we discuss a standard set of measures or parameters for specifying a task
environment under the heading PEAS.
PEAS (Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors)
For designing an agent, the first requirement is to specify the task environment
to the maximum extent possible. The task environment for an agent to solve
one type of problems, may be described by the four major parameters namely,
performance (which is actually the expected performance), environment (i.e.,
the world around the agent), actuators (which include entities through which the
agent may perform actions) and sensors (which describes the different entities
through which the agent will gather information about the environment).
The four parameters may be collectively called as PEAS. We explain these
parameters further, through an example of an automated agent, which we will
preferably call automated public road transport driver. This is a much more
complex agent than the simple boundary following robot which we have already
discussed.
Example (An Automated Public Road Transport Driver Agent)
30
We describe the task environment of the agent on the basis of PEAS. Introduction to
Performance Measures: Some of the performance measures which can easily be
perceived of an automated public road transport driver would be:
 Maximizing safety of passengers
 Maximizing comfort of passengers
 Ability to reach correct destination
 Ability to minimize the time to reach the destination Obeying traffic rules
 Causing minimum discomfort or disturbance to other agents
 Minimizing costs, etc.
Environment (or the world around the agent) We must remember that the
environment or the world around the agent is extremely uncertain or open ended.
There are unlimited combinations of possibilities of the environment situations,
which such an agent could face. Let us enumerate some of the possibilities or
circumstances which an agent might face:
 Variety of roads e.g., from 12-lane express-ways, freeways to dusty rural
bumpy roads; different road rules including the ones requiring left-hand
drive in some parts of the world and right-hand drive-in other parts.
 The degree of knowledge of various places through which and to which
driving is to be done.
 Various kinds of passengers, including high cultured to almost ruffians etc.
 All kind of other traffic possibly including heavy vehicles, ultra-modern
cars, three-wheelers and even bullock carts.
Actuators: These include the following:
 Handling steering wheel, brakes, gears and accelerator
 Understanding the display screen
 A device or devices for all communication required
Sensors: The agent acting as automated public road transport driver must
have some way of sensing the world around it i.e., the traffic around it, the
distance between the automobile and the automobiles ahead of it and its speed,
the speeds of neighboring vehicles, the condition of the road, any turn ahead
etc. It may use sensors like odometer, speedometer, sensors telling the different
parameters of the engine, Global Positioning System (GPS) to understand its
current location and the path ahead. Also, there should be some sort of sensors
to calculate its distance from other vehicles etc.
We must remember that the agent example the automated public road transport
driver, which we have considered above, is quite difficult to implement.
However, there are many other agents, which operate in comparatively simpler
and less dynamic environments, e.g., a game playing robot, an assembly line
robot control, and an image processing agent etc.
31
Artificial Intelligence In respect of the design and development of intelligent agents, with the passage
– Introduction of time, the momentum seems to have shifted from hardware to software, the
letter being thought of as a major source of intelligence. But, obviously, some
sort of hardware is essentially needed as a home to the intelligent agent.
There are two parts of an agent or its structure:
• A (hardware) device with sensors and actuators in which that agent will
reside, called the architecture of the agent.
• An agent program that will convert or map the percepts in to actions.
Also, the agent program and its architecture are related in the sense that for a
different agent architecture a different type of agent program is required and
vice-versa. For example, in case of a boundary following robot, if the robot
does not have the capability of sensing adjacent cells to the right, then the agent
program for the robot has to be changed.
Next, we discuss different categories of agents, which are differentiated from
each other on the basis of their agent programs. Capability to write efficient
agent programs is the key to the success for developing efficient rational agents.
Although the table driven approach (in which an agent acts on the basis of the
set of all possible percepts by storing these percepts in tables) to design agents
is possible yet the approach of developing equivalent agent programs is found
much more efficient.
Next, we discuss some of the general categories of agents based on their agents’
programs, Agents can be grouped into five classes based on their degree of
perceived intelligence and capability. All these agents can improve their
performance and generate better action over the time. These are given below:
 SR (Simple Reflex) agents
 Model Based reflex agents
 Goal-based agents
 Utility based agents
 Stimulus-Response Agents
 Learning agents
SR (Simple Reflex) agents: These are the agents or machines that have no
internal state (i.e., the don’t remember anything) and simply react to the current
percepts in their environments. An interesting set of agents can be built, the
behaviour of the agents in which can be captured in the form of a simple set
of functions of their sensory inputs. One of the earliest implemented agents of
this category was called Machina Speculatrix. This was a device with wheels,
motor, photo cells and vacuum tubes and was designed to move in the direction
of light of less intensity and was designed to avoid the direction of the bright
light. A boundary following robot is also an SR agent. For an automobile-
driving agent also, some aspects of its behavior like applying brakes immediately
on observing either the vehicle immediately ahead applying brakes or a human
being coming just in front of the automobile suddenly, show the simple reflex
32
capability of the agent. Such a simple reflex action in the agent program of the Introduction to
agent can be implemented with the help of simple condition-action rules. Artificial Intelligence
For example : IF a human being comes in front of the automobile suddenly

THEN apply breaks immediately.
Although implementation of SR agents is simple yet on the negative side
this type of agents has very limited intelligence because they do not store or
remember anything. As a consequence, they cannot make use of any previous
experience. In summary, they do not learn. Also they are capable of operating
correctly only if the environment is fully observable.
Model Based Reflex agents: Simple Reflex agents are not capable of handling
task environments that are not fully observable. In order to handle such
environments properly, in addition to reflex capabilities, the agent should,
maintain some sort of internal state in the form of a function of the sequence
of percepts recovered up to the time of action by the agent. Using the percept
sequence, the internal state is determined in such a manner that it reflects some
of the aspects of the unobservable environment. Further, in order to reflect
properly the unobserved environment, the agent is expected to have a model of
the task environment encoded in the agent’s program, where the model has the
knowledge about–
(i) the process by which the task environment evolves independent of the agent
and
(ii) effects of the actions of the agent have on the environment.
Thus, in order to handle properly the partial observability of the environment,
the agent should have a model of the task environment in addition to reflex
capabilities. Such agents are called Model-based Reflex Agents.
Goal Based Agents: In order to design appropriate agent for a particular type
of task, we know the nature of the task environment plays an important role.
Also, it is desirable that the complexity of the agent should be minimum and
just sufficient to handle the task in a particular environment. In this regard,
first we discussed the simplest type of agents, viz., Simple Reflex Agents. The
action of this type of agent is decided by the current precept only. Next, we
discussed the Model-Based Reflex Agents, for which an action is decided by
taking into consideration not only the latest precept, but the whole precept
history summarized in the form of internal state. Also, action for this type of
agent is also decided by taking into consideration the knowledge of the task
environment, represented by a model of the environment and encoded into the
agent’s program. However, in respect of a number of tasks, even this much
knowledge may not be sufficient for appropriate action. For example, when
we are going from city A to city B, in order to take appropriate action, it is not
enough to know the summary of actions and path which has taken us to some
city C between A and B. We also have to remember the goal of reaching to city
B.
Goal based agents are driven by the goal they want to achieve, i.e., their
actions are based on the information regarding their goal, in addition to,
of course, other information in the current state. This goal information is 33
Artificial Intelligence also a part of the current state description and it describes everything that is
– Introduction desirable to achieve the goal. As mentioned earlier, an example of a goal-based
agent is an agent that is required to find the path to reach a city. In such a case,
if the agent is an automobile driver agent, and if the road is splitting ahead into
two roads, then the agent has to decide which way to go to achieve its goal
of reaching its destination. Further, if there is a crossing ahead then the agent
has to decide, whether to go straight, to go to the left or to go to the right. In
order to achieve its goal, the agent needs some information regarding the goal
which describes the desirable events and situations to reach the goal. The agent
program would then use this goal information to decide the set of actions to take
in order to reach its goal.
Another desirable capability which a good goal-based agent should have been
that if an agent finds that a part of the sequence of the previous steps has taken
the agent away from its goal then it should be able to retract and start its actions
from a point which may take the agent toward the goal.
In order to take appropriate action, decision-making process in goal-based
agents may be simple or quite complex depending on the problem. Also, the
decision-making required by the agents of this kind needs some sort of
looking into the future. For example, it may analyze the possible outcome of a
particular action before it actually performs that action. In other words, we can
say that the agent would perform some sort of reasoning of if-then-else type,
e.g., an automobile driver agent having one of its goals as not to hit any vehicle
in front of it, when finds the vehicle immediately ahead of it slowing down may
not apply brakes with full force and instead may apply brakes slowly so that the
vehicles following it may not hit it.
As the goal-based agents may have to reason before they take an action,
these agents might be slower than other types of agents but will be more flexible
in taking actions as their decisions are based on the acquired knowledge which
can be modified also. Hence, as compared to SR agents which may require
rewriting of all the condition-action rules in case of change in the environment,
the goal-based agents can adapt easily when there is any change in its goal.
Utility Based Agents: Goal based agent’s success or failure is judged in terms
of its capability for achieving or not achieving its goal. A goal-based agent, for
a given pair of environment state and possible input, only knows whether the
pair will lead to the goal state or not. Such an agent will not be able to decide
in which direction to proceed when there are more than one conflicting goals.
Also, in a goal-based agent, there is no concept of partial success or somewhat
satisfactory success. Further, if there are more than one method of achieving a
goal, then no mechanism is incorporated in a Goal-based agent of choosing or
finding the method which is faster and more efficient one, out of the available
ones, to reach its goal.
A more general way to judge the success or happiness of an agent may be,
through assigning to each state a number as an approximate measure of its
success in reaching the goal from the state. In case, the agent is embedded with
such a capability of assigning such numbers to states, then it can choose, out
of the reachable states in the next move, the state with the highest assigned
34
number, out of the numbers assigned to various reachable states, indicating Introduction to
possibly the best chance of reaching the goal. Artificial Intelligence
It will allow the goal to be achieved more efficiently. Such an agent will be more
useful, i.e., will have more utility. A utility-based agent uses a utility function,
which maps each of the world states of the agent to some degree of success.
If it is possible to define the utility function accurately, then the agent will
be able to reach the goal quite efficiently. Also, a utility-based agent is able to
make decisions in case of conflicting goals, generally choosing the goal with
higher success rating or value. Further, in environments with multiple goals, the
utility-based agent quite likely chooses the goal with least cost or higher utility
goal out of multiple goals.
Stimulus-Response Agents: A stimulus response agent (or a reactive agent)
take input from the world through sensors, and then take action based on
those inputs through actuators. Between the stimulus and response, there is a
processing unit that can be arbitrarily complex. An example of such an agent is
one that controls a vehicle in a racing game: the agent “looks” at the road and
nearby vehicles, and then decides how much to turn and break. Such Agents
(Stimulus-Response Agents are the Reactive agents) represents a special
category of agents, which do not possess internal, symbolic models of their
environments; instead, they act/respond in a stimulus-response manner to the
present state of the environment in which they are embedded. These agents are
relatively simple and they interact with other agents in basic ways. Nevertheless,
complex patterns of behavior emerged from the interactions when the ensemble
of agents is viewed globally
Learning Agents: It is not possible to encode all the knowledge in advance,
required by a rational agent for optimal performance during its lifetime. This
is especially true of the real life, and not just theoretical, environments. These
environments are dynamic in the sense that the environmental conditions
change, not only due to the actions of the agents under considerations, but due
to other environmental factors also. For example, all of a sudden, a pedestrian
comes just in front of the moving vehicle, even when there is green signal for
the vehicle. In a multi-agent environment, all the possible decisions and actions
an agent is required to take, are generally unpredictable in view of the decisions
taken and actions performed simultaneously by other agents. Hence, the
ability of an agent to succeed in an uncertain and unknown environment
depends on its learning capability i.e., its capability to change approximately
its knowledge of the environment. For an agent with learning capability, some
initial knowledge is coded in the agent program and after the agent starts
operating, it learns from its actions the evolving environment, the actions of
its competitors or adversaries etc. so as to improve its performance in ever-
changing environment. If approximate learning component is incorporated in
the agent, then the knowledge of the agent gradually increases after each action
starting from its initial knowledge which was manually coded into it at the start.
Conceptually the learning agent consists of four components:
(i) Learning Component: It is the component of the agent, which on the basis
of the percepts and the feedback from the environment, gradually improves
the performance of the agent. 35
Artificial Intelligence (ii) Performance Component: It is the component from which all actions
– Introduction originate on the basis of external percepts and the knowledge provided by
the learning component.
The design of learning component and the design of performance element
are very much related to each other because a learning component is of no
use unless the performance component can be designed to convert the newly
acquired knowledge into better useful actions.
(iii) Critic Component: This component finds out how well the agent is
doing with respect to a certain fixed performance standard and it is also
responsible for any future modifications in the performance component.
The critic is necessary to judge the agent’s success with respect to the chosen
performance standard, especially in a dynamic environment. Forexample,
in order to check whether a certain job is accomplished, the critic will not
depend on external percepts only but it will also compare the current state
to the state, which indicates the completion of that task.
(iv) Problem Generator Component: This component is responsible for
suggesting actions (some of which may not be optimal) in order to gain
some fresh and innovative experiences. Thus, this component allows the
agent to experiment a little by traversing sometimes uncharted territories by
choosing some new and suboptimal actions. This may be useful, because
the actions which may seem suboptimal in a short run, may turn out to be
much better in the long run.
In the case of an automobile driver agent, this agent would be of little use if it
does not have learning capability, as the environment in which it has to operate
is totally dynamic and unpredictable in nature. Once the automobile driver
agent starts operating, it keeps on learning from its experiences, both
positive and negative. If faced with a totally new and previously unknown
situation, e.g., encountering a vehicle coming from the opposite direction on
a one-way road, the problem generator component of the driver agent might
suggest some innovative action to tackle this new situation. Moreover, the
learning becomes more difficult in the case of an automobile driver agent,
because the environment is only partially observable.
Different Forms of Learning in Agents: The purpose of embedding learning
capability in an agent is that it should not depend totally on the knowledge
initially encoded in it and on the external percepts for its actions. The agent
learns by evaluating its own decisions and/or making observations of new
situations it encounters in the ever-changing environment.
There may be various criteria for developing learning taxonomies. The criteria
may be based on –
• The type of knowledge learnt, e.g., concepts, problem-solving or game
playing,
• The type of representation used, e.g., predicate calculus, rules or frames,
• The area of application, e.g., medical diagnosis, scheduling or prediction.
36
☞ Check Your Progress 4 Introduction to
Q9 What are Intelligent agents in AI? Briefly discuss the properties of Agents.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
Q10 What are Task environments? Briefly discuss the standard set of measures
or parameters for specifying a task environment under the heading PEAS.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
1.10 SUMMARY
In this unit we learned about the difference between knowledge and intelligence
and also pointed out the meaning of Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with the
application of AI systems in various fields. The unit also covers the historical
development of the field of AI systems. Along with the development of the AI
as a discipline, the need of classification of AI systems was felt, and hence the
unit discussed the classification of the AI systems in detail. Further, the unit
discussed about the concepts of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning
(ML) and Deep Learning (DL). Finally, the unit discussed the components
of Intelligence, which was extended for the understanding of the concepts of
Intelligent Agents, with special emphasis on Stimulus - Response Agents
1.11 SOLUTIONS/ANSWERS
Q1 How Knowledge differs from intelligence? What do you understand by the
term Artificial Intelligence (AI) ? List the various technologies and their
corresponding illustrative solutions.
Sol- Refer section 1.3
Q2 Classify AI on the basis of the functionalities of AI
Q3 Compare ANI, AGI and ASI, in context of AI
Q4 Briefly discuss the various components of intelligence
Sol – Refer Section 1.5
37
Artificial Intelligence Q5 How do we measure if Artificial Intelligence is making a machine to behave
– Introduction or act or perform like human being or not ?”
Q6 What is Turing Test? What is the Criticism to the Turing Test ?
Q7 Compare Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep
Learning (DL).
Q8 Compare Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive analytics performed
under Machine Learning.
Q9 What are Intelligent agents in AI? Briefly discuss the properties of Agents.
Q10 What are Task environments? Briefly discuss the standard set of measures
or parameters for specifying a task environment under the heading PEAS.
1.12 FURTHER READINGS

1. Ela Kumar, “Artificial Intelligence”, IK International Publications
2. E. Rich and K. Knight, “Artificial intelligence”, Tata Mc Graw Hill
Publications
3. N.J. Nilsson, “Principles of AI”, Narosa Publ. House Publications
4. John J. Craig, “Introduction to Robotics”, Addison Wesley publication
5. D.W. Patterson, “Introduction to AI and Expert Systems" Pearson
publication
38
UNIT 2 PROBLEM SOLVING USING SEARCH Introduction to
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Introduction to State Space Search
2.2.1 Problem Formulation
2.2.2 Structure of a State space
2.2.3 Problem solution of State space
2.3.4 Searching for solution in state spaces formulated
2.3 Formulation of 8 puzzle problem from AI perspective

2.4 N-queen’s problem- Formulation and Solution
2.4.1 Formulation of 8 Queen’s problem
2.4.2 State space tree for 4-Queen’s problem
2.4.3 Backtracking approach to solve N Queen’s problem
2.5 Two agent search: Adversarial search

2.5.1 Elements of Game playing search
2.5.2 Types of algorithms in Adversarial search
2.6 Minimax search strategy

2.6.1 Minimax algorithm
2.6.2 Working of Minimax algorithm
2.6.3 Properties of Minimax algorithm
2.6.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Minimax search
2.7 Alpha-Beta Pruning algorithm

2.7.1 Working of Alpha-Beta pruning
2.7.2 Move Ordering of Alpha-Beta pruning
2.8 Summary
2.10 Further readings
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Many AI-based applications need to figure out how to solve problems. In the
world, there are two types of problems. First, the problem which can be solved
by using deterministic procedure and the success is guaranteed. But most real-
world problems can be solved only by searching a solution. AI is concerned
with these second types of problems solving.
39
Artificial Intelligence To build a system to solve a problem, we need to
– Introduction
 Define the problem precisely-find initial and final configuration for
acceptable solution to the problem.
 Analyse the problem-find few important features that may have impact on
the appropriateness of various possible techniques for solving the problem
 Isolate and represent task knowledge necessary to solve the problem
 Choose the best problem-solving technique(s) and apply it to the particular
problem.
To provide a formal description of a problem, we need to do the following:
a) Define a state space that contains all the possible configurations of the
relevant objects.
b) Specify one or more states that describe possible situations, from which the
problem-solving process may start. These states are called initial states.
c) Specify one or more than one goal states.
d) Defining a set of rules for the actions (operators) that can be taken.
The problem can then be solved by using the rules, in combination with an
appropriate control strategy, to move through the problem space until a path
from an initial state to a goal state is found. This process is known as ‘search’.
Thus, search is fundamental to the problem-solving process. Search is a general
mechanism that can be used when a more direct method is not known. Search
provides the framework into which more direct methods for solving subparts
of a problem can be embedded. All Al problems are formulated as search
problems.
A problem space is represented by a directed graph, where nodes represent search
state and paths represent the operators applied to change the state. To simplify
search algorithms, it is often convenient to logically and programmatically
represent a problem space as a tree. A tree usually decreases the complexity of
a search at a cost. Here, the cost is due to duplicating some nodes on the tree
that were linked numerous times in the graph, e.g., node B and node D shown
in example below.
40
A tree is a graph in which any two vertices are connected by exactly one path. Problem Solving using
Alternatively, any connected graph with no cycles is a tree. Search
Before an AI problem can be solved it must be represented as a state space.

Here state means representation of elements at a given moment. Among all
possible states, there are two special states called initial state (the start point)
and final state (the goal state). A successor function (a set of operators)is used
to change the state. It is used to move from one state to another. A state space
is the set of all states reachable from the initial state. A state space essentially
consists of a set of nodes representing each state of the problem, arcs between
nodes representing the legal moves from one state to another, an initial state,
and a goal state. Each state space takes the form of a tree or a graph. In AI, a
wide range of problems can be formulated as search problem. The process of
searching means a sequence of action that take you from an initial state to a goal
state as sown in the following figure 1.
Fig 1: A sequence of action in a search space from initial to goal state.
So, State space is the one of the methods to represent the problem in AI. A set
of all possible states reachable from the initial state by taking some sequence of
action (using some operator) for a given problem is known as the state space of
the problem. A state space represents a problem in terms of states and operators
that change states”.
In this unit we examine the concept of a state space and the different search
process that can be used to explore the search space in order to find a solution
(Goal) state. In the worst case, search explores all possible paths between the
initial state and the goal state.
For better understanding of these definitions describe above, consider the
following 8-puzzle problem:
Eight-Puzzle problem Formulation from AI perspectives
initial state: some configuration of the 8-tiles on a 9-cell board.
operators (Action): it’s easier if we focus on the blank. There are 4 operators
that is, “Moving the blank” : UP, DOWN, LEFT and RIGHT.
Uniformed/Blind 1 2 Move 3 2
3 the
4 5 blank 4 1 5
6 7 8 up 6 7 8
Goal state: Tiles in a specific order
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
Solution: Optimal sequence of operators (Actions) 41

Artificial Intelligence Path costs:
– Introduction
cost of each action = 1
cost of a sequence of actions= the number of actions
A state space representation of 8-puzzle problem is shown in figure-2
Fig2: A state space representation of 8-puzzle problem

generated by “Move Blank” operator
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
• Understand the state space search
• Formulate the problems in the form of state space
• Understand how implicit state space can be unfolded during search
• Explain State space search representation for Water-Jug, 8-puzzle and
N-Queen’s problem.
• Solve N Queen’s Problem using Backtracking approach
• Understand adversarial search (two agent search)
• Differentiate between Minimax and Alpha-beta pruning search algorithm.
42
2.2 INTRODUCTION TO STATE SPACE SEARCH Problem Solving using
Search
It is necessary to represent an AI problem in the form of a state space before it
can be solved. A state space is the set of all states reachable from the initial state.
A state space forms a graph in which the nodes are states and the arcs between
nodes are actions. In state space, a path is a sequence of states connected by a
sequence of actions.
2.2.1 Structure of a state space:

The structures of state space are trees and graphs. A tree has one and only
one path from any point to any other point. Graph consists of a set of nodes
(vertices) and a set of edges (arcs). Arcs establish relationship (connections)
between the nodes, i.e., a graph has several paths to a given node. Operators are
directed arcs between nodes.
The method of solving problem through AI involves the process of defining the
search space, deciding start and goal states and then finding the path from start
state to goal state through search space.
Search process explores the state space. In the worst case, the search explores
all possible paths between the initial state and the goal state.
2.2.2 Problem Solution:

In a state space, a solution is a path from the initial state to a goal state or
sometime just a goal state. A numeric cost is assigned to each path. It also
gives the cost of applying the operators to the states. A path cost function is
used to measure the quality of solution and out of all possible solutions, an
optimal solution has the lowest path cost. The importance of cost depends on
the problem and the type of solution asked.
2.2.3 Problem formulation:

Many problems can be represented as state space. The state space of a problem
includes: an initial state, one or more goal state, set of state transition operator
(or a set of production rules), used to change the current state to another state.
This is also known as actions. A control strategy is used that specifies the order
in which the rules will be applied. For example, Depth-first search (DFS),
Breath-first search (BFS) etc. It helps to find the goal state or a path to the goal
state.
In general, a state space is represented by 4 tuples as follows: Ss: [S,s0,O,G]
Where S: Set of all possible states.
s0: start state (initial configuration) of the problem, s0∈S.
O: Set of production rules (or set of state transition operator) used to change
the state from one state to another. It is the set of arcs (or links) between nodes.
The production rule is represented in the form of a pair. Each pair consists
43
Artificial Intelligence of a left side that determines the applicability of the rule and a right side that
– Introduction describes the action to be performed, if the rule is applied.
G: Set of Goal state, G∈S.
The sequence of actions (or operators) is called a solution path. It is a path
from the initial state to a goal state. This sequence of actions leads to a number
of states, starting from initial state to a goal state, as {s0,s1,s2,……,sn∈G}. A
sequence of state is called a path. The cost of a path is a positive number. In
most of the cases the path cost is computed as the sum of the costs of each
action.
The following figure 3 shows a search process in a given state space.
Fig 3 State space with initial and goal node
We need to identify a sequence of actions that will turn the initial state s_0 into
the desired goal state G. State space is commonly defined as a directed graph or
as a tree in which each node is a state and each arc represents the application of
an operator transforming a state to a successor state.
2.2.4 Searching for Solutions

After formulating our problem, we are ready to solve it, this can be done by
searching through the state space for a solution, this search will be applied On
a search tree or generally a graph that is generated using the initial state and the
successor function.
Searching is applied to a search tree which is generated through state expansion,
that is applying the successor function to the current state, note that here we
mean by state a node in the search tree.
Generally, search is about selecting an option and putting the others aside for
later in case the first option does not lead to a solution. The choice of which
option to expand first is determined by the search strategy used.
Thus, the problem is solved by using the rules (operators), in combination with
an appropriate control strategy, to move through the problem space until a path
from initial state to a goal state is found. This process is known as search. A
44 solution path is a path in state space from s0(initial sate) to G (Goal state).
Example1: State space representation of Water-Jug problem (WJP): Problem Solving using
Search
Problem statement:
Given two jugs, a 4-gallon and a 3-gallon, both of which do not have measuring
indicators on them. The jugs can be filled with water with the help of a pump
that is available (as shown in figure 4)
The question is “how can you get exactly 2 gallons of water into 4-gallon jug”.
The water Jug Problem
Fig 4 The Water Jug problem
The state space or production rule of this problem can be defined as a collection
of ordered pairs of integers (x,y) where x=0,1,2,3,4and y= 0,1,2,or 3.
In the order pair (x,y), x is the amount of water in four-gallon jug and y is the
amount of water in the three-gallon jug.
State space: all possible combination of (x,y)
The start state is (0,0) and
Goalstate is (2,n),where n=0,1,2,3
The following table-1 shows the set of production rules (actions) that can be
used to change one state to another.
Table-1 : Production rules for Water Jug problem
Production Rules
Rule No Production Meaning
R1 (x,y │ x<4)→(4,y) Fill 4-gallon jug
R2 (x,y │ y<3)→(x,3) Fill 3-gallon jug
R3 (x,y │ x>0)→(0,y) Empty 4-gallon jug
R4 (x,y │ y>0)→(x,0) Empty 3-gallon jug
R5 (x,y│x+y≥4 and y>0) Pour water from 3-gallon jug
→(4,y-(4-x)) into 4-gallon jug until 4-gallon
jug is full
R6 (x,y│x+y≥3 and x>0) Pour water from 4-gallon jug
→(x-(3-y),3) into 3-gallon jug until 3-gallon
jug is full 45
– Introduction
R7 (x,y│x+y≤4 and y>0)→(x+y,0) Pour all water from 3-gallon
jug into 4-gallon jug.
R8 (x,y│x+y≤3 and x>0)→(0,x+y) Pour all water from 4-gallon
jug into 3-gallon jug.
R9 (x,y │ x>0)→(x-d,y) Pure some water d out from
4-gallon jug
R10 (x,y │ y>0)→(x,y-d) Pure some water d out from
3-gallon jug
The following 2 solutions are found for the problem “how can you get exactly 2
gallons of water into 4-gallon jug”, as shown in Table-2 and in Table-3.
Solution-1:
Table-2Getting exactly 2 gallons of water into 4-gallon jug (solution1)
4-gal jug 3-gal jug Rule applied

0 0 Initial state
4 0 R1 {fill 4-gal jug}
1 3 R6 {Pure all water from 4-gal jug to 3-gal jug
1 0 R4 {empty 3-gal jug}
0 1 R8 {Pour water from 4 to 3-gal jug}
4 1 R1 {Fill 4-gal jug}
2 3 R6 {Pour water from 4-gal jug to 3-gal jug until it
is full}
2 0 R4 {empty 3-gal jug}
Solution-2
Table-3Getting exactly 2 gallons of water into 4-gallon jug (solution2)
4-gal jug 3-gal jug Rule applied

0 0 Initial state
3 0 R7 {Pure all water from 3-gal jug to 4-gal jug
4 2 R5 {Pour from 3 to 4-gal jug until it is full}
0 2 R3 {Empty 4-gal jug}
2 0 R7 {Pour all water from 3-gal jug to 4-gal jug}
A state space tree for WJP with all possible solution is shown in figure 7.
46
Problem Solving using
[0,0] Search
[4,0] [0,3]
[4,3] [0,0] [1,3] [4,3] [0,0] [3,0]
[1,0] [3,3]
[0,1] [4,2]
[4,1] [0,2]
[2,3] [2,0]
Fig 5 all possible Solution of WJP using state space tree
2.3 FORMULATION OF 8 PUZZLE PROBLEM

The eight-tile puzzle consists of a 3-by-3 (3×3) square frame board which holds
eight (8) movable tiles numbered as 1 to 8. One square is empty, allowing the
adjacent tiles to be shifted. The objective of the puzzle is to find a sequence of
tile movements that leads from a starting configuration to a goal configuration
The Eight Puzzle Problem formulation:
Given a 3 × 3 grid with 8 sliding tiles and one “blank”
Initial state: some other configuration of the tiles, for example
3 1 2
4 5
6 7 8
Goal state:
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
Operator: Slide tiles (Move Blank) to reach the goal (as shown below). There
are 4 operators that is, “Moving the blank”:
Move the blank UP,
Move the blank DOWN,
Move the blank LEFT and
Move the blank RIGHT.
47
– Introduction 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 2
4 5 4 5 3 4 5
6 7 8 6 7 8 6 7 8
Fig6Moving Blank LEFT and then UP
Path Cost: Sum of the cost of each path from initial state to goal state. Here
cost of each action (blank move) = 1, so cost of a sequence of actions= the
number of actions. A optimal solution is one which has a lowest cost path.
Performing State-Space Search: Basic idea:
If the initial state is a goal state, return it.
If not, apply the operators to generate all states that are one step from the initial
state (its successors)
3 1 2 3 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2
4 5 4 1 5 3 7 5 4 5 4 5
6 7 8 6 7 8 6 8 6 7 8 6 7 8
initial state Its successors
Fig 7 All possible successors for a given initial state
Consider the successor (and their successors…) until you find a goal state.
Different search strategies consider the state in different orders. They may use
different data structures to store the states that have yet to be considered.
State-Space Search Tree for 8-Puzzle problem:
The predecessor reference connects the search nodes, creating a data structure
known as a tree.
3 1 2
4 5 Initial state
6 7 8
3 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2
4 1 5 4 7 5 4 5 4 5
6 7 8 6 2 6 7 8 6 7 8
. . . . . . . . .
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2
3 4 5 6 4 5 4 5
6 7 8 7 8 6 7 8
Fig 8 Tracing a tree bottom-up form Goal state to initial sate
48
When we reach a goal, we trace up the tree to get the solution i.e., the sequence Problem Solving using
of actions from the initial state to the goal. Search
Q.1 Find the minimum cost path for the 8-puzzle problem, where the start and
goal state are given as follows:
Initial State: {(1,2,3),(4,8,-),(7,6,5)}

Successor State: {(1,2,3),(4,8,5),(7,6,-)}; Move 5 up or – to down
{(1,2,3),(4,8,5),(7,-,6)}; Move 6 right or – to left
{(1,2,3),(4,-,5),(7,8,6)}; Move 8 down or – to up
{(1,2,3),(4,5,-),(7,8,6)}; Move 5 to left or – to right
Goal State: {(1,2,3),(4,5,6),(7,8,-)}; Move 6 to up or – to down
PATH COST=5
2.4 N QUEEN’S PROBLEM-FORMULATION AND

SOLUTION
The N-Queen problem is the problem of placing N Queen’s (Q1,Q2,Q3,….
Qn) on an N×N chessboard so that no two queens attack each other. The colour
of the queens is meaningless in this puzzle, and any queen is assumed to be
attack any other. So, a solution requires that no two queens share the same row,
column, or diagonal.
The N-queen problem must follow the following rules:
1. There is at most one queen in each column.
2. There is at most one queen in each row.
3. There is at most one queen in each diagonal.
Fig-9 No two queens placed on same row, column or diagonal
The N Queen’s problem was originally proposed in 1848 by the chess player
Max Bazzel, and over the years, many mathematicians, including Gauss have
49
Artificial Intelligence worked on this puzzle. In 1874, S. Gunther proposed a method of finding
– Introduction solutions by using determinants, and J.W.L. Glaisher refined this approach.
The solutions that differ only by summary operations (rotations and reflections)
of the board are counted as one. For 4 queen’s problems, there are 16c4 possible
arrangements on a 4×4 chessboard and there are only 2 possible solutions for 4
Queen’s problem. Note that,there are only 1 unique solution, out of 2 possible
solutions as second solution is just a mirror image of the first solution
Fig 10 Two possible solutions of 4-Queen’s problem
Similarly, the one possible solution for 8-queen’s problem is shown in figure
11.
The 8-queen problem is computationally very expensive since the total number
of possible arrangements of queen on a 8×8 chessboard is 64c8= 64!/(56! x 8!)
≈4.4×109. Note that, 8-Queens problem has 92 distinct solutions and 12 unique
solutions, as shown in table-5
Fig 11 One possible solution of 8 Queen’s problem
8-tuple = (4, 6, 8, 2, 7, 1, 3, 5)
The following table-4 summarizes the both distinct and unique solution for
the problem of 1-Queen to 26 Queens problem. In general, there is no known
formula to find the exact number of solutions for N queen’s problem.
Table-4 Solution of N Queen’s problem for N=1 to N=26, both
Unique and Distinct
No. of Unique Solution Total distinct solutions

Queen’s
1 1 1
2 0 0
3 0 0
4 1 2
5 2 10
50
6 1 4 Search
7 6 40
8 12 92
9 46 352
10 92 724
11 341 2,680
12 1787 14,200
13 9233 73,712
14 45,752 365,596
15 285,053 2,279,184
16 1,846,955 14,772,184
17 11,977939 95,815,104
18 83,263,591 666,090,624
19 621,012,754 4,968,057,848
20 4,878,666,808 39,029,188,884
21 39,333,324,973 314,666,222,712
22 336,376,244,042 2,691,008,701,644
23 3,029,242,658,210 24,233,937,684,440
24 28,439,272,956,934 227,514,171,973,736
25 275,986,683,743,434 2,207,893,435,808,352
26 2,789,712,466,510,289 22,317,699,616,364,044
2.4.1 Formulation of 4-Queen’s problem:

States: any arrangement of 0 to 4 queens on the board
Initial state: 0 queens on the board
Successor function: Add queen in any square
Goal test: 4 queens on the board, none attacked
For the initial state, there are 16 successors. At the next level, each of the states
has 15 successors, and so on down the line. This search tree can be restricted by
considering only those successors where No queens are attacking each other.
To do that, we have to check the new queen with all the other queens on the
board. In this way, the answer is found at a depth 4.For the sake of simplicity,
you can consider a problem of 4-Queen’s and see how 4-queen’s problem is
solved using the concept of “Backtracking”.
2.4.2 State space tree for 4 Queen’s Problem

We place queen row-by-row (i.e.,Q_1in row 1, Q_2 in row 2 and so on).
Backtracking gives “all possible solution”. If you want optimal solution, then
go for Dynamic programming.
Let’s see Backtracking method, there are (_4^16)C ways to place a queen on a
4x4 chess board as shown in the following state space tree (figure 12). In a tree,
the value (i,j) means in thei^(th )row, j^th queen is placed.
51
– Introduction
Fig 12 State-space tree showing all possible ways to place a queen on a 4x4 chess board
So, to reduce the size (not anywhere on chess board, since there are (_4^16)C
Possibilities), we place queen row-by-row, and no Queen in same column.This
tree is called a permutation tree (here we avoid same row or same columns but
allowing diagonals)
Total nodes=1+4+4×3+4×3×2+4×3×2×1=65
The edges are labeled by possible values of xi. Edges from level 1 to level 2
nodes specify the values for x1. Edges from level i to level i+1 are labeled with
the values of xi.
The solution space is defined by all paths from root node to leaf node. There are
4! = 24 leaf nodes are in the tree Nodes are numbered as depth first Search. The
state space tree for 4-Queen’s problem (avoid same row or same columns but
allowing diagonals) is shown in figure 13.
Fig13 State space tree for 4 queen’s problems (allowing same diagonal but not same
row and same column)
52
The two solutions are found in the tree, as Problem Solving using
Search
(x1,x2,x3,x4 )=(2,4,1,3) and
(x1,x2,x3,x4 )=(3,1,4,2), which is shown in figure-14
Fig 14 Two possible solutions of 4-Queen’s problem
Note that the second solution is just a mirror image of the first solution.
We can further reduce the search space, as shown in figure 6 by avoiding
diagonal also. Now you can avoid the same row, avoid same columns and
avoid same diagonals, while placing any queen. In this case, the state space
tree is look like as shown in figure 15.
Fig 15 State space tree for 4 queen’s problem (avoiding same row, columns, and
diagonal)
Note that Queens are placed row-by-row, that is,Q_1in row 1, Q_2 in row
2 and so on. In a tree, node (1,1) is a promising node (no queen attack) as
Q_1 is placed in 1st row and 1st column. Node (2,1) is non promising node,
because we cannot place Q_2in the same column (as Q_1 is already placed
in column 1). Note that nonpromising node is marked as ×. So, we try (2,2)
again nonpromising (due to same column), next try (2,3), it’s a promising
node, so proceed and try to place 3rd queen on 3rd row. But in 3rd row, all 53
Artificial Intelligence positions (3,1),(3,2),(3,3) and (3,4) are non promising and we cannot place the
– Introduction Q_3 in any of this position. So, we backtrack to (1,1) and try for (2,4) and so
on.Backtracking approach gives “all possible solution”. Figure 7 shows one
possible solution for 4-Queen’s problem as {(1,2),(2,4),(3,1),(4,3)}. This can
also be written as (x_1,x_2,x_3,x_4 )=(2,4,1,3). There are 2 possible solution
of 4-Queen’s problem. Another solution is (x_1,x_2,x_3,x_4 )=(3,1,4,2), which
is a mirror image of 1st solution.
2.4.3 Backtracking Approach to solve N queen’s Problem:

Consider the chess board squares indices of the 2-Dimentional array
[1…n,1…n]. we observe that every element on the same diagonal that rows
from the upper left to the right has same (row-column) value. It is called left
diaonals. Similarly, every elemnet on the same diagonal that goes from the
upper rigth to the lower left has same (row+column) value. This is called Right
Diagonals. For example consider a 5×5 chessboard as [1…5,1…5] (as shown
in figure 16).
Case1:(Left diagonal):- suppose queen’s are palced in same diadinal in
locations: (1,2),(2,3),(3,4),(4,5) or (1,4),(2,5) or any other same left diagonal
value. Observe that every element on the same diagonal has the same (row-
column)value. Similarly,
Case2:(right diagonal):- suppose queen’s are palced in same diadinal in
locations: (1,3),(2,2),(3,1) or (1,4),(2,3),(3,2),(4,1) or any other same right
diagonal value. Observe that every element on the same diagonal has the same
(row+column)value.
Fig 16 Left diagonal and right diagonal for 5×5 chessboard.
Suppose two queen’s are placed at position (i,j) and (k,l) then they are on the
same diagonal if and only if:
(i-j)=(k-l) or (j-l)=(i-k) -----------(1) [left diagonal]
(i+j)=(k+l) or (j-l)=(k-i) ----------- (2) [right diagonal]
From equation (1) and (2), we can combine and write a one condition to check
diagonal as: abs(j-l)=abs(i-k).
54
Algorithm NQueen(k,n)
Search
// This procedure prints all possible placement of n queen’s on n×n
//chessboard so that they are non-attacking.
{
1. for i=1 to n do
2. {
3. if place(k,i) then
4. {
5. x[k]=i;
6. if (k==n) then print(x[1….n])
7. else
8. NQueen(k+1,n);
9. }
10. }
11. }
Algorithm place(k,i)
// This algorithm return true, if a queen can be placed in kth row ith
//column. Else it return false. X[] is a global array. Abs® returns
//absolute value of r.
1. {
2. for j=1 to k-1 do
3. {
4.if(x[j]=i) // in the same column
5.Or (abs(x[j]-i)==abs(j-k))// in the
//same diagonal
6. Return false;
7. }
8. Return true;
9. }
55
Artificial Intelligence ☞ Check Your Progress 1
– Introduction
Q.1 What are the various factors need to be taken into consideration when
developing a statespace representation?
Q.2 Consider the following Missionaries and cannibal problem:
Three missionaries and three cannibals are side of a river, along with a
boat that can hold one or two people. Find a way to get everyone to the
other side, without ever leaving a group of missionaries outnumbered by
cannibals.
a) Formulate the missionaries and cannibal problem.
b) Solve the problem formulated in part (a)
c) Draw the state- space search graph for solving this problem.
Q.3 Draw a state space tree representation to solve Tower of Hanoi problem.
(Hint: You can take number of disk n=2 or 3).
Q.4 Draw the state space tree for the following 8-puzzle problem, where the
start and goal state are given below. Also Find the minimum cost path for
this 8-puzzle problem. Each blank move is having cost=1.
Q.5 Discuss a Backtracking algorithm to solve a N-Queen’s problem. Draw a

state space tree to solve a 4-Queen’s problem.
2.5 ADVERSARIAL SEARCH-TWO AGENT

SEARCH
In computer science, a search algorithm is an algorithm for finding an item
with specified properties among a collection of items. The items may be stored
individually as records in a database; or may be elements of a search space
defined by a mathematical formula or procedure.
Adversarial search is a game-playing technique where the agents are
surrounded by a competitive environment. A conflicting goal is given to the
agents (multiagent). These agents compete with one another and try to defeat
one another in order to win the game. Such conflicting goals give rise to the
adversarial search. Here, game-playing means discussing those games where
human intelligence and logic factor is used, excluding other factors such as
luck factor. Tic-tac-toe, chess, checkers, etc., are such type of games where no
luck factor works, only mind works.
Mathematically, this search is based on the concept of ‘Game Theory.’
According to game theory, a game is played between two players. To complete
56 the game, one has to win the game and the other loses automatically.’
Search
Techniques required to get the best optimal solution

There is always a need to choose those algorithms which provide the best
optimal solution in a limited time. So, we use the following techniques which
could fulfil our requirements:
 Pruning: A technique which allows ignoring the unwanted portions of a
search tree which make no difference in its final result.
 Heuristic Evaluation Function: It allows to approximate the cost value at
each level of the search tree, before reaching the goal node.
2.5.1 Elements of Game Playing search

To play a game, we use a game tree to know all the possible choices and to pick
the best one out. There are following elements of a game-playing:
• S0: It is the initial state from where a game begins.
• PLAYER (s): It defines which player is having the current turn to make a
move in the state.
• ACTIONS (s): It defines the set of legal moves that a player can make to
change the state.
• RESULT (s, a): It is a transition model which defines the result of a move.
• TERMINAL-TEST (s): It defines that the game has ended (or over) and
returns true. States where the game has ended are called terminal states.
• UTILITY (s,p): It defines the final value with which the game has ended.
This function is also known as Objective function or Payoff function.
This utility function gives a numeric value for the outcome of a game i.e.
For example, in chess, tic-tac-toe, we have two or three possible outcomes.
Either win or lose, or draw the match, which we can represent by the values
+1,-1 or 0. In other word we can say that (-1): if the PLAYER loses, (+1),
if the PLAYER wins and (0): If there is a draw between the PLAYERS.
Let’s understand the working of the elements with the help of a game tree
designed for tic-tac-toe. Here, the node represents the game state and edges
represent the moves taken by the players. The root of the tree is the initial state.
Next level is all of MAX’s moves, then next level is all of MIN’s moves and
so on. Note that root has 9 blank square (MAX), level 1 has 8 blank squares
(MIN), level 2 has 7 blank square (MAX) and so on. 57
Artificial Intelligence Objective:
– Introduction
Player1: Maximize outcome and Player2: Minimize outcome
Terminal (goal) state:
utility: -1, 0, +1 (that is win for X is +1 and win for O is -1 and 0 for draw. The
number on each leaf node indicates the utility value of the terminal state from
the point of view of MAX. High values are assumed to be good for MAX and
bad for MIN (which is how the players get their names). It is MAX’s job to use
the search tree to determine the best move. Note that if MAX win then Utility
value is +1, if MIN wins then utility value is -1 and if DRAW then utility value
is 0.
Fig 17A game-tree for tic-tac-toe
In a tic-tac-toe game playing, as shown in figure 17, we have the following

elements:
• INITIAL STATE (S0): The top node in the game-tree represents the initial
state in the tree and shows all the possible choice to pick out one.
• PLAYER (s): There are two players, MAX and MIN. MAX begins the
game by picking one best move and place X in the empty square box.
• ACTIONS (s): Both the players can make moves in the empty boxes
chance by chance.
• RESULT (s, a): The moves made by MIN and MAX will decide the
outcome of the game.
• TERMINAL-TEST(s): When all the empty boxes will be filled, it will be
the terminating state of the game.
• UTILITY: At the end, we will get to know who wins: MAX or MIN, and
accordingly, the price will be given to them. If MAX win then Utility value
is +1, if MIN wins then utility value is -1 and if DRAW then utility value is
58 0.
2.5.2 Issues in Adversarial search Problem Solving using
Search
In a normal search, we follow a sequence of actions to reach the goal or to
finish the game optimally. But in an adversarial search, the result depends on
the players which will decide the result of the game. It is also obvious that the
solution for the goal state will be an optimal solution because the player will try
to win the game with the shortest path and under limited time. Minimaxsearch
Algorithmis an example of adversarial search. Alpha-beta Pruning in this is
used to reduce search space.
2.6 MIN-MAX SEARCH STRATEGY

In artificial intelligence, minimax is a decision-making strategy under game
theory, which is used to minimize the losing chances in a game and to maximize
the winning chances. This strategy is also known as ‘Min-Max,’ ’MM,’ or
‘Saddle point.’ Basically, it is a two-player game strategy where if one wins,
the other lose the game. This strategy simulates those games that we play in
our day-to-day life. Like, if two persons are playing chess, the result will be in
favour of one player and will againstthe other one. The person who will make
his best try, efforts as well as cleverness, will surely win.
We can easily understand this strategy via game tree-where nodes are the states
of the game, and edges are moves that were made by the players in the game.
Players will be two namely:
• MIN: Decrease the chances of MAX to win the game.
• MAX: Increases his chances of winning the game.
They both play the game alternatively, i.e., turn by turn and following the above
strategy, i.e., if one wins, the other will definitely lose it. Both players look at
one another as competitors and will try to defeat one-another, giving their best.
In minimax strategy, the result of the game or the utility value is generated by
a heuristic function by propagating from the initial node to the root node. It
follows the backtracking technique and backtracks to find the best choice.
MAX will choose that path which will increase its utility value and MIN will
choose the opposite path which could help it to minimize MAX’s utility value.
2.6.1 MINIMAX Algorithm:

MINIMAX algorithm is a backtracking algorithm where it backtracks to pick
the best move out of several choices. MINIMAX strategy follows the DFS
(Depth-first search) concept. Here, we have two players MIN and MAX, and
the game is played alternatively between them, i.e., when MAX made a move,
then the next turn is of MIN. It means the move made by MAX is fixed and, he
cannot change it. The same concept is followed in DFS strategy, i.e., we follow
the same path and cannot change in the middle. That’s why in MINIMAX
algorithm, instead of BFS, we follow DFS. The following steps are used in
MINMAX algorithm:
• Generate the whole game tree, all the way down to the terminal states.
• Apply the utility function to each terminal state to get its value.
59
Artificial Intelligence • Use the utility of the terminal states to determine the utility of the nodes one
– Introduction level higher up in the search tree.
• Continue backing up the values from the leaf nodes toward the root, one
layer at a time.
• Eventually, the backed-up values reached the top of the tree; at that point,
MAX chooses the move that leads to the highest value.
This is called a minimax decision, because it maximizes the utility under the
assumption that the opponent will play perfectly to minimize it. To better
understand the concept, consider the following game tree or search tree as
shown in figure 18.
Fig 18 Two player game tree
In the above figure 2, the two players MAX and MIN are there. MAX starts
the game by choosing one path and propagating all the nodes of that path. Now,
MAX will backtrack to the initial node and choose the best path where his
utility value will be the maximum. After this, its MIN chance. MIN will also
propagate through a path and again will backtrack, but MIN will choose the
path which could minimize MAX winning chances or the utility value.
So, if the level is minimizing, the node will accept the minimum value from the
successor nodes. If the level is maximizing, the node will accept the maximum
value from the successor.
In other word we can say that - Minimax is a decision rule algorithm, which is
represented as a game-tree. It has applications in decision theory, game theory,
statistics and philosophy. Minimax is applied in two player games. The one is
the MIN and the other is the MAX player. By agreement the root of the game-
tree represents the MAX player. It is assumed that each player aims to do the
best move for himself and therefore the worst move for his opponent in order
to win the game. The question may arise “How to deal with the contingency
problem?” The answer is:
• Assuming that the opponent is rational and always optimizes its behaviour
(opposite to us) we consider the best response. opponent's
• Then the minimax algorithm determines the best move
60
2.6.2 Working of Minimax Algorithm: Problem Solving using
Search
Minimax is applicable for decision making for two agent systems participating
in competitive environment. These two players P1 and P2, also known as
MIN and MAX player, maximizes and minimizes utility value of heuristics
function. Algorithm uses recursion to search through game tree and compute
minimax decision for current state. We traverse the complete game tree in
a depth-first search (DFS) manner to explore the node. MAX player always
select the maximum value and MIN always select the minimum value from its
successor’s node. The initial value of MAX and MIN is set to as MAX=-∞ and
MIN=+∞. This is a worst value assigned initially and as the algorithm progress
these values are changes and finally, we get the optimal value.
Example1: Let’s take an example of two-player game tree search (shown in
figure 19a) to understand the working of Minimax algorithm.
Fig 19a Two player game tree
The initial value of MAX and MIN is set to as MAX=-∞ and MIN=+∞. The
tree is traversed in a DFS manner. So, we start from node A, then move to node
B and then D.
Now at node D[MAX=-∞]. Now, at D, it first checks the left child (which is
a terminal node) with value-1. This node returns a value of MAX=(-∞,-1)=-1.
So,modified value at node D is [MAX=-1]. Next, we proceedfor right child of
Node D (which has terminal value 8) and compare this value (8) with previous
value at node D. that is MAX=max(-1,8)=8. So final value at node D is 8.
Similarly,
the value at node E (which is a Max node) is MAX=max(-∞,-3)=-3,then max(-
3,-1)=-1.
So, at node B, which is at MIN level, select the minimum value from its
successor node D and E as MIN=min(8,-1)=-1
Similarly, the value at node F (which is also Max node) is MAX=max(-
∞,2)=2,then max(2,1)=2, and
The value at node G (which is also MAX node) is
61
Artificial Intelligence MAX=max(-∞,-3)=-3,and thenmax(-3,4)=4.
– Introduction
Thus, at node C, which is also at MIN level, select the minimum value from its
successor node F and G as MIN=min(2,4)=2.
Now, the value at node B and C is -1 and 2 respectively.
Thus, finally, the value at node A, which is at MAX level, is
MAX=max(-1,2)=2.
The final game tree with max or min value at each node and optimal path, with
shaded line A→C→F→2, is shown in the following figure 19(b).
Fig 19(b) Game tree with final value at each node with optimal path
Example2 Consider the following two-player game tree search. The working
of Minimax algorithmis illustrated from fig (a)-fig(k)
Fig (f)
Fig (a) Fig (g)
Fig (b) Fig (h)

62
Search
Fig (c) Fig (i)
Fig (d) Fig (j)
Fig (e) Fig (k)
2.6.3 Properties of Minimax Algorithm:

1. Complete: Minimax algorithm is complete, if the tree is finite.
2. Optimal: If a solution found for an algorithm is guaranteed to be the best
solution (lowest path cost) among all other solutions, then such a solution
is said to be an optimal solution. Minimax is Optimal.
3. Time complexity: O(b^m ), where b: Branching Factor and m is the
maximum depth of the game tree.
4. Space complexity: O(bm)
For example, in chess playing game b = 35, m ≈100 for “reasonable” games. In
this case exact solution completely infeasible
2.6.4 Advantages and disadvantages of Minimax search

Advantages:
• Returns an optimal action, assuming perfect opponent play.
• Minimax is the simplest possible (reasonable) game search algorithm.
Disadvantages:
• It's completely infeasible in practice.
• When the search tree is too large, we need to limit the search depth and
apply an evaluation function to the cut-off states.
63
– Introduction
2.7 ALPHA-BETA PRUNING
The drawback of Minimax strategy is that it explores each node in the tree
deeply to provide the best path among all the paths. This increases its time
complexity. If b is the branching factor and d is the depth of the tree, then
time complexity of MINIMAX algorithm is O(b^d ) that is exponential. But as
we know, the performance measure is the first consideration for any optimal
algorithm. Alpha-beta pruning is a method to reduce (prone) search space. Using
Alpha-Beta pruning, the Minimax algorithm is modified. Therefore, alpha-beta
pruning reduces this drawback of minimax strategy by less exploring the nodes
of the search tree.
The method used in alpha-beta pruning is that its cut-off the search by exploring
a smaller number of nodes. It makes the same moves as a minimax algorithm
does, but it prunes the unwanted branches using the pruning technique (discussed
in adversarial search). Alpha-beta pruning works on two threshold values, i.e.,
α (alpha) and β (beta).
• α : It is the best highest value; a MAX player can have. The initial value of
α is set to negative infinity value, that is
α=-∞. As the algorithm progress its value may change and finally get the
best (highest) value.
• β : It is the best lowest value; a MIN player can have. The initial value of β
is set to positive infinity value, that is
β=+∞. As the algorithm progress its value may change and finally get the
best (lowest) value.
So, each MAX node has α-value, which never decreases, and each MIN node has
β-value, which never increases. The main condition which required for alpha-
beta pruning is α ≥ β, that is if α ≥ β, then prune (cut) the branches otherwise
proceed.
Note: Alpha-beta pruning technique can be applied to trees of any depth, and it
is possible to prune the entire sub-trees easily.
2.7.1 Working of Alpha-beta Pruning

As we know there are two-parameter is defined for Alpha-beta pruning, namely
alpha (α)and beta(β). The initial value of alpha and beta is set to as α=-∞ and
β=+∞.As the algorithm progresses its values are changes accordingly. Note that
in Alpha-beta pruning (cut), at any node in a tree, if α≥ β, then prune (cut) the
next branch else search is continued. Note the following point for alpha-beta
pruning:
 The MAX player will only update the value ofα(on MAX level).
 The MIN player will only update the value of β(on MIN level).
 We will only pass the α and βvalue from top to bottom (that is from any
parent to child node, but never from child to parent node).
64
 While backtracking the tree, the node values will be passed to upper node Problem Solving using
instead of values of αandβ. Search
 Before going to next branch of the node in a tree, we check the value of
αandβ. If the value ofα≥ β, then prune (cut) the next (unnecessary) branches
(i.e., no need to search the remaining branches where the condition α≥ βis
satisfied) else search continued.
Consider the below example of a game tree where P and Q are two players.
The game will be played alternatively, i.e., chance by chance. Let, P be the
player who will try to win the game by maximizing its winning chances. Q is
the player who will try to minimize P’s winning chances. Here, α will represent
the maximum value of the nodes, which will be the value for P as well. β will
represent the minimum value of the nodes, which will be the value of Q.
Fig 20Alpha-beta pruning
• Any one player will start the game. Following the DFS order, the player
will choose one path and will reach to its depth, i.e., where he will find the
TERMINAL value.
• If the game is started by player P, he will choose the maximum value in
order to increase its winning chances with maximum utility value.
• If the game is started by player Q, he will choose the minimum value in
order to decrease the winning chances of A with the best possible minimum
utility value.
• Both will play the game alternatively.
• The game will be started from the last level of the game tree, and the value
will be chosen accordingly.
• Like in the figure 5, the game is started by player Q. He will pick the leftmost
value of the TERMINAL and fix it for beta (β). Now, the next TERMINAL
value will be compared with the β-value. If the value will be smaller than or
equal to the β-value, replace it with the current β-value otherwise no need
to replace the value.
65
Artificial Intelligence • After completing one part, move the achieved β-value to its upper node and
– Introduction fix it for the other threshold value, i.e.,α.
• Now, its P turn, he will pick the best maximum value. P will move to explore
the next part only after comparing the values with the current α-value. If
the value is equal or greater than the current α-value, then only it will be
replaced otherwise we will prune the values.
• The steps will be repeated unless the result is not obtained.
• So, number of pruned nodes in the above example are four and MAX wins
the game with the maximum UTILITY value, i.e.,3.
The rule which will be followed is: “Explore nodes, if necessary, otherwise
prune the unnecessary nodes.”
Note: It is obvious that the result will have the same UTILITY value that we
may get from the MINIMAX strategy.
Alpha beta cut-off (or pruning):
1. for each node store limit [α,β].
2. Update [α,β],
where α is the lower bound at max node; it can’t decrease.
β is the upper bound at min node; it can’t increase.
3. If α value of a max node is greater than β value of its parent (α≥β),
thesubtree of that max node need not be evaluated (i.e., pruned).
4. If β value of a min node is lesser than α value of its parent (β≤α), the
subtree of that min node need not be evaluated (i.e., pruned).
Example1: Let’s take an example of two-player search tree (Figure 21) to
understand the working of alpha-beta pruning.
Fig 21Two player search tree
We initially start the search by setting the initial value of α=-∞andβ=+∞to root
node A.
66
Note the following important point to apply the Alpha-beta pruning: Search
 We will only pass the αandβvalue from top to bottom (that is from any
parent to child node), but never from child to parent node.
 While backtracking the tree (from bottom to top node), the node values
will be passed to upper node instead of values of αandβ.
 Before exploring the next branch in a tree, we check α≥ β. If YES, then
prune (cut) the next (unnecessary) branches (i.e., no need to search the
remaining branches where the condition α≥ βis satisfied) else search
continued.
 The MAX player will only update the value ofα(on MAX level) and the
MIN player will only update the value of β(on MIN level).
Step1: We traverse the tree in a depth-first search (DFS) manner and assign
(pass) this value of αandβdown to subsequent nodesB and then to nodeDas [α=-
∞; β=+∞].
Now at node D [α=-∞,β=+∞], Since node D is at MAX level, so only αvalue
will be changed. Now, at D, it first checks the left child (which is a terminal
node) with value 2. This node returns a value of 2. Now, the value of α at node
D is calculated asα=max(-∞,2)=2. So modified value at node D is [α=2,β=+∞].
To decide whether it’s worth looking at its right node or not, we check α ≥ β.
The answer in NO since 2≱+∞. So, proceed and search is continued for right
child of Node D.
The value of right child (terminal node with value=3) of D returns a value
3. Now at D, the value of αis compared with terminal node value 3, that is,
α=max(2,3)=3.Now the value of Node(D)=3, and the final values of α and βis
updated at node D as[α=3,β=+∞] as shown in figure 21(a).
∝ = −∞
A β = +∞
∝ = −∞
β = +∞ B
∝=3 D 3
β = +∞
2 3
Fig
Fig21(a)
21(a)
Step 2. We backtrack from node D to B. Note that, while backtracking the

node in a tree, the node values of D(=3) will be passed to upper nodeB instead
of values of αandβ.Now the value of node(B)=node(D)=3. Since B is at MIN
level, so onlyβvalue will be changed. Now at node B [α=-∞,β=3] (note that β
is change from +∞ to 3). Here we again check α≥ β. It is False, so search is
continued on right side of B, as shown in figure (b). 67
– Introduction A
∝ = −∞
β= 3 B 3
∝=3 D 3
β = +∞
2 3
Fig21(b)
Fig21(b)
Step 3. B now calls E, we pass the αandβvalue from top node B to bottom node
E as [α=-∞,β=3]. Since, node E is at MAX level, so only αvalue will be change.
Now, at E, it first checks the left child (which is a terminal node) with value5.
This node returns a value of 5.
Now, the value of α at node E is calculated as α=max(-∞,5)=5, so value of
Node(E)=5 and modified value of αandβ at node Eis [α=5,β=3]. To decide
whether it’s worth looking at its right node or not, we check α≥ β. The answer
isYES, since 5≥3. So,we prune (cut) the right branch of E, as shown in figure
21(c).
A
∝ = −∞
β= 3 B 3
∝=3 ∝=5 5
D E
β = +∞ β=3
2 3 2 9
Fig21(c)
Fig21(c)
Step 4. We backtrack from node E to B. Note that, while backtracking, the node
values of E(=5) will be passed to upper node B, instead of values of αandβ. E
return a value 5 to B.Since B is at MIN level, so onlyβvalue will be changed.
Previously, at node B [α=-∞,β=3], but nowβ=min(3,5)=3, so, there is no change
in β value and value of node(B) is still 3. Thus finally, modified value at node
B is[α=-∞,β=3].
We backtrack from node B to A. Again, note that, while backtracking the tree,
the value of node(B)=3 will be passed to upper node A, instead of values of
αandβ. Now value of Node(A)=3.
Since A is at MAX level, so onlyαvalue will be changed. Previously, at node
A [α=-∞,β=+∞] and after comparing value of node(B)=3 with old value of α at
68 node A, that is α=max(-∞,3)=3. Thus finally, at node A [α=3,β=+∞] and value
of Node(A)=3. we check α≥ β, it is False, so proceed on right side. Now, we Problem Solving using
completed the left sub tree of A and proceed towards right subtree, as shown in Search
figure 21(d).
∝= 3
β = +∞ A 3
∝ = −∞
β= 3 B 3
∝=3 ∝=5 5
D β=3 E
β = +∞
2 3 5 9
Fig21(d)
Fig21(d)
Step 5.
Now at node C, we pass the αandβvalue from top node A to bottom node C as
[α=3,β=+∞]. Check,α≥ β. The answer in NO. So, search is continued. Now pass
the αandβvalue from top node C to bottom node F as [α=3,β=+∞]. Since F is at
MAX level, so onlyαvalue will be changed.
Now, at F, it first checks the left child (which is a terminal node) with value0.
This node returns a value of 0. Now, the value of α at node F is calculated
asα=max(3,0)=3. So modified value at node Fis [α=3,β=+∞]. To decide whether
it’s worth looking at its right node or not, we check α≥ β. The answer in NO
since 3≱+∞. So, proceed and search is continued for right child of Node F.
The value of right child (terminal node with value=1) of F returns a value 1, so
finally, value of node(F)=1. Now at F, the value of α is compared with terminal
node value 1, that is, α=max(3,1)=3, and the final values of α and β is updated
at node F as[α=3,β=+∞] as shown in figure 21(e).
∝= 3 A 3 MAX
β = +∞
∝ = −∞ ∝=3 MIN
B 3 C
β= 3 β = +∞
∝=3 ∝=5 ∝=3

D E 5 β = +∞ F 1 MAX
β = +∞ β=3
2 3 2 8 0 1 Terminal Node
Fig21(e)
Fig21(e)
69
Artificial Intelligence 6. We backtrack from node F to C. Note that, while backtracking the tree,
– Introduction the node values of F(=3) will be passed to upper node C. Now the value of
node(C)=node(F)=1.
Since C is at MIN level, so only βvalue will be changed. Previously, at
node C [α=3,β=+∞]. Now, old value of β=+∞ is compared with value of
node(F)=node(C)=1. That is, β=min(+∞,1)=1. Thus finally, at node B [α=3,β=1].
Now we check,α≥ β. It is TRUE, so we prune (cut) the right branch of node C.
That is node G will be pruned and algorithm stop searching on right subtree of
node C.
Thus finally, we backtrack from node C to A and node C return the value 1 to
node A. Since A is a MAX node, so onlyαvalue will be changed.
Previously, at node A [α=3,β=+∞] and after comparing value of node(C)=1
with old value of α at node A, that is α=max(3,1)=3. Thus finally, at node A
[α=3,β=+∞] and value of Node(A)=3. Now, we completed the right sub tree of
A also.
Following is the final game tree, showing the nodes which are computed and
nodes which are pruned (cut) during search process of Alpha-beta pruning.
Here the optimal value for the maximizer is 3 and there are 3 terminal nodes are
pruned (9, 7 and 5). The optimal search path is A→B→D→3.
3 MAX
∝= 3 A
β = +∞
B ∝=3 C 1 MIN
β=1
∝=3
D E β = +∞ F 1 MAX
2 3 5 9 0 1 Terminal Node
Fig 21(f)
Example2: Consider the following game tree (figure 22) in which root is
maximizing node and children are visited from left to right. Find which nodes
are pruned by the Alpha-beta pruning.
70 Fig 22 Two Player search tree

Solution: Problem Solving using
Search
Step1: We start the search by setting the initial value for node A as[α=-∞,
β=+∞]. We traverse the node in depth-first search (DFS) manner so assign
the same value of αandβtonode B[α=-∞,β=+∞], Since node B is at MIN level,
so only βvalue will be changed at node B. Now, at D, it looks at it left child
(terminal node), which returns a value 3 to D. So, we compare the old value of β
at node B with this terminal node value 3, that is β=min(+∞,3)=3.So modified
value of αandβtonode B is[α=-∞,β=3].
To decide whether it worth looking at right subtree of B, we check
α ≥ β. The answer in NO, since -∞≱3. So, proceed and search is continued for
right child of Node B, that is E.
The terminal value of E=12. Now, the value of right child terminal E(=12)
is compared with previous old value of β=3, that is, β=min(3,12)=3.So no
change in β value. So, at present, current modified value of αandβatnode B
is same[α=-∞,β=3]. Again check,α≥ β. The answer in NO. So, proceed and
search is continued for right child of Node B, that is F. The terminal value of
F=8. The value of right child terminal at F(=8) is compared with previous old
value of β=3, that is, β=min(8,3)=3.So no change in β value. So, finally value
of Node(B)=3 and modified value of αandβatnode B[α=-∞,β=3] as shown in
figure 22(a)
Step2: We backtrack from node B to A. Note that, while backtracking the tree,
the node values of B(=3) will be passed to upper node A, instead of values
of αandβ. Now the value of node(A)=node(B)=3. Since A is at MAX level,
so onlyαvalue will be changed. Previously, at node A [α=-∞,β=+∞] and
after comparing value of node(B)=3 with old value of α at node A, that is
α=max(-∞,3)=3. Thus finally, at node A[α=3,β=+∞] and value of Node(A)=3.
To decide whether it’s worth looking at its right node of A or not, we check
α≥ β. The answer in NO since 3≱+∞. So, proceed and search is continued for
right child of Node A. Now, we completed the left sub tree of A and proceed
towards right subtree.
∝ = −∞ ∝= 3 MAX
A MAX β = +∞ A 3
β = +∞
∝ = −∞ ∝ = −∞
β = +3 B 3 MIN β= 3 B 3 MIN
D E F Terminal Node D E F Terminal

3 12 8 3 12 8

Fig22(a)
Fig22(a) Fig 22(b) Fig22(b)
Step 3: Now at node C, we pass the αandβvalue from top node A to bottom
node C as [α=3,β=+∞]. Check,α≥ β. The answer in NO. So, continue the search
on right side. Since C is at MIN level, so onlyβvalue will be changed.
Now, we first check the left child (terminal) of node C, that is G=2. So, we
compare the old value of β at node C with this terminal node value 2, that is
β=min(+∞,2)=2. So value of Node(C)=2 and modified value of αandβatnodeC
71
Artificial Intelligence is[α=3,β=2]. Now, before proceed next, we again checkα≥ β. The answer is
– Introduction YES. So,we prune (cut) the right branch of node C. That is node H and I will be
pruned (cut) and algorithm stop searching on right subtree of node C, as shown
in figure 22(c).
∝= 3 A MAX
β = +∞
∝= 3
∝ = −∞
B 3 2 C β= 2 MIN
β= 3
D E F G H I Terminal Node
3 12 8 2 15 6
Fig22(c)
Fig22(c)
Step 4: Finally, we backtrack from node C to A. Note that, while backtracking
the node in a tree, the node values of C(=2) will be passed to upper node A,
instead of values of αandβ.The previous node(A)=3 value is compared with this
new node(C)=2 value. The best value at node(A)=α=max(3,2)=3.
The previous α and β value at node A[α=3,β=+∞]. Since A is at MAX level so
only α value is change. So, we compare old α=3 value with value at node(C)=2.
That is α=max(3,2)=3. Thus, there is no change in α value as well.
Thus finally, αandβvalue at node A is[α=3,β=+∞] and value of Node(A)=3. So,
optimal value for the maximizer is 3 and there are 2 terminal nodes are pruned
(H and I). The optimal search path is A→B→D (as shown in figure 22(d)).
∝= 3
3 A β = +∞ MAX
∝= 3
∝ = −∞
B 3 2 C β= 2 MIN
β= 3
D E F G H I Terminal
3 12 8 2 15 6
Fig 22(d)
Fig 22(d)
2.7.2 Move ordering of Alpha-beta pruning
The effectiveness of Alpha-beta pruning is highly dependent on the order in
which each node is examined. Move order is an important aspect of alpha-beta
pruning. We have two types of move ordering:
Worst case ordering: In some cases, alpha-beta pruning algorithm does not
prune any of the leaves of the tree and works exactly as MiniMax algorithm.
In this case, it consumes more time because of alpha-beta factors, such a move
of pruning is called a worst ordering. The time complexity for such an order is
72 O(b^m)where b: Branching Factor and m is the depth of the tree.
Best (ideal) case ordering: The ideal ordering for alpha-beta pruning occurs Problem Solving using
when lots of pruning happens in the tree, and best move occur at the left side of Search
the tree. We apply DFS hence it first search left of the tree and go deep twice as
minimax algorithm in the same amount of time. The time complexity for best
case order is O(b^(m/2)) (since we search only left sub tree, not a right subtree).
Note that pruning does not affect the final result. Good move ordering improves
the effectiveness of pruning. With ideal case ordering, time complexity is
O(b^(m/2))
In Alpha-beta pruning:
- α value can never decrease and β value can never increase. Search can be
discontinued at anode if:
-It is a Max node and α≥β it is beta cutoff
-It is a Min node and β≤α it is a alpha cutoff.
Q.1 Compare the MINIMAX and Alpha-Beta Pruning algorithm with respect to
Time complexity.
Q.2 Consider the following Minimax game tree search in which root is
maximizing node and children are visited from left to right. Find the value
of the root node of the game tree?
Q.3 Apply Alpha-Beta pruning algorithm on the following graph and find which
node(s) are pruned?
73
Artificial Intelligence Q.4 Consider the following Minimax game tree search (figure1) in which root
– Introduction is maximizing node and children are visited from left to right.
A
MAXX
MIN B C D
MAX E F G H I J K
Terminal 4 3 6 2 2 1 4 5 3 1 5 4 7 5
Node
Figure1(a)
Figure1(a)
(a) Find the value of the root node of the game tree?
(b) Find all the nodes pruned in the tree?
(c) Find the optimal path for the maximizer in a tree?
maximizing node and children are visited from left to right. Find what will
be the value propagated at the root?
maximizing node and children are visited from left to right. Find the value
74 Multiple choice Question

Q.7 Consider the following Minimax game tree search in which root is Problem Solving using
maximizing node and children are visited from left to right. Find the value Search
A. 14 B. 17 C. 111 D. 112
2.8 SUMMARY
 Before an AI problem can be solved it must be represented as a state space.
Among all possible states, there are two special states called initial state
(the start point) and final state (the goal state).
 A successor function (a set of operators)is used to change the state. It is
used to move from one state to another.
 A state space is set of all possible states of a problem.
 A state space essentially consists of a set of nodes representing each state
of the problem, arcs between nodes representing the legal moves from one
state to another, an initial state, and a goal state. Each state space takes the
form of a tree or a graph.
 The process of searching means a sequence of action that take you from an
initial state to a goal state.
 search is fundamental to the problem-solving process. Search means
the problem is solved by using the rules, in combination with an
appropriatecontrol strategy, to move through the problem space until a path
from an initial state to a goal state is found.
 A problem space is represented by a directed graph, where nodes represent
search stateand pathsrepresent the operators applied to change the state.
 In general, a state space is represented by 4 tuples as follows:Ss: [S,s0,O,G],
Where S: Set of all possible states (possibly infinite), s0: start state (initial
configuration) of the problem, s0∈S. O: Set of production rules (or set of
state transition operator) used to change the state from one state to another.
It is the set of arcs (or links) between nodes.
 Adversarial search is a game-playing technique where the agents are
surrounded by a competitive environment. A conflicting goal is given to
the agents (multiagent). These agents compete with one another and try to
defeat one another in order to win the game. Such conflicting goals give rise
to the adversarial search.
75
Artificial Intelligence  In a normal search, we follow a sequence of actions to reach the goal or to
– Introduction finish the game optimally. But in an adversarial search, the result depends
on the players which will decide the result of the game. It is also obvious
that the solution for the goal state will be an optimal solution because the
player will try to win the game with the shortest path and under limited
time.
 There are 2 types of adversarial search: Minimax Algorithm and Alpha-
beta Pruning.
 Minimax is a two-player (namely MAX and MIN) game strategy where
if one wins, the other lose the game. This strategy simulates those games
that we play in our day-to-day life. Like, if two persons are playing chess,
the result will be in favour of one player and will go against the other one.
MIN: Decrease the chances of MAX to win the game and MAX: Increases
his chances of winning the game. They both play the game alternatively,
i.e., turn by turn and following the above strategy, i.e., if one wins, the other
will definitely lose it. Both players look at one another as competitors and
will try to defeat one-another, giving their best.
 In minimax strategy, the result of the game or the utility value is generated
by a heuristic function by propagating from the initial node to the root
node. It follows the backtracking technique and backtracks to find the best
choice. MAX will choose that path which will increase its utility value and
MIN will choose the opposite path which could help it to minimize MAX’s
utility value.
 The drawback of minimax strategy is that it explores each node in the tree
complexity.
 If b is the branching factor and d is the depth of the tree, then time complexity
of MINIMAX algorithm is O(bd ) that is exponential.
 Alpha-beta pruning is an advance version of MINIMAX algorithm.
Therefore, alpha-beta pruning reduces the drawback of minimax strategy
by less exploring the nodes of the search tree.
 The alpha-beta pruning method cut-off the search by exploring a smaller
number of nodes. It makes the same moves as a minimax algorithm does,
but it prunes the unwanted branches using the pruning technique.
 Alpha-beta pruning works on two threshold values, i.e., α (alpha) and β
(beta).α : It is the best highest value; a MAX player can have. The initial
value of α is set to negative infinity value, that is α=-∞. As the algorithm
progress its value may change and finally get the best (highest) value. β : It
is the best lowest value; a MIN player can have. The initial value of β is set
to positive infinity value, that is β=+∞. As the algorithm progress its value
may change and finally get the best (lowest) value.
 So, each MAX node has α value, which never decreases, and each MIN node
has β value, which never increases. The main condition which required for
alpha-beta pruning is α ≥ β, that is if α ≥ β, then prune (cut) the branches
76 otherwise search is continued.
 As we know there are two-parameter is defined for Alpha-beta pruning, Problem Solving using
namely alpha (α)and beta(β). The initial value of alpha and beta is set to Search
as α=-∞ and β=+∞.As the algorithm progresses its values are changes
accordingly. Note that in Alpha-beta pruning (cut), at any node in a tree, if
α ≥ β, then prune (cut) the next branch else search is continued.
 The effectiveness of Alpha-beta pruning is highly dependent on the order in
which each node is examined.
 Worst case ordering: In some cases, alpha-beta pruning algorithm does
not prune any of the leaves of the tree and works exactly as MiniMax
algorithm. In this case, the time complexity is O(bm)where b: Branching
Factor and m is the depth of the tree.
 Best (ideal) case ordering: The ideal ordering for alpha-beta pruning
occurs when lots of pruning happens in the tree, and best move occur at the
left side of the tree. The time complexity for best case order is O(bm/2) (since
we search only left sub tree, not a right subtree).
Check your progress 1:
Answer1: A number of factors need to be taken into consideration when
developing a statespace representation. Factors that must be addressed are:
• What is the goal to be achieved?
• What are the legal moves or actions?
• What knowledge needs to be represented in the state description?
• Type of problem - There are basically three types of problems. Some
problems only need a representation, e.g., crossword puzzles. Other
problems require a yes or no response indicating whether a solution can be
found or not. Finally, the last type problem are those that require a solution
path as an output e.g., mathematical theorems Towers of Hanoi. In these
cases we know the goal state and we need to know how to attain this state
• Best solution vs. Good enough solution - For some problems a good enough
solutionis sufficient. For example: theorem proving eight squares.
However, some problems require a best or optimal solution, e.g., the
traveling salesman problem.
Answer 2
(a) Formulation of Missionaries and Cannibal problem:
State: (#M,#C,0/1)
Where #M represents Number of missionaries in the left side bank (i.e., left side
of the river)
#C : represents the number of cannibals in the left side bank (i.e., left side of
the river)
77
Artificial Intelligence 0/1 : indicate the boat position of the boat. 0 indicates the boat is on the left side
– Introduction of the river and 1 indicate the boat is on the right side.
Start state: (3,3,0)
Goal State: (0,0,1)
Operator: Sate will be changed by moving missionaries and (or) cannibals
from one side to another using boat. So, it can be represented as number of
persons on the either side of the river. Note that the boat can carries maximum
2 persons.
Boat carries: (1,0) or (0,1) or (1,1) or (2,0) or (0,2).Here in (i,j), i represents
number of missionaries and j means number of cannibals.
(b) Solution of Missionaries and Cannibal problem:
Start state: (3,3,0)
Goal State: (0,0,1)
Figure: Solution of Missionaries and Cannibal problem
78
A state space tree for this problem is shown below: Problem Solving using
Search
Figure: A state space tree showing all possible solution of missionaries and
cannibal problem.
79
Artificial Intelligence Answer 3: Towers Hanoi A possible state space representation of the Towers
– Introduction Hanoi problem using a graph is indicated in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Towers of Hanoi slate space representation for n=2
The legal moves in this state space involve moving one ring from one pole to
another, moving one ring at a time, and ensuring that a larger ring is not placed
on a smaller ring.
Answer 4:
Minimum Cost path for solution= 6

Answer 5: Backtracking Algorithm: The idea is to place queens one by one
in different columns, starting from the leftmost column. When we place a queen
in a column, we check for clashes with already placed queens. In the current
column, if we find a row for which there is no clash, we mark this row and
column as part of the solution. If we do not find such a row due to clashes, then
80 we backtrack and return false.
1) Start in the leftmost column Problem Solving using
Search
2) If all queens are placed
return true
3) Try all rows in the current column.
Do following for every tried row.
a) If the queen can be placed safely in this row then mark this [row,
column] as part of the solution and recursively check if placing queen
here leads to a solution.
b) If placing the queen in [row, column] leads toa solution then return
true.
c) If placing queen doesn't lead to a solution then unmark this [row,
column] (Backtrack) and go to step (a) to try other rows.
4) If all rows have been tried and nothing worked, return false to trigger
backtracking.
State space tree for 4 Queen’s problem
A state-space tee (SST) can be constructed to show the solution to this problem.The
following SST (figure 1) shows one possible solution{x1,x2,x3,x4}={2,4,3,1}
for the 4 Queen’s Problem.
Or we can also denote the State space tree as follows:

1
x1=1 x1=2
2 18
x2=4
x2=2 x2=3 x2=4
3 8 13 19 24 29
B B B x3=1
30
9 11 14 16 x4=3
B B B
31
15
81
Artificial Intelligence B denotes the Dead Node (nonpromising node). The figure 1 shows the Implicit
– Introduction tree for 4 queen problem for solution <2,4,1,3>. The Root represents an
initial state. The Nodes reflect the specific choices made for the components
of a solution. Explore The state space tree using depth-first search. "Prune"
non-promising nodesdfs stops exploring subtree rooted at nodes leading to no
solutions and then backtracks to its parent node
Check your progress 2
Answer1:
Solution: Alpha-beta pruning is an advance version of MINIMAX algorithm.
The drawback of minimax strategy is that it explores each node in the tree
complexity. If b is the branching factor and d is the depth of the tree, then time
complexity of MINIMAX algorithm is O(bd ) that is exponential.
Alpha-Beta pruning is a way of finding the optimal Minimax solution while
avoiding searching subtrees of moves which won’t be selected. The effectiveness
of Alpha-beta pruning is highly dependent on the order in which each node
is examined. The ideal ordering for alpha-beta pruning occurs when lots of
pruning happens in the tree, and best move occur at the left side of the tree. We
apply DFS hence it first search left of the tree and go deep twice as minimax
algorithm in the same amount of time. The time complexity for best case order
is O(bm/2) (since we search only left sub tree, not a right subtree).
Answer 2: The final game tree with max and min value at each node is shown
in the following figure.
Answer3:
Solution: Solve the question as sown in Example1
The initial call starts from A. We initially start the search by setting the initial
value of α=-∞andβ=+∞for root node A. These values are passed down to
subsequent nodes in the tree. At A the maximizer must choose max of B and C,
so A calls B first. At B it the minimizer must choose min of D and E and hence
calls D first. At D, it looks at its left child which is a leaf node. This node returns
a value of 3. Now the value of alpha at D is max( -∞, 3) which is 3. To decide
whether it’s worth looking at its right node or not, it checks the condition α≥ β.
This is false since β=+∞ and ∞= 3. So, it continues the search.
82
D now looks at its right child which returns a value of 5. At D, alpha = max(3, Problem Solving using
5) which is 5. Now the value of node D is 5. Value at node D=5, move up to Search
node B(=5). Now at node B, β value will be modified as
β=min(+∞,5)=5.
B now calls E, we pass the αandβvalue from top node B to bottom node E as
[α=-∞,β=5]. Since, node E is at MAX level, so only αvalue will be change.
Now, at E, it first checks the left child (which is a terminal node) with value 6.
This node returns a value of 6.
Now, the value of α at node E is calculated as α=max(-∞,6)=6, so value of
Node(E)=6 and modified value of αandβ at node E is [α=6,β=5]. To decide
whether it’s worth looking at its right node or not, we check α≥ β. The answer is
YES, since 6≥5. So, we prune (cut) the right branch of E, as shown in figure (a).
Figure (a) game tree after applying alpha-beta pruning on left side of node A
Similarly, we solve for right sub tree for Node A [refer the example 1 and solve
for right sub tree part]. The final tree with node value at every node is shown in
the figure(b).
Thus finally, αandβvalue at node A is[α=5,β=+∞] and best value at Node(A)=max
(5,2)=5. So, optimal value for the maximizer is 5 and there are 3 terminal nodes
are pruned (9, 0 and -1). The optimal search path is A→B→D→5 , as shown
in figure (b).
Figure (b) Final tree with node value on every node with prune branches
Answer4:
∝ = −4
4 A β = +∞ MAX
∝= 4
∝= ∞ ∝= 4
MIN
β = +4 B 4 2 C β = +2 5 D β= 5
∝= 4 ∝= 6 ∝= 5 ∝= 7
5 J K β= 5 MAX
β = +∞ E 4 6 F β= 4 G 2 H I β = +∞
7
4 3 6 2 2 1 4 5 3 1 5 4 7 5 Term Node
83
Artificial Intelligence Answer5: 5
– Introduction
Answer6: 7
Answer 7: Option (B) 17

1. Ela Kumar, “ Artificial Intelligence”, IK International Publications
Publications
publication
84
UNIT 3 UNINFORMED & INFORMED SEARCH Problem Solving using
Search
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Formulating search in state space
3.2.1 Evaluation of search Algorithm
3.3 Uninformed Search

3.3.1 Breath-First search (BFS)
3.3.2 Time and space complexity of BFS
3.3.3 Advantages & disadvantages of BFS
3.3.4 Depth First search (DFS)
3.3.5 Performance of DFS algorithm
3.3.6 Advantages and disadvantages of DFS
3.3.7 Comparison of BFS and DFS
3.4 Iterative Deepening Depth First search (IDDFS)

3.4.1 Time and space complexity of IDDFS
3.4.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of IDDFS
3.5 Bidirectional search

3.6 Comparison of Uninformed search strategies
3.7 Informed (heuristic) search
3.7.1 Strategies for providing heuristics information
3.7.2 Formulation of Informed (heuristic) search problem as state space
3.7.3 Best-First search
3.7.4 Greedy Best first search
3.8 A* Algorithm
3.8.1 Working of A* algorithm
3.8.2 Advantages and disadvantages of A* algorithm
3.8.3 Admissibility properties of A* algorithm
3.8.4 Properties of heuristic algorithm
3.8.5 Results on A* algorithm
3.9 Problem reduction search

3.9.1 Problem definition in AND-OR graph
3.9.2 AO* algorithm
3.9.3 Advantages of AO* algorithm

85
Artificial Intelligence 3.10 Memory Bound heuristic search
– Introduction
3.10.1 Iterative Deepening A* (IDA*)
3.10.2 Working of IDA*
3.10.3 Analysis of IDA*
3.10.4 Comparison of A* and IDA* algorithm
3.11 Recursive Best First search (RBFS)

3.11.1 Advantages and disadvantages of RBFS
3.12 Summary
3.14 Further readings
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Before an AI problem can be solved it must be represented as a state space. In
AI, a wide range of problems can be formulated as search problem. The process
of searching means a sequence of action that take you from an initial state to a
goal state as sown in the following figure 1.
Fig 1: A sequence of action in a search space from initial to goal state.
In the unit 2 we have already examined the concept of a state space and
adversarial (game playing) search strategy. In many applications there might be
multiple agents or persons searching for solutions in the same solution space. In
adversarial search, we need a path to take action towards the winning direction
and for finding a path we need different type of search algorithms.
Search algorithms are one of the most important areas of Artificial Intelligence.
This unit will explain all about the search algorithms in AI which explore the
search space to find a solution.
In Artificial Intelligence, Search techniques are universal problem-solving
methods. Rational agents or Problem-solving agents in AI mostly used these
search strategies or algorithms to solve a specific problem and provide the
best result. Problem-solving agents are the goal-based agents and use atomic
representation.
One disadvantage of state space representation is that it is not possible to
visualize all states for a given problem. Also, the resources of the computer
system are limited to handle huge state space representation. But many problems
in AI take the form of state-space search.
Many problems in Al take the form of state-space search.
 The states might be legal board configurations in a game, towns and cities
in some sort of route map, collections of mathematical propositions, etc.
86
 The state-space is the configuration of the possible states and how they Uninformed &
connect to each other e.g., the legal moves between states. Informed Search
 When we don't have an algorithm which tells us definitively how to negotiate

the state-space we need to search the state-space to find an optimal path
from a start slate to a goal state,
We can only decide what to do (or where to go), by considering the possible
moves from the current state, and trying to look ahead as far as possible. Chess,
for example is a very difficult state space search problem.
Searching is the process looking for the solution of a problem through a set of
possibilities (state space).In general, the searching process starts from the initial
state (root node ) and proceeds by performing the following steps:
• Check whether the current state is the goal state or not?
• Expand the current state to generate the new sets of states.
• Choose one of the new states generated for search depending upon search
strategy (for example BFS, DFS etc.).
• Repeat step 1 to 3 until the goal state is reached or there are no more state
tube expanded.
Evaluation (properties) of search strategies : A search strategy is characterized
by the sequence in which nodes are expanded. Any search algorithms are
commonly evaluated according to the following four criteria. The following
four essential properties of search algorithms is used to compare the efficiency
of any search algorithms.
Completeness: A search algorithm is said to be complete if it guarantees to
return a solution, if exist.
Optimality/Admissibility: If a solution found for an algorithm is guaranteed
to be the best solution (lowest path cost) among all other solutions, then such a
solution for is said to be an optimal solution.
Time Complexity: Time complexity is a measure of time for an algorithm to
complete its task. Usually measured in terms of the number of nodes expended
during the search.
Space Complexity: It is the maximum storage space required at any point
during the search. Usually measured in terms of the maximum number of nodes
in memory at a time.
Time and space complexity are measured in terms of:
 b - max branching factor of the search tree
 d - depth of the least-cost solution
 m - max depth of the search tree (may be infinity)
In all search algorithms, the order in which nodes are expended distinguishes
them from one another. There are two broad classes of search methods:
87
– Introduction
Uninformed search is also called Brute force search or Blind search or

Exhaustive search. It is called blind search because of the way in which search
tree is searched without using any information about the search space. It is
called Brute force because it assumes no additional knowledge other than how
to traverse the search tree and how to identify the leaf nodes and goal nodes.
Informed search is also called as Heuristic (or guided) search. These are the
search techniques where additional information about the problem is provided
informed search:
Uninformed Search Informed Search

No information about the path, cost, The path cost from current state
from the current state to the goal state. It to goal state is calculated, to
select the minimum cost path as
for searching process. the next state. It uses domain
specific knowledge for the
searching process.
informed
Cost is high. Cost is low

No suggestion is given regarding the It provides the direction
solution init. Problem to be solved with regarding the solution. Additional
the given information only. information can be added as
assumption to solve the problem.
88
Uninformed &
Examples are: Examples are: Informed Search
 Depth First Search,  Best first search
 Breadth First Search,  Greedy search
 Depth limited search,  A* search
 Iterative Deepening DFS,
 Bi-directional search
3.1 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
• Differentiate the Uninformed and informed search algorithm
• Formulate the search problem in the form of state space
• Explain the differences between various uninformed search approaches
such as BFS, DFS, IDDFS, Bi-directional search.
• Evaluate the various Uninformed search algorithm with respect to Time,
space and Optimality/Admissibility criteria.
• Explain Informed search such as Best-First search and A* algorithm.
• Differentiate between advantages and disadvantages of heuristic search: A*
and AO* algorithm
• Differentiate between memory bound search: Iterative Deepening A* and
Recursive Best-First Search.
3.2 FORMULATING SEARCH IN STATE SPACE

A state space is a graph, (V, E) where V is a set of nodes and E is a set of arcs,
where each arc is directed from one node to another node.
 V: a node is a data structure that contains state description, plus,
optionally other information related to the parent of the node, operation to
generate the node from that parent, and other bookkeeping data.
 E: Each arc corresponds to an applicable action/operation. The source and
destination nodes are called as parent (immediate predecessor) and child
(immediate successor) nodes with respect to each other. Ancestors(also
called predecessors) and descendants (also called successors) node. Each
arc has a fixed, non-negative cost associated with it, corresponding to the
cost of the action.
Each node has a set of successor nodes. Corresponding to all operators (actions)
that can apply at source node’s state. Expanding a node is generating successor
nodes and adding them (and associated arcs) to the state-space graph. One or
more nodes may be designated as start nodes.
A goal test predicate is applied to a node to determine if its associated state is a
goal state. A solution is a sequence of operations that is associated with a path
in a state space from a start node to a goal node. The cost of a solution is the
sum of the arc costs on the solution path.
89
Artificial Intelligence State-space search is the process of searching through a state space for a
– Introduction solution by making explicit a sufficient portion of an implicit state-space graph
to include a goal node.
Hence, initially V={S}, where S is the start node; when S is expanded, its
successors are generated, and those nodes are added to V and the associated arcs
are added to E. This process continues until a goal node is generated (included
in V) and identified (by goal test).
To implement any Uninformed search algorithm, we always initialize and
maintain a list called OPEN and put start node of G in OPEN. If after some
time, we find OPEN is empty and we are not getting “goal node”, then terminate
with failure. We select a node n from OPEN and if n∈Goal node, then terminate
with success, else we generate the successor of n (using operator O) and insert
them in OPEN. In this way we repeat the process till search is successful or
unsuccessful.
Search strategies differ mainly on how to select an OPEN node for expansion
at each step of search.
A general search algorithm
1. Initialize: Set ={s} , where s is a start state.
2. Fail: If OPEN={ }, terminate with failure.
3. Select: Select a state, n, from OPEN
4. Terminate: If n∈Goal node, terminate with success
5. Expand: Generate the successor of n using operator O and insert them in
OPEN.
6. LOOP: Goto Step 2
But the problem with the above search algorithm, it is not mentioned that when
a node is already visited, then do not revisit that node again. That is “how we
can maintain a part of the state space that is already visited”. So, we have an
extension of the same algorithm, where we can save the explicit state space. To
save the explicit space, we maintained another list called CLOSED.
Thus, to implement any Uninformed search algorithm efficiently, two list
OPEN and CLOSED are used.
Now we can select a node from OPEN and save it in CLOSED. The CLOSED
list keeps record of nodes that are Opened. The major difference of this
algorithm with the previous algorithm is that when we generate successor node
from CLOSED, we check whether it is already in (OPEN∪CLOSED). If it is
already in (OPEN∪CLOSED), we will not insert in OPEN again, otherwise
insert. The following modified algorithm is used to save the explicit space using
the list CLOSED.
90
Uninformed &
Modified search algorithm to saving the explicit space Informed Search
1. Initialize: Set OPEN={s},CLOSED={ }.
3. Select: Select a state, n, from OPEN and save n in CLOSED
4. Terminate: If n∈Goal node, terminate with success
5. Expand: Generate the successor of n using operator O
For each successor, m, insert m in OPEN,only if m∉(OPEN∪CLOSED)
6. LOOP: Goto Step 2.
Here the OPEN and CLOSED list are used as follows:
OPEN: Nodes are yet to be visited.
CLOSED: Keeps track of all the nodes visited already
Note that initially OPEN list initializes with start state of G (e.g.,OPEN={s})
and CLOSED list as empty (e.g.,CLOSED={}).
Insertion or removal of any node in OPEN depends on specific search strategy.
3.2.1 Evaluation of Search Algorithms:

In any search algorithm, we select a node and generate its successor. Search
strategies differ mainly on how to select an OPEN node for expansion at
each step of search. Also, Insertion or deletion of any node from OPEN list
depends on specific search strategy. Any search algorithms are commonly
evaluated according to the following 4 criteria:It is the measure to evaluate the
performance of the search algorithms:
 Completeness: Guarantees finding a solution whenever one exists.
 Time Complexity: How long (worst or average case) does it take to find a
solution? Usually measured in terms of the number of nodes expanded.
 Space Complexity: How much space is used by the algorithm? Usually
measured in terms of the maximum size that the “OPEN" list becomes
during the search. The Time and Space complexity are measured in terms
of: The branching factor or maximum number of successors of any node
and d: the depth of shallowest goal node (depth of the least cost solution)
and m: The maximum depth (length) of any path in the state space (may be
infinite).
 Optimality/Admissibility: If a solution is found, is it guaranteed to be an
optimal one? For example, is it the one with minimum cost?
Search process constructs a search tree, where root is the initial state S, and leaf
nodes are nodesnot yet been expanded (i.e., they are in OPEN List) or having
no successors (i.e., they're dead ends"). Search tree may be infinite because of
loops even if statespace is small Search strategies mainly differ on select OPEN.
Each node represents a partial solution path and cost of the partial solution path)
91
Artificial Intelligence from the start node to the given node. In general, from this node there are many
– Introduction possible paths (and therefore solutions that have this partial path as a prefix.
All search algorithms are distinguished by the order in which nodes are
expended. There are two broad classes of search methods: Uninformed search
and Heuristic Search. Let us first discuss the Uninformed search.
3.3 UNINFORMED SEARCH

The uninformed search does not contain any domain knowledge such as
closeness, the location of the goal. It operates in a brute-force way as it only
includes information about how to traverse the tree and how to identify leaf and
goal nodes. Uninformed search applies a way in which searchtree is searched
without any information about the search space like initial state operators and
test for the goal, so it is also called blind search. It examines each node of the
tree until it achieves the goal node. Sometimes we may not get much relevant
information to solve a problem.
For Example, suppose we lost our car key, and we are not able to recall where
we left, we have to search for the key with some information such as in which
places, we used to place it. It may be our pant pocket or may be the table drawer.
If it is not there, then we must search the whole house to get it. The best solution
would be to search in the places from the table to the wardrobe. Here we need
to search blindly with less clue. This type of search is called uninformed search
or blind search.
Based on the order in which nodes are expended, we have the following types
of uninformed search algorithms:
 Breadth-first search
 Depth-first search
 Uniform cost search
 Iterative deepening depth-first search
 Bidirectional Search
3.3.1 Breadth-first search (BFS)

It is the simplest form of blind search. In this technique the root node is expanded
first, then all its successors are expanded and then their successors and so on. In
general, in BFS, all nodes are expanded at a given depth in the search tree before
any nodes at the next level are expanded. It means that all immediate children
of nodes are explored before any of the children’s children are considered. The
search tree generated by BFS is shown below in Fig 2.
Root
A B C
D E F G
Goal Node
92 Fig 2 Search tree for BFS
Fig 2 Search tree for BFS
Note that BFS is a brute-search, so it generates all the nodes tor identifying the Uninformed &
goal and note that we are using the convention that the alternatives are tried in Informed Search
the left-to-right order.
A BFS algorithm uses a data structure-queue that works on FIFO principle.
This queue will hold all generated but still unexplored nodes. Please remember
that the order in which nodes are placed on the queue or removal and
exploration determines the type of search.
We can implement it by using two lists called OPEN and CLOSED. The OPEN
list contains those states that are to be expanded and CLOSED list keeps track
of state already expanded. Here OPEN list is used as a queue.
BFS is effective when the search tree has a low branching factor.
Breath-First Search (BFS) Algorithm
3. Select: Remove a left most state (say a) from OPEN.
4. Terminate: If a∈Goal node, terminate with success, else
5. Expend: Generate the successor of node a, discard the successors of a if
it’s already in OPEN, Insert only remaining successors on right end of
OPEN [i.e., QUEUE]
Let us take an example to see how this algorithm works.
Example1: Consider the following graph in fig-1 and its corresponding state space tree
representation in fig-2. Note that A is a start state and G is a Goal state.
E A
B
B C
A D E H C
D E D G
C F B F
C
G
G G H E G H
Fig-1 State space graph Fig-2 State space tree

Step1: Initially open contains only one node Step5: Node D is removed from open. Its children C and
corresponding to the source state A. F are generated and added to the back of open.
A A
B C B C
C
D E D G C
D E D G
C F B F C F B F
G G H E G H G G H E G H
Open= A CLOSED={ } Open= E,D,G,C,F CLOSED=A,B,C,D 93

Artificial Intelligence Step2: A is removed from open. The node is expended, Step 6: Node E is removed from open. It has no children
– Introduction and its children B and C are generated. They are placed
at the back of open. A
A
B C
B C
C
D E D G
C
D E D G
C F B F
C F B F
Open= B,C CLOSED={A} Open= D,G,C,F CLOSED=A,B,C,D,E

Step: 3: Node B is removed from open and is expended. Step 7: D is expanded, B and F are put in OPEN.
Its children D, E are generated and put at the back of
open. A
A
B C
B C
C
D E D G
C
D E D G
C F B F
C F B F
Open= C,D,E CLOSED={A,B} Open= G,C,F,B,F CLOSED=A,B,C,D,E,D

Step 4: Node C is removed from open and is expanded Step 8: G is selected for expansion. It is found to be a
its children D and G are added to the back of open. goal node. So, the algorithm returns the path ACG by
following the parent pointers of the node corresponding
A to G. The algorithm terminates.
A
B C
B C
C
D E D G
C
D E D G Goal!
C F B F
C F B F
Open= D,E,D,G CLOSED={A,B,C} Open=C,F,B,F CLOSED={A,B,C,D,E.G}
3.3.2 Time and Space complexity of BFS

Consider a complete search tree of depth d where each non-leaf node has b
children (i.e., branching factor), has a total of
1.(bd+1-1)
1+b+b2+b3+⋯+bd = nodes.
(b-1)
Time complexity is the number of nodes generated, so time complexity of BFS
algorithm is O(bd)
S
1
1 b
2 b^2
d b^d
94 Fig 3Search tree with b branching factor

For Example, consider a complete search tree of depth 12, where every node Uninformed &
at depths 0,1,...,11 has 10 children (branching factor b=10) and every node at Informed Search
depth 12 has 0 children, then there are
1.(1013-1)
1 + 10 + 102 + 103 + ⋯ + 1012 =
(10-1)
= 1013-1
= O(1012) nodes in the complete search tree.
9
• BFS is suitable for problems with shallow solutions
Space complexity:
BFS has to remember each and every node it has generated. Space complexity
(maximum length of OPEN list):
So, space complexity is given by:
1+b+b2+b3+…bd= O(bd).
Performance of BFS:
 Time Required for BFS for tree of b branching factor and d depth is O(bd).
 Space (memory) requirement for a tree with b branching factor and d depth
is also O(bd)
 BFS algorithm is Complete (if b is finite).
 BFS algorithm is Optimal (if cost = 1 per step)
Space is the bigger problem in BFS as compared to DFS.
3.3.3 Advantages and disadvantages of BFS

Advantages: BFS has some advantages and are given below
1. BFS will never get trapped exploring bund alley.
2. It is guaranteed to find a solution if one exists.
Disadvantages: BFS has certain disadvantages also. They are given below-
1. Time complexity and Space complexity are both O(bd) i.e., exponential
type. This is very hurdle.
2. All nodes are to be generated in BFS. So, even unwanted nodes are to be
remembered (stored in queue) which is of no practical use of the search.
3.3.4 Depth First Search

A Depth-First Search (DFS) explores a path all the way to a leaf before
backtracking and exploring another path. That is expand deepest unexpanded
node (expand most recently generated deepest node first).
The search tree generated by the DFS is show in figure below:
95
– Introduction
Fig 4 Depth first search (DFS) tree
In depth-first search we go as far down as possible into the search tree/graph

before backing up and trying alternatives. It works by always generating a
descendent of the most recently expanded node until some depth cut off is
reached and then backtracks to next most recently expanded node and generates
one of its descendants. So only path of nodes from the initial node to the current
node is stored, in order to execute the algorithm. For example, consider the
following tree and see how the nodes are expended using DFS algorithm.
S (Root)
A B
c D E F
(Goal Node)
Fig.Fig. 5 Searchtree
5 Search treefor
for DFS
DFS
Example1:
After searching root node S, then A and C, the search backtracks and tries
another path from A. Nodes are explored in the order S,A,C,D,B,E,F.
Here again we use the list OPEN as a STACK to implement DFS. If we found
that the first element of OPEN is the Goal state, then the search terminates
successfully.
96
Uninformed &
Depth-First Search (DFS) Algorithm
Informed Search
3. Select: Remove a left most state (say a) from OPEN.
4. Terminate: If a∈Goal node, terminate with success, else
5. Expend: Generate the successor of node a, discard the successors of a if
it’s already in OPEN, Insert remaining successors on left end of OPEN
[i.e., STACK]
Note: The only difference between BFS and DFS is in Expend (step 5). In
BFS, we always insert the generated successors at the right end of OPEN list,
whereas in DFS at the left end of OPEN list.
Properties of DFS Algorithm:
Supposeb(branching factor), that is Maximum number of successors of any
node and M: maximum depth of a leaf node, then
Number of nodes generated (in worst case): 1+b+b^2+⋯+bm = O(bm)
3.3.5 Performance of DFS

 Time Required for DFS for tree of b branching factor and m depth (of
shallowest goal node) is O(b^m).
 Space (memory) requirement for a tree with b branching factor and m depth
(of shallowest goal node) is also O(bm)
 BFS algorithm is Complete (if b is finite).
 BFS algorithm isnotOptimal.
Space is the advantage of DFS as compared to BFS.
3.3.6 Advantages and disadvantages of DFS

Advantages:
 If depth-first search finds solution without exploring much in a path then
the time and space it takes will be very less.
 The advantage of depth-first Search is that memory requirement is only
linear with respect to the search graph. This is in contrast with breadth-first
search which requires more space.
97
Artificial Intelligence Example1: Consider the following graph in fig-1 and its corresponding state space tree
– Introduction representation in fig-2. Note that A is a start state and G is a Goal state.
E A
B
B C
A D E H C
D E D G
C F B F
C
G
G G H E G H
Fig-1 State space graph Fig-2 State space tree

Step 1: Initially open contains only one node Step 4: Node D is removed from open and is expanded.
corresponding to the source state A. Its children C and F are added to the front of open.
A A
B C B C
C
D E D G C
D E D G
C F B F C F B F
Open= A CLOSED={ } Open= C,F,E,C CLOSED=A,B,D

Step2: A is removed from open. The node A is expanded, Step 5: Node C is removed from open. Its children G
and its children B and C are generated. They are placed and F is added to the front of open.
at the from of open.
A
A
B C
B C
C
D E D G
C
D E D G
C F B F C F B F
Open= B,C CLOSED={A} Open= G,F,E,C CLOSED=A,B,D,C

Step 3: Node B is removed from open and is expended. Step 6: Node G is expanded and found to be a goal
Its children D, E are generated and put at the front open. node. The solution path A-B-D-C-G is returned and the
algorithm terminates.
A
A
B C
B C
C
D E D G
C
D E D G
C F B F C F B F
Open= D,E,C CLOSED={A,B} Open= F,E,C CLOSED=A,B,D,C,G
3.3.7 Comparison of BFS and DFS

BFS goes level wise , but requires more space as compared to DFS. The space
required by DFS is O(d) where d is depth of tree, but space required by BFS is
98 O(bd).
DFS: The problem with this appraoch is, if there is a node close to root, but Uninformed &
not in first few subtrees explored bt DFS, then DFS reaches that node very late. Informed Search
Also, DFS may not find shortest path to a node (in terms of number of edges.)
0 node to be searched
Path followed by a
DFS
1 2
3 4 5 6
Fig 6: Path sequence in DFS
DFS: The problem with this approach is, if there is a node close to root, but not
in first few subtrees explored by DFS, then DFS reaches that node very late.
Also, DFS may not find shortest path to a node (in terms of number of edges).
Suppose, we want to find node- ‘2’ of the given infinite undirected graph/tree. A
DFS starting from node-0 will dive left, towards node 1 and so on.
Whereas, the node 2 is just adjacent to node 1.
Hense, a DFS wastes a lot of time in coming back to node 2.
An Iteratie Deepenign Depth First Search overcomes this andquickly find the
required node.
3.4 ITERATIVE DEEPENING DEPTH FIRST

SEARCH (IDDFS)
Iterative Deepening Depth First Search (IDDFS) neither suffers the drawbacks
of BFS nor DFS on trees. It takes the advantages of both the strategy.
It begins by performing DFS to a depth of zero, then depth of one, depth of two,
and so on until a solution is found or some maximum depth is reached.
It is like BFS in that it explores a complete layer of new nodes at each iteration
before going to next layer. It is likes DFS for a single iteration.
It is preferred when there is a large search space, and the depth of a solution
is notknown. But it performs the wasted computation before reaching the goal
depth. Since IDDFS expends all nodes at a given depth before expending any
nides at greater depth, it is guaranteed to find a shortest-length (path) solution
from initial state to goal state.
At any given time, it is performing a DFS and never searches deeper than depth
‘d’. Hence, it uses same space as DFS.
Disadvantage of IDDFS is that it performs wasted computation prior to reaching
the goal depth. 99
– Introduction Algorithm (IDDFS)
Initialized d=1/* depth of search tree*/,found =false
While (Found = False)
DO{
perform a depth first search from start to depth d.
if goal state is obtained
then Found = true
else
discard the nodes generated in the search after depth d
(i.e. d+1 onwards till last of tree)
}/* end while */
Report the solution,if obtained
Stop
Let us consider the following example to understand the IDDFS:
• Here initial state is A and goal state is M :
B C
D E F
G
H I J K L M N O
The Iterative deepening search proceeds as follows:

Iterative Deepening search L=0
Limit = 0
A A A
B C B C C
Limit = 1
100
Iterative Deepening search L=2 Uninformed &
Informed Search
A A
A A
B C B C B C B C
D E F G D E F G D E F G E F G
Limit = 2
A
A A
C
C C
F G F G G

A A A A
B C B C B C B C
D E F G D E F G D E F G D E F G
Limit =3 H I J K L M N O H I J K L M N O H I J K L M N O H I J K L M N O
A A A A A
B C B C B C B C B C
D E F G E F G E F G E F G F G
I J K L M N O J K L M N O J K L M N O K L M N O L M N O
A A A
C B C B C
F G F G F G
L M N O L M N O M N O
3.4.1 Time and space complexities of IDDFS

The time and space complexities of IDDFSalgorithm is O(bd) and O(d)
respectively.
It can be shown that depth first iterative deepening is asymptotically optimal,
among brute force tree searches, in terms of time, space and length of the solution.
In fact, it is linear in its space complexity like DFS, and is asymptotically
optimal to BFS in terms of the number of nodes expanded.
Please note that in general iterative deepening is preferred uninformed
search method when there is large search space, and the depth of the
solution is unknown. Also note that iterative deepening search is analogous
to BFS in that is explores a complete layer going to the next layer.
3.4.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of IDDFS:

Advantages:
1. It combines the benefits of BFS and DFS search algorithms in terms of fast
search and memory efficiency.
2. It is guaranteed to find a shortest path solution.
3. It is a preferred uniformed search method when the search space is large
and the depth of the solution is not known.
101
Artificial Intelligence Disadvantages:
– Introduction
1. The main drawback of IDDFS is that it repeats all the work from the
previous phase. That is, it performs wasted computations before reaching
the goal depth.
2. The time complexity is O(bd) i.e., exponential type only.
The following summarizes when to use which algorithm:
DFS BFS IDDFS

Many solutions exist Some solutions are Space is limited and the
Know (or have a good known to be shallow shortest solution path is
estimate of) the depth of required
solution.
3.5 BIDIRECTIONAL SEARCH

This search technique expands nodes from the start and goal state simultaneously.
Check at each stage if the nodes of one have been generated by the other. If so,
the path concatenation is the solution.
• This search is used when a problem has a single goal state that is given
explicitly and all the node generation operators have inverses,
• So, it is used to find shortest path from an initial node to goal node instead
of goal itself along with path.
• It works by searching forward from the initial node and backward from the
goal node simultaneously, by hoping that two searches meet in the middle.
• Check at each stage if the nodes of one have been generated by the other,
i.e., they meet in the middle.
• If so, the path concatenation is the solution.
Thus, the BS Algorithm is applicable when generating predecessors is easy
in both forward and backward directions and there exist only 1 or fewer goal
states. The following figure illustrate how the Bidirectional search is executed.
Root node
1 Bidirectional
13
4 Search 11
2 14
8 9 10
3 15
6 Intersection 12
Node
5 16
Goal node
102 Fig 7 Bidirectional search

We have node 1 as the start/root node and node 16 as the goal node. The Uninformed &
algorithm divides the search tree into two sub-trees. So, from start node 1, we do Informed Search
a forward search and at the same time, we do a backward search from goal node
16. The forward search traverse’s nodes 1, 4, 8, and 9 whereas the backward
search traverses through nodes 16, 12, 10, and 9. We see that both forward
and backward search meets at node 9 called the intersection node. So, the total
path traced by forwarding search and the path traced by backward search is the
optimal solution. This is how the BS Algorithm is implemented.
Advantages:
• Since BS uses various techniques like DFS, BFS, Depth limited search
(DLS) etc, it is efficient and requires less memory.
Disadvantages:
• Implementation of the bidirectional search tree is difficult.
• In bidirectional search, one should know the goal state in advance.
• Practically inefficient due to additional overhead to perform insertion
operation at each point of search.
Time complexity:
The total number of nodes expended in Bidirectional search is= 2bd⁄2 = O(bd⁄2),
where b is a branching factor and d is the depth of the shallowest goal node.
Initial State Final State
d/2
Finally, the Bidirectional search is:

 Complete? Yes
 Time Complexity: O(bd/2)
 Space complexity: O(bd/2)
 Optimal: Yes (if step cost is uniform in both forward and backward
directions)
103
– Introduction
3.6 COMPARISON OF UNINFORMED SEARCH
STRATEGIES
The following table-1compare the efficiency of uninformed search algorithms.
These are the measure to evaluate the performance of the search algorithms:
Table -1 Performance of uninformed search algorithm
BFS DFS IDDFS Bidirectional Search

(if applicable)
Time bd bd bd bd/2
Space bd bm bd bd/2
Optimum? Yes No Yes Yes
Complete? Yes No Yes Yes
Were
b=branching factor
d=depth of shallowest goal state
m=Maximum depth of the search space
Q.1 Apply BFS and DFS algorithm on the following graph, clearly show the
contents of OPEN and CLOSE list.
2 3 4
6 5 7
9 8
Goal State
Q.2 Apply BFS algorithm on the following tree (M is goal node)
104
Q.3 Apply BFS algorithm on the following graph. Uninformed &
Informed Search
E
B
A D F H
C
G
Let A be the state and G be the final or goal state to be searched.

Q.4 Compare the Uninformed search algorithm with respect to Time, space,
Optimal and Complete.
3.7 INFORMED (HEURISTIC) SEARCH

Uninformed (blind) search is inefficient in most cases because they do not have
any domain specific knowledge about goal state. Heuristic Search Uses domain-
dependent (heuristic) information beyond the definition of the problem itself in
order to search the space more efficiently.
The following are some ways of using heuristic information:
 Deciding which node to expand next, instead of doing the expansion in a
strictly breadth-first or depth-first order;
 In the course of expanding a node, deciding which successor or successors
to generate, instead of blindly generating all possible successors at one
time:
 Deciding that certain nodes should be discarded, or pruned, from the search
space.
Informed search algorithms use domain knowledge. In an informed search,
problem information is available which can guide the search. Informed search
strategies can find a solution more efficiently thanan uninformed search strategy.
Informed search is also called a Heuristic search.
Heuristics is a guess work, or additional information about the problem. It
may miss the solution, if wrong heuristics is supplied. However, in almost
all problems with correct heuristic information, it provides good solution in
reasonable time
Informed search can solve much complex problem which could not be solved
in another way.
We have the following informed search algorithm:
1. Best-First Search
2. A* algorithm
3. Iterative Deepening A* 105
Artificial Intelligence 3.7.1 Strategies for providing heuristics information:
– Introduction
The informed search algorithm is more useful for large search space. All the
informed search algorithm uses the idea of heuristic, so it is also called Heuristic
search.
“Heuristics are criteria, methods or principles for deciding which among
several alternative courses of action promises to be the most effective in order
to achieve some goal”
Heuristic Function:
Heuristic information is provided in form of function called heuristic function.
 Heuristic is a function which is used in Informed Search, and it finds the
most promising path.
 It takes the current state of the agent as its input and produces the estimation
of how close agent is from the goal.
 Heuristic function estimates how close a state is to the goal. It is represented
byh(n), and it calculates the cost of an optimal path between the pair of
states.
 The heuristic method, however, might not always give the best solution, but
it guaranteed to find a good solution in reasonable time.
 This technique always uses to find solution quickly.
 Informed Search Define a heuristic function. h(n). that estimates the
“goodness" of a node n.
 The heuristic function is an estimate, based on domain-specific information
that is computable from the current state description of how close we are to
a goal.
 Specifically, h(n) = estimated cost (or distance) of minimal cost path from
state ‘n’ to a goal state.
A heuristic function at a node n is an estimate of the optimum cost from the
current node toa goal. Denoted by h(n)
h(n) = estimated cost of the cheapest path from node n to a goal node
For example, suppose you want to find a shortest path from Kolkata to Guwahati,
then heuristic for Guwahati may be straight-line distance between Kolkata and
Guwahati, that is
h(Kolkata) = euclideanDistance(Kolkata,Guwahati)
3.7.2 Formulation of informed (heuristic) search problem as

State Space
Informed search problems can be represented as state space. The state space of
a problem includes: an Initial state, one or more goal state, set of state transition
operator O (a set of rules), used to change the current state to another state and
106 a heuristic function h.
In general, a state space is represented by 5 tuples as follows: S:[S,s0,O,G,h] Uninformed &
Informed Search
Where S: (Implicitly specified) Set of all possible states (possibly infinite).
s0: start state of the problem, s0∈S .
O: Set of state transition operator, each having same cost. This is used to change
the state from one state to another. It is the set of arcs (or links) between nodes
G: Set of Goal state, G⊆S.
h(): A heuristic function, estimating the distance toa goal node.
State Space
Initial state
actions
Goal State
Fig 8 State space with initial and goal node
We need to find a sequence of actions which transform the agent from the initial
sate s0 to Goal state G. State space is commonly defined as a directed graph or
as a tree in which each node is a state and each arc represents the application of
an operator transforming a state to a successor state.
Thus, the problem is solved by using the rules (operators), in combination with
an appropriate control strategy, to move through the problem space until a path
from initial state to a goal state is found. This process is known as search. A
solution path is a path in state space from s0(initial sate) to G (Goal state).
We have already seen an OPEN list is used to implement an uninformed (Blind)
search (section 3.2). But the problem with using only one list OPEN is that, it
is not possible to keep track of the node which is already visited. That is “how
we can maintain a part of the state space that is already visited”. To save the
explicit space, we maintained another list called CLOSED. Now we can select
a node from OPEN and save it in CLOSED. Now, when we generate successor
node from CLOSED, we check whether it is already in (OPEN∪CLOSED). If
it is already in (OPEN∪CLOSED), we will not insert in OPEN again, otherwise
insert.
3.7.3 Best-First Search

Best first search uses an evaluation function f(n) that gives an indication of
which node to expand next for each node. Every node in a search space has an
evaluation function (heuristic function) associated with it. A heuristic function
value h(n) on each node indicates how the node is from the goal node. Note that
Evaluation function=heuristic cost function (in case of minimization problem) 107
Artificial Intelligence OR objective function(in case of maximization).Decision of which node to
– Introduction be expanded depends onvalue of evaluation function. Evaluation value= cost/
distance of current node from goal node and for goal node evaluation function
value=0
Based on the evaluation function, f(n), Best-first search can be categorized into
the following categories:
1) Greedy Best first search
2) A* search
The following 2 list (OPEN and CLOSED) are maintained to implement these
two algorithms.
1. OPEN – all those nodes that have been generated & have has heuristic
function applied to them but have not yet been examined.
2. CLOSED – contains all nodes that have already been examined.
3.7.4 Greedy Best-First search:

Greedy best-first search algorithm always selects the path which appears best at
that moment. It is the combination of depth-first search and breadth-first search
algorithms. It uses the heuristic function and search. Best-first search allows
us to take the advantages of both algorithms. With the help of best-first search,
at each step, we can choose the most promising node. In the best first search
algorithm, we expand the node which is closest to the goal node and the closest
cost is estimated by heuristic function, i.e.
f(n)= g(n).
Were, h(n)= estimated cost from node n to the goal.
The greedy best first algorithm is implemented by the priority queue (or to
store the heuristic function value).
Best first search algorithm:
1. Initialize: Set OPEN={s} , CLOSED={ };
f(s)=h(s)
3. Select: Select the minimum cast state a from OPEN, save n in CLOSED.
4. Terminate: If a∈Goal node, terminate with success and return f(n), else
5. Expend: For each successor, m of n,
If m∉[OPEN∪CLOSED]
Set f(m)=h(m) and Insert m in OPEN
………
108
Uninformed &
OR Pseudocode (for Best-First Search algorithm) Informed Search
Step 1: Place the starting node into the OPEN list.
Step 2: If the OPEN list is empty, Stop and return failure.
Step 3: Remove the node n, from the OPEN list which has the lowest value
of h(n), and places it in the CLOSED list.
Step 4: Expand the node n, and generate the successors of node n.
Step 5: Check each successor of node n, and find whether any node is a
goal node or not. If any successor node is goal node, then return success and
terminate the search, else proceed to Step 6.
Step 6: For each successor node, algorithm checks for evaluation function
f(n), and then check if the node has been in either OPEN or CLOSED list. If
the node has not been in both lists, then add it to the OPEN list.
Step 7: Return to Step 2.
Advantages of Best-First search:
 Best first search can switch between BFS and DFS, thus gaining the
advantages of both the algorithms.
 This algorithm is more efficient than BFS and DFS algorithms.
Disadvantages of Best-First search:
 Chances of getting stuck in a loop are higher.
 It can behave as an unguided depth-first search in the worst-case scenario.
Consider the following example for better understanding of greedy Best-First
search algorithm.
Example1: Consider the following example (graph) with heuristic function
value h(n)[Fig 2] which illustrate the greedy Best-first search. Note that in the
following example, heuristic function is defined as
hSLD = straight line distance from n to goal
A 7 D
11 14 25
B C 10
F
8 20
15
9 10 G
E
H
Let heuristic function value h(n) for each node n to goal node G is defined as
109
Artificial Intelligence Straight line distance
– Introduction
A→G=h(A)=40
B→G=h(B)=32
C→G=h(C)=25
D→G=h(D)=35
E→G=h(E)=19
F→G=h(F)=17
H→G=h(H)=10
G→G=h(G)=0
h(n)= straight line distance from node n to G
Note that h(G)=0
The nodes added/deleted from OPEN and CLOSED list using Best-First Search
algorithm are shown below.
OPEN CLOSED
[A] []
[C,B,D] [A]
B,D A,C
F,E,B,D A,C
G.E.B.D A,C,F
E,B,D A,C,F,G
Explanation are as follows:

Step1: initially OPEN list start with start state ‘A’ and CLOSED list with empty.
Step2: Children of A={C[25], B[32] D[35]}, so
OPEN={C[25], B[32], D[35]} therefore Best=C, so expend C node next.
Step3: Children of C={E[19],F[17]}, so
OPEN={F[17],E[19], B[32], D[35]} therefore Best=F, so expend node F next.
Step4: Children of F={G[0]}, therefore OPEN= {G[0], E[19], B[32], D[35]}
Best=G, this is a goal node so Stop.
Finally, we got the shortest path: A→C→F→G and cost is 44.
Example2: Consider the below search problem, and we will traverse it
using greedy best-first search. At each iteration, each node is expanded using
evaluation function f(n)=h(n) , which is given in the below table.
110
Uninformed &
S node h(n) Informed Search
3 2
A 12
A B B 4
4 1 3 1 C 7
D 3
C D E F E 8
F 2
5 2 3 H 4
I 9
H I G S 13
G 0
Here, we are using two lists which are OPEN and CLOSED Lists. Following
are the iteration for traversing the above example.
13 S
4
12 A B
9
8 E F
I G 2
0
Initialization: Open [A, B], Closed [S]

Iteration 1 : Open [A], Closed [S, B]
Iteration 2 : Open [E, F, A], Closed [S, B]
: Open [E, A], Closed [S, B, F]
Iteration 3 : Open [I, G, E, A], Closed [S, B, F]
: Open [I, E, A], Closed [S, B, F, G]
Hence the final solution path will be S----> B----->F----> G
Evaluation of Best-First Search algorithm:
Time Complexity:
The worst-case time complexity of Greedy best first search is O(bm).
Space Complexity:
The worst-case space complexity of Greedy best first search is O(bm). Where,
m is the maximum depth of the search space.
Complete: Greedy best-first search is also incomplete, even if the given state
space is finite.
Optimal: Greedy best first search algorithm is not optimal.
111
Artificial Intelligence Example3: Apply Greedy Best-First Search algorithm on the following graph
– Introduction (L is a goal node).
Evaluation
10
function D
Start
E
node 2 8
A
F
6 13
s
B G
14 1
5 I K
5 0 Goal
C 7 L Node
H
6
J 2 M
Fig. 2.17: Greedy best first search graph.
Working: We start with a start-nodes, S. Now, S has three children i.e., A,

B and C with their Heuristic function values 2, 6 and 5 respectively. These
weights show approximately, how far theyare from goal node. So, we write,
children of S are -(A:2), (B: 6), (C:5)
Out of these, the node with minimum value is (A : 2). So, we select A and its
children are explored (or generated).
Its children are(D: 10) and (E:8)
The search process now has four nodes to search for, namely-
(B : 6), (C: 5), (8.10) and (E: 8)
Out of these, node-C has the minimal value of 5. So, we select it and expand.
So, we get(H: 7) as its child. Now, the nodes to search are as follows-
(B:6), (D: 10,(E: 8) and (H : 7) and so on.
Working of the algorithm can be represented in tabular firm as follows
Step Node being Children (on Available nodes Node Chosen

expanded expansion) (to search)
1. S (A:2), (B:6), (A:2), (B:6), (C:5) (A:2)
(C:5)
2. A (D:10), (E:8) (B:6), (C:5), (C:5)
(D:10), (E:8)
3. C (H:7) (B:6), (D:10), (B:6)
(E:8), (H:7)
4. B (F:13), (D:10), (E:8), (H:7)
(G:14) (H:7), (F:13),
(G:14)
112
Uninformed &
5. H (I:5), (J:6) (D:10), (E:8), (I:5) Informed Search
(F:13), (G:14),
(I:5), (J:6)
6. I (K:1), (L:0), (D:10), (E:8), Goal node is
(M:2) (H:7), (F:13), found. So, search
(G:14), (J:6), stops now
(K:1), (L:0), (M:2)
3.8 A* ALGORITHM
A* search is the most commonly known form of best-first search. It uses
heuristic function h(n), and cost to reach the node n from the start state g(n).
It has combined features of uniform cost search (UCS) and greedy best-first
search, by which it solves the problem efficiently. A* search algorithm finds the
shortest path through the search space using the heuristic function. This search
algorithm expands less search tree and provides optimal result faster.
In A* search algorithm, we use search heuristic as well as the cost to reach the
node. Hence, we can combine both costs as following, and this sum is called as
a fitness number (Evaluation Function).
f(n) = g(n) + h(n)
Estimated cost of the Cost to reach node n Cost to reach from node
cheapest solution. from start state. n to goal node.
Fig 9 Evaluation function f(n) in A* Algorithm
A* algorithm evaluation function f(n) is defined as f(n)=g(n)+h(n)

Where g(n) = sum of edge costs from start state to n
And h(n) = estimate of lowest cost path from node n→goal node.
If h(n) is admissible then search will find optimal solution. Admissible means
underestimates cost of any solution which can reached from node. In other
words, a heuristic is called admissible if it always under-estimates, that is, we
always have h(n) ≤ h^* (n), where h*(n) denotes the minimum distance to a
goal state from state n.
A* search begins at root node and then search continues by visiting the next
node which has the least evaluation value f(n).
It evaluates nodes by using the following evaluation function
f(n) = h(n) +g(n) = estimated cost of the cheapest solution through n.
Where,
g(n): the actual shortest distance traveled from initial node to current node, it
helps to avoid expanding paths that are already expansive
113
Artificial Intelligence h(n): the estimated (or “heuristic”) distance from current node to goal, it
– Introduction estimates which node is closest to the goal node.
Nodes are visited in this manner until a goal is reached.
Suppose s is a start state then calculation of evaluation function f(n) for any
node n is shown in following figure 10.
g(n)
n f(n) = g(n)+h(n)
f(m) h(m) m h(n) estimate
Fig 10 Calculation of evaluation function f(n).
Algorithm A*
1. Initialize: Set OPEN = (s), CLOSED = {}, g(s) = 0, f(s) = h(s)
2. Fail: If OPEN = { }, Terminate & fail
3. Select : Select the minimum cost state, n, from OPEN, Save
n in CLOSED.
4. Terminate: If n ∈ G, terminate with success, and return f(n)
5. Expand: For each successor, m, of n
If m ∉ [OPEN ∪ CLOSED]
Set g(m) = g(n) + C(n,m)
Set f(m) = g(m) +h(m)
Insert m in OPEN
If m ∈ [OPEN ∪ CLOSED]
Set g(m) = min {min {g(m), g(n) + C(n,m)}
Set f(m) = g(m) + h(m)
If f(m) has decreased and m ∈ CLOSED,
move m to OPEN
In step5, we generate a successor of n (say m) and for each successor m, if it
does not belong to OPEN or CLOSED that is m∉[OPEN∪CLOSED], then we
insert it in OPEN with the cost g(n)+C(n,m) i.e., cost up to n and additional cost
from n→m.
114
If m∈[OPEN∪CLOSED] then we set g(m) with original cost and new cost Uninformed &
[g(n)+C(n,m)]. If we arrive at some state with another path which has less cost Informed Search
from original one, then we replace the existing cost with this minimum cost.
If we find f(m) is decreased (if larger then ignore) and m ∈ CLOSED then move
m from CLOSED to OPEN.
Note that, the implementation of A* Algorithm involves maintaining two lists-
OPEN and CLOSED. The list OPEN contains those nodes that have been
evaluated by the heuristic function but have not expanded into successors yet
and the list CLOSED contains those nodes that have already been visited.
See the following steps for working of A* algorithm:
Step-1: Define a list OPEN. Initially, OPEN consists of a single node, the
start node S.
Step-2: If the list is empty, return failure and exit.
Step-3: Remove node n with the smallest value of f(n) from OPEN and
move it to list CLOSED.
If node n is a goal state, return success and exit.
Step-4: Expand node n.
Step-5: If any successor to n is the goal node, return success and the solution
by tracing the path from goal node to S.
Otherwise, go to Setp-6.
Step-6: For each successor node,
Apply the evaluation function f to the node.
If the node has not been in either list, add it to OPEN.
Step-7: Go back to Step-2.
3.8.1 Working of A* algorithm

Example1: Let’s us consider the following graph to understand the working
of A* algorithm. The numbers written on edges represent the distance between
the nodes. The numbers written on nodes represent the heuristic value. Find
the most cost-effective path to reach from start state A to final state J using A*
Algorithm.
10
A 3
6
6
1 F
7
8 B 2 5 G
H 3
D 7 3 1
3
1 2
I
C 8
5 5
5 3
E
3 5 J
115
Artificial Intelligence Step-1:
– Introduction
We start with node A. Node B and Node F can be reached from node A. A*
Algorithm calculates f(B) and f(F). Estimated Cost f(n) = g(n) +h(n) for Node
B and Node F is:
f(B) = 6+8=14
f(F) = 3+6=9
Since f(F) < f(F), so it decides to go to node F.
→ Closed list (F)
Path- A →F
Step-2: Node G and Node H can be reached from node F.
A* Algorithm calculates f(G) and f(H).
f(G) = (3+1)=5=9
f(H) = (3+7) +5=13
Since f(G) < f(H), so it decides to go to node G.
→ Closed list (G)
Path- A→F→G
Step-3: Node I can be reached from node G.
A* Algorithm calculates f(I).
f(I)=(3+1+3)+1=8; It decides to go to node I.
→ Closed list (I).
Path- A→F→G→I
Step-4: Node E, Node H and Node J can be reached from node I.
A* Algorithm calculates f(E), f(H), f(J).
f(E) = (3+1+3+5) + 3 =15
f(H) = (3+1+3+2) + 3 = 12
f(J) = (3+1+3+3) +0 = 10
Since f(J) is least, so it decides to go to node J.
→ Closed list (J)
Shortest Path - A→F→G→I→J
Path Cost is 3+1+3+3=10
Example 2: Consider the following graph and apply A* algorithm and find the
most cost-effective path to reach from start state S to final stateG. The heuristic
function value of each node n is defined in the table given.
116
Uninformed &
State h(n) Informed Search
S 5
A 3
B 4
C 2
D 6
G 0
Solution:
S→A=1+3=4
S→G=10+0=10
S→A→B=1+2+4=7
S→A→C=1+1+2=4
S→A→C→D=1+1+3+6=11
S→A→C→G=1+1+4=6
S→A→B→D=1+2+5+6=14
S→A→C→D→G=1+1+3+2=7
S→A→B→D→G=1+2+5+2=10
3.8.2 Advantages and disadvantages of A* algorithm

Advantages:
 A* search algorithm is the best algorithm than other search algorithms.
 A* search algorithm is optimal and complete.
 This algorithm can solve very complex problems.
Disadvantages:
 It does not always produce the shortest path as it mostly based on heuristics
and approximation.
 A* search algorithm has some complexity issues.
 The main drawback of A* is memory requirement as it keeps all generated
nodes in the memory, so it is not practical for various large-scale problems.
3.8.3 Admissibility Properties of A* algorithm

A heuristic is called admissible if it always under-estimates, that is, we always
have h(n) ≤h*(n), where h*(n) denotes the minimum distance to a goal state
from state n.For finite state spaces, A* always terminates.
In other words, if the heuristic function h always underestimates then true
cost h* (that is heuristic function cost h(n) is smaller than true cost h*(n)),
then A* is guaranteed to find an optimal solution. 117
Artificial Intelligence If there is a path from s to a goal state, A* terminates (even when the state
– Introduction space is infinite). Algorithm A* is admissible, that is, if there is a path from s to
a goal state, A* terminates by finding an optimal path . If we are given two or
more admissible heuristics, we can take there max to get a stronger admissible
heuristic.
Admissibility Condition :
By admissible algorithm. we mean that the algorithm is sure to find a most
optimal solution if one exists. Please note that this is possible only when the
evaluation function value never overestimates the distance of the node to the
goal. Also note that if the evaluation function value which is a heuristic one is
exactly the same of the distance of the node to the goal, then this algorithm will
immediately give the solution.
For example, the A* algorithm discussed above is admissible. There are three
conditions to be satisfied for A to be admissible.
They are as follows-
1. Each node in the graph has finite number of successors (or O).
2. All arcs in the graph have costs greater than some positive amount, (say C).
3. For each node in the graph, n, h(n) ≤h’(n).
This implies that the heuristic guess of the cost of getting from node n to the
goal is never an overestimate. This is known as a heuristic condition. Only if
these three conditions are satisfied, A* is guaranteed to find an optimal (least)
cost path. Please note that A* algorithm is admissible for any node n if on
such path, h'(n) is always less than or equal to h(n). This is possible only
when the evaluation function value never overestimates the distance of the node
to the goal. Although the admissibility condition requires h'(n) to be a lower
bound on h(n), it is expected that the more closely h'(n) approaches h(n), the
better is the performance of the algorithm.
If h(n) = h’(n) -an optimal solution path would be found without over expanding
a node of the path. We assume that one optimal solution exists. If h'(n)=0 then
A* reduces to blind uniform cost algorithm or breadth-first algorithm.
Please note that the admissible heuristics are by nature optimistic because they
think that the cost of solving the problem is less than it actually is because g(n)
is the exact cost for each n. Also note that f(n) should never overestimate the
true cost of a solution through n.
For example, consider a network of roads and cities with roads connecting
these cities. Our problems to find a path between two cities such that the
mileage/fuel cost is minimal. Then an admissible heuristic would be to use
distance to estimate the costs from a given city to the goal city. Naturally, the
air distance will be either equal to the real distance or will underestimate it i.e.,
h(n) ≤ h’(n).
118
3.8.4 Properties of heuristic Algorithm: Uninformed &
Informed Search
1. Admissibility condition: Algorithm A is admissible if it guarantees to
return an optimal solution when one exists. A heuristic function h is called
admissive if many general estimates., we always have h(n)≤h^* (n)
2. Completeness condition: Algorithm A is complete if it always terminates
with a solution when one exists.
3. Dominance property: If A1 and A2 are two Admissible versions of
Algorithm A such that A is more informed than A2 h1(n) > h2(n).
4. Optimal Property: Algorithm A is optimal over a class of Algorithms If a
dominates all members of the class.
3.8.5 Results on A* Algorithm

1. A* is admissible: Algorithm A* is admissible, that is, if there is a path
from S to goal state, A* terminates by finding an optimal solution.
2. A* is complete: If there is a path from S to goal state, A terminates (Even
when the state space is ∞).
3. Dominance property: If A1& A2→ two Admissible versions of A* S.t.
A1 is more informed than A2, then A2 expends at least as many states as
does A1. (So A1 dominates A2 Here, b/s its better heuristics than A2)
If we are given two or more admissible heuristics, we can take their max to get
a stronger admissible heuristic.
3.9 PROBLEM REDUCTION SEARCH

Problem reduction search is broadly defined as a planning how best to solve
a problem that can be recursively decomposed into subproblems in multiple
ways. There are many ways to decompose a problem, we have to find the best
decomposition, which gives the quality of searching or cost is minimum.
We already know about the divide and conquer strategy, a solution to a problem
can be obtained by decomposing it into smaller sub-problems. Each of this
sub-problem can then be solved to get its sub solution. These sub solutions
can then be recombined to get a solution as a whole. That is called is Problem
Reduction. This method generates arc which is called as AND arcs. One AND
arc may point to any number of successor nodes, all of which must be solved
for an arc to point to a solution.
When a problem can be divided into a set of sub problems, where each
sub problem can be solved separately and a combination of these will be a
solution, AND-OR graphs or AND - OR trees are used for representing the
solution. The decomposition of the problem or problem reduction generates
AND arcs. Consider the following example to understand the AND-OR graph
(figure-11).
119
– Introduction Goal = Get a bike
AND Arc
Goal : Steal Goal : Get Goal : Buy a

a bike some money bike
AND
OR
Fig 11AND-OR graph
The figure-11 shows an AND-OR graph. In an AND-OR graph, OR node

represents a choice between possible decompositions, and an AND node
represents given decomposition. For example, to Get a bike, we have two
options, either:
1. (Steal a bike)
OR
2. Get some money AND Buy a Bike.
In this graph we are given two choices, first Steal a bike or get some money
AND Buy a Bike.
When we have more than one choice and we have to pick one, we apply OR
condition to choose one.(That's what we did here).
Basically, the ARC here denotes AND condition.
Here we have replicated the arc between the Get some money and buy a bike
because by getting some money possibility of buying a bike is more than
stealing.
AO* search algorithm is based on AND-OR graph, so it is called AO*
search algorithm. AO* Algorithm basically based on problem decomposition
(Breakdown problem into small pieces).
The main difference between the A*(A star) and AO*(AO star) algorithms
is that A* algorithm represents an OR graph algorithm that is used to find a
single solution (either this or that). Butan AO* algorithm represents an AND-
OR graph algorithm that is used to find more than one solution by ANDing
more than one branch.
A* algorithm guarantees to give an optimal solution while AO* doesn’t since
AO* doesn’t explore all other solutions once it got a solution.
3.9.1 Problem definition in AND-OR graph:

Given [G, s, T]
Where G: Implicitly specified AND/OR graph
120
s: Strat node of the AND/OR graph Uninformed &
Informed Search
T: Set of terminal nodes (called SOLVED)
h(n): Heuristic function estimating the cost of solving the sub problem at n.
Example1:
Let us see one example with the presence of heuristic value at every node (see
fig 2) . The estimated heuristic value is given at each node. The heuristic value
h(n) at any node indicates “from this node at least h(n) value (or cost) is required
to find solution”. Here we assume the edge cost value (i.e., g(n) value) for each
edge is 1. Remember in OR node we always mark that successor node which
indicates best path for solution.
S
1 1 1
7 A 12 B C 13
1 1 1 1
5 D E 6 5 F G 7
Fig 12: AND-OR graph with heuristic value at each node
Note that, the graph given in fig 2, there are two paths for solution from start
state S: either S-A-B or S-C. To calculate the cost of the path we use the formula
f(n)=g(n)+h(n) [note that here g(n) value is 1 for every edge].
Path1: f(S-A-B)=1+1+7+12=21
Path2: f(S-C)=1+13=14
Since min(21,14)=14; so, we select successor node C, as its cost is minimum,
so it indicates best path for solution.
Note that C is a AND node; so, we consider both the successor node of C. The
cost of node C is f(C-F-G)=1+1+5+7=14; so, the revised cost of node C is 14
and now the revised cost of node S is f(S-C)=1+14=15 (revised).
Note that once the cost (that is f value) of any node is revised, we propagate
this change backward through the graph to decide the current best path.
Now let us explore another path and check whether we are getting lessor cost as
compared to this cost or not.
F(A-D)=1+5=6 and f(A-E)=1+6=7; since A is an OR node so best successor
node is D since min(6,7)=6. So revised cost of Node A will be 6 instead of
7, that is f(A)=6 (revised). Now next selected node is D and D is having only
one node H so f(D-H)=1+2=3, so the revised cost of node D is 3, so now the
revised cost of node A, that is f(A-D-H)=4. This path is better than f(A-E)=7.
So, the final revised cost of node A is 4. Now the final revised cost of f(S-
A-B)=1+1+4+12=18 (revised).
121
Artificial Intelligence Thus, the final revised cost for
– Introduction
Path1: f(S-A-B)=18 and
Path2: f(S-C)=15
So optimal cost is 15.
Example2:
Consider the following AND-OR Graph with estimated heuristic cost at every
node. Note that A,D,E are AND node and B, C are OR node. Edge cost (i.e.,
g(n) value) is also given.
Apply AO* algorithm and find the optimal cost path using AO* algorithm.
A h=7
2 1 A,D,E → AND Node
B,C → OR Node
h=4 B C
2 1 0 0
h=2 D E 6 9 F G 7
1 0 0 0
3 H 10 I J 4 K 3
Fig- 1: AND-OR graphgraph

Fig- 1: AND-OR withwith
heuristic
heuristicfunction
function value.
value.
Heuristic (Estimated) cost at every Node is given. For example, heuristic cost
at node A is h=7, which means at least 7-unit cost required to find a solution.
Since A is AND Node, so we have to solve Both of its successor Node B and C.
Cost of Node A i.e., f(A-B-C) = (2+4) + (1+3) = 10
We perform cost revision in Bottom-up fashion.
A h=10 i.e., heuristic value of Node A will
2 1 be 10.
h=4 B C h=3
Fig (a) Cost revision
Now, Let’s see R.H.S first, Node C is an OR Node.

So, cost f(C-F)= 0+9=9
& f(C-G) =0+7=7
So Best successor of C in G, so we perform cost revision in Bottom-up fashion
as follows:
A h=14
2 1
h=4 B C h=7
0 0
9 F G 7
Fig (b): Cost revision in Bottom-up.

122
Now revision cost of Node A is 14; So, till now, we can say that the best path to Uninformed &
solve the problem is: G-C-A. Now expend left node of root, i.e., Node B. Informed Search
Since B is an OR Node; So, we have to See, which successor is best; i.e., D or E.

The revised cost of Node D is = (3+1) +(10+0) =14
And the revised cost of Node E = (40+0)+(3+0) = 7
So, the Best promising successor Node is E.
Now, perform cost Revision in Bottom-up fashion.
Note that all the leaf Node in the Marked tree is solved is solved. So, the best
way to solve the problem is to following the marked tree and solving those
marked problem. This best cost to solve the problem is 18.
Note that for AND Node: if both successor (unit problem) is solved, then we
declared SOLVED and for OR Node: if any one best successor is SOLVED,
then we declared SOLVED.
3.9.2 AO* algorithm

Our real-life situations cannot be exactly decomposed into either AND tree
or OR tree but is always combination of both. So, we need an AO* algorithm
where O stands for 'ordered'. Instead of two lists OPEN and CLOSED of A*
algorithm, we use a single structure GRAPH in AO* algorithm. If represents
a part of the search graph that has been explicitly generated so far. Please note
that each node in the graph will point both down to its immediate successors
and to its immediate predecessors. Also note that each node will have some
h'(n) value associated with it. But unlikeA* search, g(n) is not stored. It is not
possible to compute a single value of g(n) due to many paths to the same state. It
is not required also as we are doing top-down traversing along best-knownpath.
This guarantees that only those nodes that are on the best path are considered
for expansion
Hence, h'(n) will only serve as the estimate of goodness of a node.
Next, we develop an AO* algorithm.
Algorithm AO*
1. Initialize: Set G* ={s}, f(s) =h(s)
If s ∈ T, label s as SOLVED
2. Terminate: If s is SOLVED, then Terminate
3. Select: Select a non-terminal leaf node n from the marked
sub-free
4. Expand: Make explicit the successors of n for each new
successors, m:
Set f(m) =h(m)
If m is terminal, label m SOLVED
5. Cost Revision: Call Cost-Revise (n)
6. Loop: Go to Step 2.
123
– Introduction Cost Revision in AO*: Cost-Revise(n)
1. Create Z = {n}
2. If Z = {} return
3. Select a node m from Z such that m has no descendants in Z
4. If m is an AND node with successors r1,r2,…rk:
Set f(m) = ∑ [f(r_i) + c(m,r_i)]
Mark the edge to each successor of m
If each successor is labelled SOLVED,
then label m as SOLVED.
5. If m is an OR node with successor r1,r2,… rk:
Set f(m) = min {f(r_i) + c(m,r_i)}
Mark the edge to the best successor of m
If the marked successor is labelled SOLVED, label m as SOLVED
6. If the cost or label of m has changes, then insert those parents of m
into Z for which ma is a marked successor
3.9.3 Advantage of AO* algorithm

Note that AO* will always find a minimum cost solution if one exists if
h’(n)< h(n)and that all arc costs are positive. The efficiency of this algorithm
will depend on how closelyh’(n) approximates h(n). Also note that AO* is
guaranteed to terminate even on graphs that have cycles.
Note: When the graph has only OR node then AO* algorithm works just like
A* algorithm.
3.10 MEMORY BOUND HEURISTIC SEARCH

The following are the commonly used memory bound heuristics search:
1. Iterative deepening A* (IDA*)
2. Recursive Best-First search (RBFS)
3. Memory bound A* (MBA*)
3.10.1 Iterative Deepening A* (IDA*)

IDA* is a variant of the A* search algorithm which uses iterative deepening to
keep the memory usage lower than in A*.It is an informed search based on the
idea of the uniformed iterative deepening search.
Iterative deepening A* or IDA* is similar to iterative-deepening depth-first, but
with the following modifications:
The depth bound modified to be an f-limit
1. Start with limit = h(start)
2. Prune any node if f(node) > f-limit
124 3. Next f-limit = minimum cost of any node pruned
Iterative Deepening is a kind of uniformed search strategy. It combines the Uninformed &
benefits of depth-first and breadth- first search. Informed Search
Advantage of IDA* is: It is optimal and complete like breadth first search and
modest memory requirement like depth-first search.
IDA* algorithm
1. Set C= f(s)
2. Perform DFBB with cut-off C
Expand a state, n, only if its f-value is less than or equal to C
If a goal is selected for expansion, then return C and terminate
3. Update C to the minimum f-value which exceeded C among states which
were examined and Go TO Step 2.
3.10.2 Working of IDA*

 Perform depth-first search LIMITED to some f-bound.
 If goal found then ok.
 Else: increase the f-bound and restart.
How to establish the f-bound?
Initially: f(S)
 Generate all successors
 Record the minimal f(succ) > f(S)
 Continue with minimal f(succ) instead of f(S)
f1
f2
f3
f4
Consider the following example to understand the IDA*

f-limited, f-bound = 100 f-new = 120
S
f=100
A B C
f=120 f=130 f=120
D G E F
f=140 f=125 f=140 f=125
125
Artificial Intelligence f-limited, f-bound f-new =
– Introduction = 120 S 125
f=100
A B C
f=120 f=130 f=120
D G E F
f=140 f=125 f=140 f=125
f-limited, f-bound
= 125 P
f=100
A B C
f=120 f=130 f=120
D G E F
f=140 f=125 f=140 f=125
SUCC
ESS
3.10.3 Analysis of IDA*

IDA* is complete, optimal, and optimally efficient (assuming a consistent,
admissible heuristic), and requires only a polynomial amount of storage in the
worst case:
Note that IDA* is complete & optimal Space usage is linear in the depth of
solution. Each iteration is depth first search, and thus it does not require a
priority queue.
S
F* = optimal path cost to a goal
B = branching factor 𝑓𝑓 ∗ b
𝛿𝛿= minimum operator step cost 𝛿𝛿

𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 ∗
nodes of storage required
𝛿𝛿
G
126
3.10.4 Comparison of A* and IDA* algorithm: Uninformed &
Informed Search
 Iterative Deepening Search (IDS) is nothing but BFS plus DFS for tree
search.
 IDA* algorithm is “complete and Optimal” algorithm.
 BFA and A* is good for optimality, but not memory.
 DFS: good for memory O(bd), but not optimality
 In the worst case, only one new state is expanded in each iteration
 (IDA*). If A* expands N states, then IDA* can expand:
1+2+3+…+N=O(N2)
3.11 RECURSIVE BEST FIRST SEARCH (RBFS)

The idea of recursive best first search is to simulate A* search with O(bd)
memory, where b is the branching factor and d is the solution depth.
It is a memory bound, simple recursive algorithm that works like a standard
best first search but only takes up linear space. There are some things that
make it different from recursive DFS. It keeps track of f, the value of the best
alternative path that can be found from any ancestor of the current node, instead
of continuing indefinitely down the current path.
RBFS mimic the operation of standard Best-First search algorithm. IBFS keep
track of the f-value of the best alternative path available from any ancestor of the
current node. If the current node exceeds the limit, the recursion unwinds back
to the alternative path. As the recursion unwinds, RBFS replaces the f-value
of each node along the path with the best f-value of its children. In this way,
RBFS remembers the f-value of the best leaf in the forgotten subtree and can
therefore decide whether it’s worth re-expanding the subtree at some later time.
RBFS is somewhat most efficient than IDA*, but still suffers from excessive
node regeneration. A* and RBFS are optimal algorithms if heuristic function
h(n) is admissible.
Fig12 Algorithm for recursive Best first Search 127

Artificial Intelligence 3.11.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of RBFS:
– Introduction
 More efficient than IDA* and still optimal.
 Best-first Search based on next best f-contour; fewer regeneration of nodes.
 Exploit results of search at a specific f-contour by saving next f-contour
associated with a node who successors have been explored.
 Like IDA* still suffers from excessive node regeneration.
 IDA* and RBFS not good for graphs.
 Can’t check for repeated states other than those on current path.
 Both are hard to characterize in terms of expected time complexity.
Q.1 Apply A* on the following graph:-
12 10 16 15
2 1 2
1 2 3 4
1 3 3 1
7 11
12 5 6 7 8 15
5 5
1 4 10 0 15
0
12 9 10 11 12 0
8 3 1
4
Q.2 Apply A* algorithm on the following graph
5
1
3 2
4 2 3 23
4 3
4 2
1
5 3
20
6 0
128
Q.3 Differentiate between the A* and AO* algorithm. Uninformed &
Informed Search
Q.4 Apply AO* algorithm on the following graph. Heuristic value is also given
at every node and assume the edge cost value of each node is 1.
9
A
1 1 1
3 B 4 C D 5
1 1 1 1
5 E F 7 4 G H 4
Q.5 Apply AO* algorithm on the following graph. Heuristic value is also given
at every node and assume the edge cost value of each node is 1.
P
\ \
\
5 q r 11 s 8
\ \ \
\ \
4 t u v w x
7 1 3 3
\
y
1
Example 6: Given the 3 matrices A1, A2, A3 with their dimensions
(3×4),(4×10),(10×1). Consider the problem of solving this chain matrix
multiplication. Apply the concept of AND-OR graph and find a minimum cost
solution tree.
(Multiple choice Questions)
Q.6 A* algorithm always to find an optimal solution if
A. h’ is always 0
B. g is always 1
C. h’ never overestimates h
D. h’ never underestimate h
Q.7 A* algorithm uses f^*=g+h^* to estimate the cost of getting from the initial
state to the goal state, where g is a measure of cost getting from initial state
to the current node and the function h^* is an estimate of the cost of getting
from the current node to the goal state. To find a path involving the fewest
number of steps, we should test,
A. g=1
B. g=0
C. h^*=0
D. h^*=1 129
– Introduction
3.12 SUMMARY
 As the name ‘Uninformed Search’ means the machine blindly follows the
algorithm regardless of whether right or wrong, efficient or in-efficient.
 These algorithms are brute force operations, and they don’t have extra
information about the search space; the only information they have is on
how to traverse or visit the nodes in the tree. Thus, uninformed search
algorithms are also called blind search algorithms.
 The search algorithm produces the search tree without using any domain
knowledge, which is a brute force in nature. They don’t have any background
information on how to approach the goal or whatsoever. But these are the
basics of search algorithms in AI.
 The different types of uninformed search algorithms are as follows:
• Depth First Search
• Breadth-First Search
• Depth Limited Search
• Uniform Cost Search
• Iterative Deepening Depth First Search
• Bidirectional Search (if applicable)
 The following terms are frequently used in any search algorithms:
 State: It provides all the information about the environment.
 Goal State: The desired resulting condition in a given problem and the
kind of search algorithm we are looking for.
 Goal Test: The test to determine whether a particular state is a goal
state.
 Path/Step Cost: These are integers that represent the cost to move
from one node to another node.
 To evaluate and compare the efficiency of any search algorithm, the
following 4 properties are used:
• Completeness: A search algorithm is said to be complete if it guarantees
to return a solution, if exist.
• Optimality/Admissibility: If a solution found for an algorithm is
guaranteed to be the best solution (lowest path cost) among all other
solutions, then such a solution for is said to be an optimal solution.
• Space Complexity: A function describing the amount of space(memory)
an algorithm takes in terms of input to the algorithm. That is how much
space is used by the algorithm? Usually measured in terms of the
maximum number of nodes in memory at a time.
130
• Time Complexity: A function describing the amount of time the Uninformed &
algorithm takes in terms of input to the algorithm. That is, how long Informed Search
(worst or average case) does it take to find a solution?
 Time and space complexity are measured in terms of:‘b‘ – maximum
branching factor (Max number of successor (child) of any node) in a tree,
‘d‘ – the depth of the shallowest goal node, and ‘m‘ – maximum depth of
the search tree (maybe infinity).
 The following table summarizes the 4 properties(Completeness, Optimality/
Admissibility,SpaceComplexity, Time Complexity) of the search algorithm.
BFS DFS IDDFS Bidirectional Search

(if Applicable)
Time bd bd bd bd/2
Space bd bm bd bd/2
 The advantage of DFS is it requires very little memory as compared to BFS,
as it only needs to store a stack of the nodes on the path from the root node
to the current node. The disadvantages of DFS are as follows: There is the
possibility that many states keep reoccurring, and there is no guarantee of
finding the solution. The DFS algorithm goes for deep down searching and
sometimes it may go to the infinite loop.
 On the other hand, BFS gives a guarantee to get an optimal solution, if any
solution exists (Completeness) and if there is more than one solution for a
given problem, then BFS will provide the minimal solution which requires
the least number of steps (Optimal), but one major drawback of BFS is that
it requires lots of memory space since each level of the tree must be saved
into memory to expand the next level.
 Iterative Deepening DFS (IDDFS) combines the benefits of both BFS and
DFS search algorithms in terms of fast search and memory efficiency. It is
better than DFS and needs less space than BFS. But the main drawback of
IDDFS is that it repeats all the work from the previous phase.
 The advantage of Bidirectional search (BS) is that it uses various techniques
like DFS, BFS, DLS, etc, so it is efficient and requires less memory.
The Implementation of the bidirectional search tree is difficult and in
bidirectional search, one should know the goal state in advance.
 In Informed search the domain dependent (heuristic) information is used in
order to search the space more efficiently.
 Informed searched include the following search:
• Best-first search: Order agenda based on some measure of how ‘good’
each state is.
• Uniform-cost search: Cost of getting to current state from initial state
= g(n)
131
Artificial Intelligence • Greedy search: Estimated cost of reaching goal from current state –
– Introduction Heuristic evaluation functions, h(n)
• A* search: f(n) = g(n) + h(n)
 Admissibility: h(n)never overestimates the actual cost of getting to the goal
state.
 Informed Ness: A search strategy which searches less of the statesperson
order to find a goal state is more informed.
 A* algorithm avoid expanding paths that are already expensive.
 In A*, Evaluation function f(n) = g(n) + h(n), where g(n) = cost so far to
reach n, h(n) = estimated cost to goal from n, f(n) = estimated total cost of
path through n to goal.
 A∗ search uses an admissible heuristic function, i.e., h(n) ≤ h∗(n) where
h∗(n) is the true cost of cheapest solution from n.
 A∗ search has a very good property: A∗ search is optimal! So, if there is any
solution, A∗ search is guaranteed to find a least cost solution. Remember,
this needs an admissible heuristic.
 The commonly used memory bound heuristics search are Iterative deepening
A* (IDA*), Recursive Best-First search (RBFS) and Memory bound A*
(MBA*).
 Iterative Deepening Search (IDS) is nothing but BFS plus DFS for tree
search. IDA* algorithm is “complete and Optimal” algorithm.
 The idea of recursive best first search is to simulate A* search with O(bd)
memory, where b is the branching factor and d is the solution depth.
Check your progress 1:
Answer 1:
Table 1: Open and closed list for BFS
OPEN LIST CLOSED LIST

1 1
2,3,4 2
3,4,6 3
4,6,5 4
6,5,7 5
5,7 6
7, 7
8-Goal State -
132
Table 2: Open and closed list for DFS Uninformed &
Informed Search
OPEN LIST CLOSED LIST
1 1
4,3,2 2
4,3,6 6
4,3 3
4,5 5
4,7 7
4,8-Goal State -
Answer 2
1. open = [A]; closed = [ ] B is not the goal.
2. open = [B,C,D]; closed = [A] Put his children onto the queue.
3. open = [C,D,E,F}; closed = [B,A] Put him in closed. He is done.
4. open = [D,E,F,G,H]; closed =[C,B,A] Items between red bard are
siblings.
5. open = [E,F,G,H,I,J]; closed = [D,C,B,A]
6. open = [F,G,H,I,J,K,L]; closed = [E,D,C,B,A]
7. open = [G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N] (as L is already on open);
closed = [G,F,E,D,C,B,A]
8. open = [H,I,J,K,L,M,N]; closed = [G,F,E,D,C,B,A]
9. and so on until either goal is reached or open is empty.
Answer 3: Refer BFS section for solution.
Answer 4
BFS DFS IDDFS Bidirectional

Search (if
Applicable)
Time bd bd bd bd/2
Space bd bm bd bd/2
Check your progress 2
Answer 1:
The OPEN and CLOSED list are shown below. Node with their f(n) values are
inserted in OPEN list and that node will be expended next whose f(n) value is
minimum.
133
Artificial Intelligence CLOSED
– Introduction
1(12) 2(12) 6(12) 5(13) 10(13) 11(13) 12(13)
OPEN
1(12)
2(12) 5(13)
5(13) 3(14) 6(12)
5(13) 3(14) 7(17) 10(13)
3(19) 7(17) 10(13)
3(19) 7(17) 10(13) 9(14)
3(19) 7(17) 9(14) 11(13)
3(19) 7(17) 9(14) 12(13)
Note that only 6 nodes are expended to reach to a goal node. Optimal cost to
reach from start state (1) to goal node (12) is 13.
Note: If all the edge cost is positive then Uniform cost search (UCS) algorithm
is same as Dijkstra’s algorithm. Dijkstra algorithm fails if graph is having a
negative weight cycle. A* algorithm allows negative weight also. It means A*
algorithm work for negative (-ve) edge cost also. If some edge cost is negative,
then at any point of successive iteration, we cannot say till that node we have
optimum cost (because of the negative cost). So, in this case (-ve edge cost),
nodes come back from CLOSED to OPEN.
Let us see one example (Example 2) having negative edge cost and you can also
see how nodes come back from CLOSED to OPEN.
Answer 2:
The OPEN and CLOSED list are shown below. Node with their f(n) values are
inserted in OPEN list and that node will be expended next whose f(n) value is
minimum.
CLOSED
1(15) 2(7) 4(9) 5(11) 3(25) 4(7) 5(9)
OPEN
1(15)
2(7) 3(25)
3(25) 4(9)
3(25) 5(11)
3(25) 6(28) This is goal Node, but we can’t Pick this
4(7) 6(28) because better cost/path may exist.
Cost of 4 is decreased from 9 →7
so bring 4 from close →open 5(9) 6(28) (Note: In open 6(28) is Not min. cost ∴ we do not
pick them).
∴4(9) 6(26) 6(28)
Same Logic Goal (optimal cost is 26)
Optimal cost to reach from start state (1) to goal node (6) is 26.
134
Answer 3: An A* algorithm represents an OR graph algorithm that is used Uninformed &
to find a single solution (either this or that), but an AO* algorithm represents Informed Search
an AND-OR graph algorithm that is used to find more than one solution by
ANDing more than one branch.
Answer 4 :
9
A
1 1 1
3 B 4 C D 5
1 1 1 1
5 E F 7 4 G H 4
Path – 1: f(A-B-C) = 1+1+3+4=9

f(B-E) = 1+5=6 f(B-F) = 1+7=8
f(A-B-C) = 1+1+6+4=12
Path-2 : f(A-C-D) = 1+1+4+5=11
f(D-G-H) = 1+1+4+4=10
f(A-C-D)= 1+1+4+10=16
AND-OR graph with revised cost is shown in figure.
9 12
A
1 1 1
B 4 C D 10
1 1 1 1
5 E F 7 4 G H 4
So, the optimal cost f(A-B-C)= 12

Note that AO* algorithm does not explore all the solution path once it finds a
solution.
Answer 5: Similar to Q.4
Answer 6:
Given a chain of matrices:A1,A2,…..,An, where each matrix Ai has a dimension
p_(i-1)×p_i. Problem is to determine the order of multiplication or the way of
parenthesizing the product of matrices, so that the minimum number of required
operations (i.e., multiplications) can be minimized.
There are only 2 ways to parenthesizing the given 3 matrices, A1, A2, A3:
A1×(A2×A3)
or
(A1×A2)×A3 135
Artificial Intelligence As we know, if matrix A is of dimension (p×q) and matrix B is of dimension
– Introduction (q×r), then the cost of multiplying A to B that is (A×B) is (p×q×r) and the final
dimension of the resultant matrix (A×B) is (p×r).
Let us see how AND-OR graph is used to get the solution of this problem.
A1 A2 A3
3×5 5×6 6×10

A1 A2 A3
150+300=450 90+180=270
A1(A2 A3) (A1A2)A3
[5×10]
[3×5] [3×6] [3×10]
A1 A2 A3 A1 A2 A3
(0) (300) (90) (0)
Figure-1 AND/OR graph for multiplying A1×A2×A3
In this AND-OR graph, parent (root) node indicates the given problem for
multiplying A1A2A3. Next level of the tree (2 successors node) indicates the 2
choices (or ways) of multiplying (or parenthesizing) the A1A2A3; first way is
A1×(A2×A3) and another way is (A1×A2)×A3. Since out of these two choices,
anyone will be the solution so there is a OR node for this. In an OR node, we
always mark the current best successor node. Next level we have an AND node.
For any AND node we must add the cost of both the successor node.
Cost of multiplying (A2×A3)=5×6×10=300 and dimension of A2×A3 is (5×10).
Since the dimension of A1 is (3×5) and the dimension of A2×A3 is (5×10), so
the cost of multiplying A1×(A2×A3)=3×5×10=150. Thus the total cost will be
300+150=450. Similarly,
The cost of multiplying (A1×A2)=3×5×6=90 and dimension of A1×A2 will
be (3×6). Since the dimension of A1×A2 is (3×6) and the dimension of A3
is (6×10), so the cost of multiplying (A1×A2)×A3=3×6×10=180. Thus the
total cost will be 90+180=270. So, the best way to multiplying A1×A2×A3 is
(A1×A2)×A3 and the minimum cost of multiplying A1×A2×A3
is 270.
Multiple Choice Questions
Answer 6: Option C
Answer 7: Option A

1. Ela Kumar, “ Artificial Intelligence”, IK International Publications
Publications
136 publications
UNIT 4 PREDICATE AND PROPOSITIONAL Uninformed &
Informed Search
LOGIC
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Objectives
4.3 Introduction to Propositional Logic
4.4 Syntax of Propositional Logic
4.4.1 Atomic Propositions
4.4.2 Compound Propositions
4.5 Logical Connectives

4.5.1 Conjunction
4.5.2 Disjunction
4.5.3 Negation
4.5.4 Implication
4.5.5 Bi-Conditional
4.6 Semantics
4.6.1 Negation Truth Table
4.6.2 Conjunction/Disjunction/Implication/Biconditional Truth Table
4.6.3 Truth Table with three variables
4.7 Propositional Rules of Inference

4.7.1 Modus Ponens (MP)
4.7.2 Modus Tollens (MT)
4.7.3 Disjunctive Syllogism (DS)
4.7.4 Addition
4.7.5 Simplification
4.7.6 Conjunction
4.7.7 Hypothetical Syllogism (HS)
4.7.8 Absorption
4.7.9 Constructive Dilemma (CD)
4.8 Propositional Rules of Replacement

4.9 Validity and Satisfiability
4.10 Introduction to Predicate Logic
4.11 Inferencing in Predicate Logic
4.12 Proof Systems
4.13 Natural Deduction 137
Artificial Intelligence 4.14 Propositional Resolution
– Introduction
4.14.1 Clausal Form
4.14.2 Determining Unsatisfiability
4.15 Answers/Solutions
4.16 Further Readings
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Logic is the study and analysis of the nature of the valid argument, the
reasoning tool by which valid inferences can be drawn from a given set of
facts and premises. It is the basis on which all the sciences are built, and this
mathematical theory of logic is called symbolic logic. The English mathematician
George Boole (1815-1864) seriously studied and developed this theory, called
symbolic logic.
The reason why the subject-matter of the study is called Symbolic Logic is that
symbols are used to denote facts about objects of the domain and relationships
between these objects. Then the symbolic representations and not the original
facts and relationships are manipulated in order to make conclusions or to solve
problems.
The basic building blocks of arguments in symbolic logic are declarative
sentences, called propositions or statements. In MCS – 212 i.e., Discrete
Mathematics you learned about predicates and propositions and ways of
combining them to form more complex propositions. Also, you learned about
the propositions that contain the quantifiers ‘for All’ and ‘there exists’. In
symbolic logic, the goal is to determine which propositions are true and which
are false. Truth table a tool to find out all possible outcome of a proposition’s
truth value was also discussed in MCS-212.
Logical rules have the power to give accuracy to mathematical statements.
These rules come to rescue when there is a need to differentiate between valid
and invalid mathematical arguments. Symbolic logic may be thought of as a
formal language for representing facts about objects and relationships between
objects of a problem domain along with a precise inferencing mechanism for
reasoning and deduction.
Using symbolic logic, we can formalize our arguments and logical reasoning in
a manner that can easily show if the reasoning is valid, or is a fallacy. How we
symbolize the reasoning is what is presented in this unit.
4.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
• Understand the meaning of propositional logic.
• Differentiate between atomic and compound propositions.
• Know different types of connectives, their associated semantics and
corresponding truth tables.
138
• Define propositional rules of inference and replacement. Predicate
Andpropositional
• Differentiate between valid and satisfiable arguments. Logic
4.3 INTRODUCTION TO PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC

Apart from the application of logic in mathematics, it also helps in various other
tasks related to computer science. It is widely used to design the electronic
circuitry, programming of android applications, applying artificial intelligence
to different tasks, etc. In simple terms, a proposition is a statement which is
either true or false.
Consider the following statements:
1. Earth revolves around the sun.
2. Water freezes at 100° Celsius.
3. An hour has 3600 seconds.
4. 2 is the only even prime number.
5. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun in the solar system.
6. The USA lies on the continent of North America.
7. 1 + 2 = 4.
8. 15 is a prime number.
9. Moon rises in the morning and sets in the evening.
10. Delhi is the capital of India.
For all the above statements, one can easily conclude whether the particular
statement is true or false so these are propositions. First statement is a universal
truth. Second statement is false as the water freezes at 0° Celsius. Third
statement is again a universal truth. Fourth statement is true. Fifth statement is
also true as it is again a universal truth. On similar lines, the sixth statement is
also true. Seventh and eighth statements are false again as they deny the basic
mathematical rules. The Ninth statement is a negation of the universal truth so
it is a false statement. The Tenth Statement is also true.
Now consider the following statements:
1. What is your name?
2. a + 5 = b.
3. Who is the prime minister of India?
4. p is less than 5.
5. Pay full attention while you are in the class.
6. Let’s play football in the evening.
7. Don’t behave like a child, you are grown up now!
139
Artificial Intelligence 8. How much do you earn?
– Introduction
9. ∠X is an acute angle greater than 27°.
For all the above statements, we can’t say anything about their truthfulness
so they are not propositions. First and third statements are neither true nor
false as they are interrogative in nature. Also, we can’t say anything about the
truthfulness of the second statement until and unless we have the values of a
and b. Similar reasoning applies to the fourth statement as well. We can’t say
anything about fifth, sixth and seventh statements again as they are informative
statements. Eighth statement is again interrogative in nature. Again, we can’t
say anything about the truthfulness of the ninth statement until and unless we
have the value of ∠X.
Propositional logic has the following facts:
1. Propositional statements can be either true or false, they can’t be both
simultaneously.
2. Propositional logic is also referred to as binary logic as it works only on the
two values 1 (True) and 0 (False).
3. Symbols or symbolic variables such as x, y, z, P, Q, R, etc. are used for
representing the logic and propositions.
4. Any proposition or statement which is always valid (true) is known as a
tautology.
5. Any proposition or statement which is always invalid (false) is known as a
contradiction.
6. A table listing all the possible truth values of a proposition is known as a
truth table.
7. Objects, relations (or functions) and logical connectives are the basic
building blocks of propositional logic.
8. Logical connectives are also referred to as logical operators.
9. Statements which are interrogative, informative or opinions such as “Where
is Chandni Chowk located?”, “Mumbai is a good city to live in”, “Result
will be declared on 31st March” are not propositions.
4.4 SYNTAX OF PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC

The syntax of propositional logic allows two types of sentences to represent
knowledge. The two types are as follows:
4.4.1 Atomic Propositions

These are simplest propositions containing a single proposition symbol and are
either true or false. Some of the examples of atomic propositions are as follows:
1. “Venus is the closest planet to the Sun in the solar system” is an atomic
preposition since it is a false fact.
140 2. “7 – 3 = 4” is an atomic preposition as it is a true fact.

4.4.2 Compound Propositions Predicate
Andpropositional
They are formed by a collection of atomic propositions joined with logical Logic
connectives or logical operators. Some of the examples of compound
propositions are as follows:
1. The Sun is very bright today and its very hot outside.
2. Diana studies in class 8th and her school is in Karol Bagh.
Which of the following statements are propositions? Write yes or no.
1. How are you?
2. Sachin Tendulkar is one of the best cricketers in India.
3. The honorable Ram Nath Kovind is the 10th and current president of India.
4. Lord Ram of the kingdom of Ayodhya is an example of a people's king.
5. In which year did prophet Muhammad received verbal revelations from the
Allah in the cave Mount Hira presently located in the Saudi Arabia?
6. Akbar was the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India.
7. In the year 2019, renowned actor Shri Amitabh Bachchan was awarded
with the Padma Vibhushan which is the second highest civilian honour of
the republic of India.
8. One should avoid eating fast food in order to maintain good health.
9. What is your age?
10. The first case of COVID-19 was detected in China.
11. Name the author of the book series “Shiva Trilogy”.
12. Former prime minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a member
of which political party?
13. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian citizen to travel in
space till date.
14. Where do you live?
4.5 LOGICAL CONNECTIVES

Logical connectives are the operators used to join two or more atomic
propositions (operands). The joining should be done in a way that the logic and
truth value of the obtained compound proposition is dependent on the input
atomic propositions and the connective used.
4.5.1 Conjunction
A proposition “A ∧ B”with connective ∧ is known as conjunction of A and B.
It is a proposition (or operation) which is true only when both the constituent
propositions are true. Even if one of the input propositions is false then the 141
Artificial Intelligence output is also false. It is also referred to as AND-ing the propositions. Example:
– Introduction
Ram is a playful boy and he loves to play football. It can be written as:
A = Ram is a playful boy.
B = Ram loves to play football.
A ∧ B = Ram is a playful boy and he loves to play football.
4.5.2 Disjunction
A proposition “A ∨ B”with connective ∨ is known as disjunction of A and B. It
is a proposition (or operation) which is true when at least one of the constituent
propositions are true. The output is false only when both the input propositions
are false. It is also referred to as OR-ing the propositions. Example:
I will go to her house or she will come to my house. It can be written as:
A = I will go to her house.
B = She will come to my house.
A ∨ B = I will go to her house or she will come to my house.
4.5.3 Negation
The proposition ¬ A (or ~A) with ¬ (or ~) connective is known as negation
of A. The purpose of negation is to negate the logic of given proposition. If
A is true, its negation will be false, and if A is false, its negation will be true.
Example:
University is closed. It can be written as:
A = University is closed.
¬ A = University is not closed.
4.5.4 Implication
The proposition A → B with → connective is known as A implies B. It is also
called if-then proposition. Here, the second proposition is a logical consequence
of the first proposition. For example, “If Mary scores good in examinations, I
will buy a mobile phone for her”. In this case, it means that if Mary scores good,
she will definitely get the mobile phone but it doesn’t mean that if she performs
bad, she won’t get the mobile phone. In set notation, we can also say that A ⊆
B i.e., if something exists in the set A, then it necessarily exists in the set B.
Another example:
If you score above 90%, you will get a mobile phone.
A = You score above 90%.
B = You will get a mobile phone.
A → B = If you score above 90%, you will get a mobile phone.
142
4.5.5 Bi-conditional Predicate
Andpropositional
A proposition A ⟷ B with connective ⟷ is known as a biconditional or if- Logic
and-only-if proposition. It is true when both the atomic propositions are true or
both are false. A classic example of biconditional is “A triangle is equivalent if
and only if all its angles are 60° each”. This statement means that if a triangle
is an equivalent triangle, then all of its angles are 60° each. There is one more
associated meaning with this statement which means that if all the interior
angles of a triangle are of 60° each then it's an equivalent triangle. Example:
You will succeed in life if and only if you work hard.
A = You will succeed in life.
B = You work hard.
A ⟷ B = You will succeed in life if and only if you work hard.
Which of the following propositions are atomic and which are compound?
1. The first battle of Panipat was fought in 1556.
2. Jack either plays cricket or football.
3. Posthumously, at the age of 22, Neerja Bhanot became the youngest
recipient of the Ashok Chakra award which is India's highest peacetime
gallantry decoration.
4. Chandigarh is the capital of the Indian states Haryana and Punjab.
5. Earth takes 365 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes and 16 seconds to complete one
revolution around the Sun.
6. Dermatology is the branch of medical science which deals with the skin.
7. Indian sportspersons won 7 medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 19
medals at the 2020 Summer Paralympics both held at the Japanese city of
Tokyo.
8. Harappan civilization is considered to be the oldest human civilization and
it lies in the parts of present-day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
9. IGNOU is a central university and offers courses through the distance
learning mode.
10. Uttarakhand was carved out of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the year
2000.
4.6 SEMANTICS
You had already learned various of the concepts to be covered in this unit, in
MCS-212 i.e., Discrete Mathematics, here is a quick revision to those concepts
and we will extend our discussion to the advanced concepts, which are useful
for our field of work i.e., Artificial Intelligence. In MCS – 212 i.e., Discrete
143
Artificial Intelligence Mathematics you learned that Propositions are the declarative sentence or
– Introduction statements which is either true or false, but not both, such sentences can either
be universally true or universally false.
On the other hand, consider the declarative sentence ‘Women are more intelligent
than men’. Some people may think it is true while others may disagree. So, it is
neither universally true nor universally false. Such a sentence is not acceptable
as a statement or proposition in mathematical logic.
Note that a proposition should be either uniformly true or uniformly false.
In propositional logic, as mentioned earlier also, symbols are used to denote
propositions. For instance, we may denote the propositions discussed above as
follows:
P : The sun rises in the west,
Q : Sugar is sweet,
R : Ram has a Ph.D. degree.
The symbols, such as P, Q, and R, that are used to denote propositions, are
called atomic formulas, or atoms., in this case, the truth-value of P is False,
the truth-value of Q is True and the truth-value of R, though not known yet, is
exactly one of ‘True’ or ‘False’, depending on whether Ram is actually a Ph.
D or not.
At this stage, it may be noted that once symbols are used in place of given
statements in, say, English, then the propositional system, and, in general, a
symbolic system is aware only of symbolic representations, and the associated
truth values. The system operates only on these representations. And, except
for possible final translation, is not aware of the original statements, generally
given in some natural language, say, English.
When you’re talking to someone, do you use very simple sentences only? Don’t
you use more complicated ones which are joined by words like ‘and’, ‘or’, etc?
In the same way, most statements in mathematical logic are combinations of
simpler statements joined by words and phrases like ‘and’. ‘or’, ‘if … then’.
‘If and only if’, etc. We can build, from atoms, more complex propositions,
sometimes called compound propositions, by using logical connectives,
The Logical Connectives are used to frame compound propositions, and they
are as follows:
a) Disjunction The disjunction of two propositions p and q is the compound
statement por q, denoted by p ∨ q.
The exclusive disjunction of two propositions p and q is the statement
‘Either of the two (i.e. p or q) can be true, but both can’t be true’. We
denote this by p ⊕ q .
b) Conjunction We call the compound statement ‘p and q’ the conjunction
of the statements p and q. We denote this by p ∧ q.
144
c) Negation The negation of a proposition p is ‘not p’, denoted by ~p. Predicate
Andpropositional
d) Implication (Conditional Connectives) Given any two propositions p and Logic
q, we denote the statement ‘If p, then q’ by p → q. We also read this as
‘p implies q’. or ‘p is sufficient for q’, or ‘p only if q’. We also call p the
hypothesis and q the conclusion. Further, a statement of the form p → q is
called a conditional statement or a conditional proposition.
Let p and q be two propositions. The compound statement (p → q) ∧ (q → p)
is the bi-conditional of p and q. We denote it by p ↔ q, and read it as ‘p if and
only q’
Note: The two connectives → and ↔ are called conditional connectives
The rule of precedence: The order of preference in which the connectives are
applied in a formula of propositions that has no brackets is
i) ~
ii) ∧
iii) ∨ and ⊕
iv) → and ↔
Note that the ‘inclusive or’ and ‘exclusive or’ are both third in the order of
preference. However, if both these appear in a statement, we first apply the left
most one. So, for instance, in p ∨ q ⊕ ~ p, we first apply ∨ and then ⊕. The
same applies to the ‘implication’ and the ‘biconditional’, which are both fourth
in the order of preference.
Let’s see the working of the various concepts learned above, with the help of
truth tables. In the following truth table, we write every TRUE value as Tand
every FALSE value as F.
4.6.1 Negation Truth Table

α ~α
_F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_
4.6.2 Conjunction/Disjunction/Implication /Biconditional

Truth Table
α_1 α_2 Conjunction Disjunction Implication Biconditional
α_1 ∧ α_2 α_1∨α_2 α_1 → α_2 α_1↔α_2
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
145
– Introduction 4.6.3 Conjunction and Disjunction with three variables
α_1 α_2 α_3 (α_1 (α_2 (α_1 (α_2 (α_1 (α_1
∧α_2) ∧α_3) ∨α_2) ∨α_3) ∧α_2) ∨α_2)
∧α_3 ∨α_3
or or
α_1 ∧ α_1 ∨
(α_2 (α_2
∧α_3) ∨α_3)
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
Using these logical connectives, we can transform any sentence in to its equivalent
mathematical representation in Symbolic Logic and that representation is
referred as Well Form Formula (WFF), you had already learned a lot about
WFF in MCS-212, lets briefly discuss it here also, as it has wide applications in
Artificial Intelligence also.
A Well-formed formula, or wff or formula in short, in the propositional logic is
defined recursively as follows:
1. An atom is a wff.
2. If A is a wff, then (~A) is a wff.
3. If A and B are wffs, then each of (A ∧ B), (A ∨ B), (A → B), and (A ↔ B)
is a wff.
4. Any wff is obtained only by applying the above rules.
From the above recursive definition of a wff it is not difficult to see that
expression:
(( P → ( Q ∧ ( ~ R))) ↔ S) is a wff; because , to begin with, each of P, Q , ( ~
R) and S, by definitions is a wff. Then, by recursive application, the expression:
(Q ∧ ( ~ R)) is a wff. Again, by another recursive application, the expression:
(P → (Q ∧ ( ~ R))) is a wff. And, finally the expression given initially is a wff.
Further, it is easy to see that according to the recursive definition of a wff, each
of the expressions: (P → (Q ∧ )) and (P ( Q ∧ R )) is not a wff.
146 Some pairs of parentheses may be dropped, for simplification. For example,
A ∨ B and A → B respectively may be used instead of the given wffs ( A ∨ B) Predicate
and (A → B), respectively. We can omit the use of parentheses by assigning Andpropositional
Logic
priorities in increasing order to the connectives as follows:

↔, →, ∨, ∨, ~.
Thus, ‘↔’ has least priority and ‘~’ has highest priority. Further, if in an
expression, there are no parentheses and two connectives between three atomic
formulas are used, then the operator with higher priority will be applied first
and the other operator will be applied later.
For example: Let us be given the wff P → Q ∧ ~ R without parenthesis. Then
among the operators appearing in wff, the operator ‘~’ has highest priority.
Therefore, ~ R is replaced by (~R). The equivalent expression becomes P →
Q ∧ (~ R). Next, out of the two operators viz ‘→’ and ‘∧’, the operators ‘∧’
has higher priority. Therefore, by applying parentheses appropriately, the new
expression becomes P → (Q ∧ (~ R)). Finally, only one operator is left. Hence
the fullyparenthesized expression becomes (P → (Q ∧ (~ R)))
Following are the rules of finding the truth value or meaning of a wff, when
truth values of the atoms appearing in the wff are known or given.
1. The wff ~ A is True when A is False, and ~ A is False when A is true. The
wff ~ A is called the negation of A.
2. The wff (A ∧ B) is True if A and B are both True; otherwise, the wff A ∧ B
is False. The wff (A ∧ B) is called the conjunction of A and B.
3. The wff (A ∨ B) is true if at least one of A and B is True; otherwise, (A ∨
B) is False. (A ∨ B) is called the disjunction of A and B.
4. The wff (A → B) is False if A is True and B is False; otherwise, (A → B)
is True. The wff (A → B) is read as “If A, then B,” or “A implies B.” The
symbol ‘→’ is called implication.
5. The wff (A ↔ B) is True whenever A and B have the same truth values;
otherwise (A ↔ B) is False. The wff (A ↔ B) is read as “A if and only if
B.”
Q1. Draw the truth table for the following:
a) α_2⟷(~ α_1 → (α_1∨α_2))
b) (~α_1⟷ (α_2↔α_3) ) ∨ (α_3 ∧α_2)
c) ((α_1 ∧α_2) → α_3) ∨ ~α_4
d) ((α_1 → ~ α_2) ⟷α_3) → ~ (α_1 V α_1)
Q2. Verify the De Morgan’s Laws using Truth Tables
Q3. Write WFF for the following statements:
a) Every Person has Mother
b) There is a woman and she is mother of Siya 147
– Introduction
4.7 PROPOSITIONAL RULES OF INFERENCE
We need intelligent computers based on the concept of artificial intelligence
which are able to infer new “knowledge” or logic from the existing logic using
the theory of inference. Inference rules help us to infer new propositions and
conclusions based on existing propositions and logic. They act as templates
to generate new arguments from the premises or predicates. We deduce new
statements from the statements whose truthfulness is already known. These
rules come to the rescue when we need to prove something logically. In
general, inference rules preserve the truth. Depending on the problem, some or
all of these rules may be applied to infer new propositions. The procedure of
determining whether a proposition is a conclusion of the given propositions is
known as inferring a proposition. The inference rules are described below.
4.7.1 Modus Ponens (MP)

It states that if the propositions A → B and A are true, then B is also true. Modus
Ponens is also referred to as the implication elimination because it eliminates
the implication A → B and results in only the proposition B. It also affirms the
truthfulness of antecedent. It is written as:
α_1 → α_2, α_1 =>α_2
4.7.2 Modus Tollens (MT)

It states that if A → B and ¬ B are true then ¬ A is also true. Modus Tollens is
also referred to as denying the consequent as it denies the truthfulness of the
consequent. The rule is expressed as:
α_1 → α_2, ~α_2 =>~α_1
4.7.3 Disjunctive Syllogism (DS)

Disjunctive Syllogism affirms the truthfulness of the other proposition if one of
the propositions in a disjunction is false.
Rule 1: α_1 ∨α_2, ~α_1=>α_2
Rule 2: α_1 ∨α_2, ~α_2 =>α_1
4.7.4 Addition
The rule states that if a proposition is true, then its disjunction with any other
proposition is also true.
Rule 1: α_1=>α_1∨α_2
Rule 2: α_2=>α_1 ∨α_2
4.7.5 Simplification
Simplification means that if we have a conjunction, then both the constituent
propositions are also true.
148
Rule 1:α_1 ∧α_2 =>α_1 Predicate
Andpropositional
Rule 2:α_1 ∧α_2 =>α_2 Logic
4.7.6 Conjunction
Conjunction states if two propositions are true, then their conjunction is also
true. It is written as:
α_1, α_2 =>α_1 ∧α_2
4.7.7 Hypothetical Syllogism (HS)

The rule says that the conclusion α_1 → α_3 is true, whenever conditional
statements α_1 → α_2 and α_2 → α_3hold the truth values. This rules also
shows the transitive nature of implication operator.
α_1 → α_2, α_2 → α_3 =>α_1 → α_3
4.7.8 Absorption
The rule states that if the literal α_1 conditionally implies another literal α_2
i.e.,α_1 → α_2 is true, then α_1 → (α_1 ∧α_2) also holds.
α_1 → α_2 =>α_1 → (α_1 ∧α_2)
4.7.9 Constructive Dilemma (CD)

According to the rule, if proposition (α_1 ∨α_3) and proposition ((α_1 → α_2)
∧ (α_3 → α_4))have true values, then the well-formed formula (α_2 ∨α_4) also
holdsa true value.
(α_1 ∨α_3 ), (α_1 → α_2) ∧ (α_3 → α_4) =>α_2 ∨α_4
4.8 PROPOSITIONAL RULES OF REPLACEMENT

We learned the concepts of Predicate and Propositional logic in MCS-212
(Discrete Mathematics), just to brief the understanding, it is to remind you
here that “a proposition is a specialized statement whereas Predicate is a
generalized statement”. To be more specific the propositions use the logical
connectives only and the predicates uses logical connectives and quantifiers
(universal and existential), both.
Note: ∃ is the symbol used for the Existential quantifier and ∀ is used for the
Universal quantifier.
In predicate logic, a replacement rule is used to replace an argument or a set
of arguments with an equivalent argument. By equivalent arguments, we mean
that the logical interpretation of the arguments is the same. These rules are used
to manipulate the propositions. Also, the axioms and the propositional rules
of inference are used as an aid to generate the replacement rules. Given below
is the table summarizing the different replacement rules over the propositions
α_1, α_2 and α_3.
149
Replacement Rule Proposition Equivalent
– Introduction
Tautology α_1 ∧α_1 α_1
(Conjunction of a statement with
itself always implies the statement)
Double Negation (DN) (~(~α_1)) α_1

(Also Called negation of negation)
Commutativity α_1 ∧α_2 α_2 ∧α_1

(Valid for Conjunction and
Disjunction) α_1 ∨α_2 α_1 ∨α_2
Associativity (α_1 ∧α_2) ∧α_3 α_1 ∧ (α_2 ∧α_3)
(Valid for Conjunction and
Disjunction) (α_1 ∨α_2) ∨α_3 α_1 ∨ (α_2 ∨α_3)
DeMorgan’s Laws ~ (α_1 ∧α_2) (~α_1) ∨ (~α_2)
~ (α_1 ∨α_2) (~α_1) ∧ (~α_2)
Transposition α_1 → α_2 (~α_2) → (~α_1)
(Defined over implication)
Exportation α_1 → (α_2 → α_3) (α_1 ∧α_2) → α_3

Distribution α_1 ∧ (α_2 ∨α_3) (α_1 ∧α_2) ∨ (α_1 ∧α_3)
(AND over OR, and OR over
AND) α_1 ∨ (α_2 ∧α_3) (α_1 ∨α_2) ∧ (α_1 ∨α_3)
Material Implication α_1 → α_2 ~ α_1 ∨α_2
(MI)
(Defined over implication)
Material Equivalence α_1⟷α_2 (α_1 → α_2) ∧ (α_2 → α_1)

(ME)
(Defined over biconditional)
4.9 VALIDITY AND SATISFIABILITY

An argument is called valid in propositional logic if the argument is a tautology
for all possible combinations of the given premises. An argument is called
satisfiable if the argument is true for at least one combination of the premises.
Consider the example given below. Kindly note, every TRUE value is written
as _T(1)_, and every FALSE value is written as _F(0)_.
Example 1: Consider the expression α_1 ∨ (α_2 ∨α_3) ∨ (~α_2 ∧ ~ α_3),
whose truth table is given below.
α_1 α_2 α_3 ~α_2 ~α_3 α_1 ~α_2 α_1 ∨ (α_2

∨α_2 ∧ ∨α_3) ∨
~α_3 (~α_2 ∧ ~α_3)
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
It is noteworthy from the above truth table that the argument α_1 ∨ (α_2
∨α_3) ∨ (~α_2 ∧ ~α_3) is a valid argument as it has true values for all possible
150 combinations of the premises α_1, α_2 and α_3.
Example 2: Consider the expression α_1 ∧ ((α_2 ∧α_3) ∨ (α_1 ∧α_3)) for the Predicate
propositions α_1,α_2, and α_3whose truth table is given below. Andpropositional
Logic
α_1 α_2 α_3 α_1 α_2 (α_2 ∧α_3) ∨ α_1 ∧ ((α_2
∧α_3 ∧α_3 (α_1 ∧α_3) ∧α_3) ∨ (α_1
∧α_3))
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
In this example, as the argument α_1 ∧ ((α_2 ∧α_3) ∨ (α_1 ∧α_3)) is true for
a few combinations of the premises α_1, α_2, and α_3, hence it is a satisfiable
argument.
4.10 INTRODUCTION TO PREDICATE LOGIC

Now it’s time to understand the difference between the Proposition and the
Predicate(also known as propositional function). In short, a proposition is a
specialized statement whereas Predicate is a generalized statement. To be more
specific the propositions use the logical connectives only and the predicates
uses logical connectives and quantifiers (universal and existential), both.
Note: ∃ is the symbol used for the Existential quantifier and ∀ is used for the
Let’s understand the difference through some more detail, as given below.
A propositional function, or a predicate, a variable x in a sentence p(x)
involving x becomes a proposition when we give x a definite value from the set
of values it can take. We usually denote such functions by p(x), q(x), etc. The
set of values x can take is called the universe of discourse.
So, if p(x) is ‘x > 5’, then p(x) is not a proposition. But when we give x
particular values, say x = 6 or x = 0, then we get propositions. Here, p(6) is a
true proposition and p(0) is a false proposition.
Similarly, if q(x) is ‘x has gone to Patna.’, then replacing x by ‘Taj Mahal’ gives
us a false proposition.
Note that a predicate is usually not a proposition. But, of course, every
proposition is a prepositional function in the same way that every real number
is a real-valued function, namely, the constant function.
Now, can all sentences be written in symbolic from by using only the logical
connectives? What about sentences like ‘x is prime and x + 1 is prime for some
x.’? How would you symbolize the phrase ‘for some x’, which we can rephrase
as ‘there exists an x’? You must have come across this term often while studying
mathematics. We use the symbol ‘∃’ to denote this quantifier, ‘there exists’. 151
Artificial Intelligence The way we use it is, for instance, to rewrite ‘There is at least one child in the
– Introduction class.’ as‘(∃ x in U)p(x)’, where p(x) is the sentence ‘x is in the class.’ and U
is the set of all children.
Now suppose we take the negative of the proposition we have just stated.
Wouldn’t it be ‘There is no child in the class.’? We could symbolize this as ‘for
all x in U, q(x)’ where x ranges over all children and q(x) denotes the sentence
‘x is not in the class.’, i.e., q(x) ≡ ~ p(x).
We have a mathematical symbol for the quantifier ‘for all’, which is ‘∀’. So,
the proposition above can be written as
‘(∀ x ∈ U)q(x)’, or ‘q(x), ∀ x ∈ U’.
An example of the use of the existential quantifier is the true statement.
(∃ x ∈R) (x + 1 > 0), which is read as ‘There exists an x in R for which x + 1
> 0.’.
Another example is the false statement
(∃ x ∈N) (x - = 0), which is read as ‘There exists an x in N for which x - = 0.’.
An example of the use of the universal quantifier is (∀ x ∉N) (x2> x), which
is read as ‘for every x not in N, x2> x.’. Of course, this is a false statement,
because there is at least one x∉ N, x ∈R, for which it is false.
As you have already read in the example of a child in the class,
( ∀ x ∈U)p(x) is logically equivalent to ~ ( ∃ x ∈ U) (~ p(x)). Therefore,
~(∀ x ∈ U)p(x) ≡ ~~ (∃ x ∈U) (~ p(x)) ≡ ( ∃ x ∈ U) ( ~ p(x)).
This is one of the rules for negation that relate ∀ and ∃. The two rules are
~ (∀x∈U)p(x) ≡ (∃ x ∈U) (~ p(x)), and
~ (∃x∈U)p(x)≡ (∀ x ∈U) (~ p(x))
Where U is the set of values that x can take.
To Sum up “a proposition is a specialized statement whereas Predicate is
a generalized statement”. To be more specific the propositions use the logical
connectives only and the predicates uses logical connectives and quantifiers
(universal and existential), both.
Note : ∃ is the symbol used for the Existential quantifier and ∀ is used for the
By interpretation of symbolic logic, we mean assigning the meaning to the
symbols of any formal language. By default, the statements do not have any
meaning associated with them but when we assign the symbols to them, their
meaning is automatically associated with them i.e., TRUE (T) or FALSE (F).
Example 1: Consider the following statements
a) Weather is not hot today and it is windy than yesterday.
152 b) Kids will go to park only if it is not hot.
c) If kids do not go to park, then they can play near pool. Predicate
Andpropositional
d) If kids play near pool, then we can offer them a juice. Logic
Let the statements be represented using literals as following:

H: Weather is not hot today
W: It is windy than yesterday
K: Kids will go to park
P: They can play near pool.
J: We can offer them juice.
The given statements can be interpreted as:
a) H ∧W
b) K -> ~H
c) ~K -> P
d) P -> J
These interpretations may be verified with the help of truth tables.
4.11 INFERENCING IN PREDICATE LOGIC

In general, we are given a set of arguments in predicate logic. Now, using the
rules of inference, we can deduce other arguments (or predicates) based on
the given arguments (or predicates). This process is known as entailment as
we entail new arguments (or predicates). The inference rules you learned in
MCS-212 and also in section 4.7 above, of this unit are also applicable here
for the process of entailment or making inferences. Now, with the help of the
following example we will learn how the rules of inference, discussed above,
can be used to solve the problems.
Example : There is a village that consists of two types of people – those who
always tell the truth, and those who always lie. Suppose that you visit the village
and two villagers A and B come up to you. Further, suppose
A says, “B always tells the truth,” and
B says, “A and I are of opposite types”.
What types are A and B ?
Solution: Let us start by assuming A is a truth-teller.
∴ What A says is true.
∴ B is a truth-teller.
∴ What B says is true.
∴ A and B are of opposite types.
153
Artificial Intelligence This is a contradiction, because our premises say that A and B are both truth-
– Introduction tellers.
∴ The assumption we started with is false.
∴ A always tells lies.
∴ What A has told you is lie.
∴ B always tells lies.
∴ A and B are of the same type, i.e., both of them always lie.
Let us now consider the problem of showing that a statement is false. I.e.,
Counter examples : A common situation in which we look for counterexamples
is to disprove statements of the form p → q needs to be an example where p
∧ ~ q. Therefore, a counterexample to p → q needs to be an example where
p ∧ ~ q is true, i.e., p is true and ~ q is true, i.e., the hypothesis p holds but the
conclusion q does not hold.
For instance, to disprove the statement ‘If n is an odd integer, then n is prime.’,
we need to look for an odd integer which is not a prime number. 15 is one such
integer. So, n = 15 is a counterexample to the given statement.
Notice that a counter example to a statement p proves that p is false, i.e., ~
p is true.
Example: Following statements are to be Symbolized and thereafter construct
a proof for the following valid argument:
(i) If the BOOK_X is literally true, then the Earth was made in six days.
(ii) If the Earth was made in six days, then carbon dating is useless and
Scientists/Researchers are liars.
(iii) Scientists/Researchers are not liars.
(iv) The BOOK_X is literally true, Hence
(v) God does not exist.
Solution: Let us symbolize as follows:
B : BOOK_X is literally true
E : The Earth was created in six days
C : Carbon_dating techniques are useless
S : Scientists/Researchers are frauds
G : God exists
Therefore, the statements in the given arguments are symbolically represented
as :
(i) B
(ii) E
154
(iii) ~ S Predicate
Andpropositional
(iv) B Logic
(v) ~ G (to show)

Using ModusPonens on (i) and (iv), we get expression (vi) E
Using ModusPonens on (ii) & (vi) we get expression (vii)
Using Simplification on (vii), we get expression (viii) S
Using Addition on (viii), we get expression (ix) S ∨ ~ G
Using DisjunctiveSyllogism(D.S.) on (iii) & (ix) we get expression (x) ~ G
The last statement is what is to be proved.
Remarks: (iii) and (viii) are contradicts with each other in the above deduction.
In general, if we come across two statements (like S and ~ S) that contradict
each other during the process of deduction, we can deduce any statement, even
if the statement can never be True in any way. So, we can assume that any
statement is true if both S and ~ S have already happened in the process of
derivation.
4.12 PROOF SYSTEMS

A sequence of statements that follows logically from the previous set of
statements or observations are the mathematical proofs in propositional logic.
The last statements in the proof becomes the theorem. This proof system
symbolizes the science of valid inference.
There are more than two main styles of proof system for propositional logic, but
the two main styles are:
a) Axiomatic Proof Systems and
b) Natural deduction Systems
Axiomatic Proof Systems: This is a system where conclusion is derived from
either the given hypothesis or using assumed premise, which are considered as
truth. Such hypothesis or assumed premise is an axiom.
Example 1: Show that (α_1 ∨α_2) is a logical consequence of (α_2 ∧α_1)
using proof systems.
Proof:
Step 1: (α_2 ∧α_1) (Premise)
Step 2: α_1 (Simplification, Step 1)
Step 3: α_2 (Simplification, Step 1)
Step 4: α_1 ∨α_2 (Addition on either Step 2 or Step 3)
We observe here that each step is either a truth or a logical consequence of
previously established truths. In general, there can be more than one proof for
establishing a given conclusion. 155
Artificial Intelligence Thus, the proof system in propositional logic is quite similar to the proofs in
– Introduction mathematics, which follows a step-wise derivation of consequent from the given
hypothesis. However, in propositional logic, we use well-formed formulas
obtained from literals and connectors, rather than using English statements. We
use the rules of inference (Section 4.7) and replacement rules (Section 4.8) to
prove our conclusion.
Example 2: Show that α_1 -> ~α_4 can be derived from the given premises:
(α_1-> (α_2 ∨α_3)), α_2 -> ~α_1, α_4 -> ~α_3
Proof:
Step 1: (α_1-> (α_2 ∨α_3)) (Premise)
Step 2: α_1(Assumed Premise)
Step 3: α_2 ∨α_3 (Modus Ponens, Step 1, 2)
Step 4: α_2 -> ~α_1 (Premise)
Step 5: ~α_2 (Modus Tollens, Step 2, step 4)
Step 6: α_3 (Disjunctive Syllogism, Step 1, 2, 4)
Step 7: α_4-> ~α_3 (Premise)
Step 8: ~α_4 (Modus Tollens, Step 1, 2, 4, 7)
Step 9: α_1 -> ~α_4 (Step 2, 4)
Hence proved.
The discussion over Natural deduction Systems is given in section 4.13 below
4.13 NATURAL DEDUCTIONS

So far, we have discussed methods, of solving problems requiring reasoning of
propositional logic, that were based on
i) Truth-table construction
ii) Use of inference rules,
and follow, directly or indirectly, natural deduction approach.
In order to determine whether or not a conclusion C in an argument is valid
or invalid based on a given set of facts or axioms A1, A2,…, An, the only thing
we currently know is that either a truth table should be constructed for the
formula P: A1∧ A2 ∧…∧ An→ C,, or this formula should be converted to CNF
or DNF by substituting equivalent formulas and simplifying it. There are other
possible options available as well. The trouble with these methods, on the
other hand, is that as the number n of axioms increases, the formula becomes
more complicated (imagine n being equal to 50), and the number of variables
involved, say k, also normally increases. When there are k different variables to
consider in an argument, the size of the truth table grows to 2k. For big values
of k, the number of rows, denoted by 2k, approaches an almost unmanageable
156 level. As a result, it is necessary for us to look for alternative approaches that,
rather than processing the entire argument as a single formula, process each of Predicate
the individual formulas A1, A2, and C of the argument as well as their derivatives Andpropositional
Logic
by applying some principles that ensure the validity of the results.
In an earlier section, we introduced eight different inference rules that can
be used in propositional logic to help derive logical inferences. The methods
of drawing valid conclusions that have been discussed up until this point are
examples of an approach to drawing valid conclusions that is called the natural
deduction approach of making inferences. This is an approach to drawing valid
conclusions in which the reasoning system starts the reasoning process from the
axioms, uses inferencing rules, and, if the conclusion can be validly drawn, then
it ultimately reaches the conclusion that was intended. On the other hand, there
is a method of obtaining legitimate conclusions that is known as the Refutation
approach. This method, which will be covered in the following part, will be
addressed.
The normal forms (CNF and DNF) also play a vital role in both Natural
deductions and Resolution approach. To understand the normal forms, we need
to start with the basic concepts of clauses, literals etc.
Some Definitions: A clause is a disjunction of literals. For example, (E∨~F∨~G)
is a clause. But (E∨~F∧~G) is not a clause. A literal is either an atom, say A, or
its negation, say ~A.
Definition: A formula E is said to be in a Conjunctive Normal Form (CNF) if
and only if E has the form E : E1∧ ….∧ En, n ≥ 1, where each of E1,…., En is a
disjunction of literals.
Definition: A formula E is said to be in Disjunctive Normal Form (DNF) if
and only if E has the form E: E1∨ E2∨….En, where each Ei is a conjunction of
literals.
Examples: Let A, B and C be atoms. Then F:(~A∧B)∨(A∧~B∧~C) is a formula
in a disjunctive normal form.
Example: Again G: (~A∨B)∧(A∨~B∨~C) is a formula in Conjunctive Normal
Form, because it is a conjunction of the two disjunctions of literals viz of (~ A
∨ B) and (A ∨ ~ B ∨ ~ C)
Example: Each of the following is neither in CNF nor in DNF
(i) (~A∨B)∨(A∧~B∨C)
(ii) (A→B)∧(~B∧~A)
Using table of equivalent formulas given above, any valid Propositional Logic
formula can be transformed into CNF as well as DNF.
The steps for conversion to DNF are as follows
Step 1: Use the equivalences to remove the logical operators ‘↔’ and ‘→’:
(i) E↔G=(E→g)∧(G→E)
(ii) E→G=~E∨G
157
Artificial Intelligence Step 2 Remove ~’s, if occur consecutively more than once, using
– Introduction
(iii) ~(~E)=E
(iv) Use De Morgan’s laws to take ‘~’ nearest to atoms
(v) ~(E∨G)=~E∧~G
(vi) ~(E∧G)=~E∨~G
Step 3 Use the distributive laws repeatedly
(vii) E∨(G∧H)=(E∨G)∧(E∨H)
(viii) E∧(G∨H)=(E∧G)∨(E∧H)
Example : Obtain a disjunctive normal form for the formula ~ (A → (~ B ∧
C)).
Consider A→(~B∧C)=~A∨(~B∧C) (Using (E→F)=(~E∨F))
Hence, ~(A→(~B∧C))=~(~A∨(~B∧C))
=~(~A)∧(~(~B∧C)) (Using~(E∨F)=~E∧~F)
= A ∧ (B ∨ (~ C)) (Using~(~E)=E and
~(E∧F)=~E∨~F
= (A ∧ B) ∨ (A ∧ (~ C)) (Using E∧(F∨G)=(E∧F) ∨ (E∧G))
However, if we are to obtain CNF of (~A→(~B∧C)), in the last but one step,
we obtain
~(A→(~B∧C))=A∧(B∨~C), which is in CNF, because, each of A and
(B∨~C) is a disjunct.
Example: Obtain conjunctive Normal Form (CNF) for the formula:
D→(A→(B∧C))
Consider
D→(A→(B∧C)) (using E→F=~E∨F for the inner implication)
= D→(~A∨(B∧C)) (using E→F=~E∨F for the outer implication)
= ~D∨(~A∨(B∧C))
= (~D∨~A)∨(B∧C) (using Associative law for disjunction)
= ((~D∨~A∨B)∧(~D∨~A∨C)
The last line denotes the conjunctive Normal Form of D→(A→(B∧C))
(Using distributivity of ∨ over ∧)
Note: If we stop at the last but one stop, then we obtain
(~D∨~A)∨(B∧C)=~D∨~A∨(B∧C) is a Disjunctive Normal Form for the given
formula : D → (A → ( B ∧ C ) )
158
Sum up of the technique of natural deduction - Apart from constructing truth Predicate
table to show that the conclusion follows from the given set of premises, another Andpropositional
Logic
method exists known as natural deduction. In this case, we assume that the
conclusion is not valid. We consider negated conclusion as a premise along
with other given premises. We apply certain implications, equivalences and
replacement rules to derive a contradiction to our assumption. Once, we obtain
a contradiction, this proves that the given argument is true.
Example 1: Show that Z is a valid conclusion from the premises X,X->Y and
Y->Z.
Proof: Step 1: ~Z (Negated conclusion as Premise)
Step 2: X (Premise)
Step 3:X-> Y (Premise)
Step 4: Y (using Step 2,3andModus Ponens)
Step 5: Y -> Z (Premise)
Step 6: Z (using Step 4, 5 and Modus Ponens)
We obtain the conclusion Z from the given premises, which is a contradiction
to our assumption ~Z. Thus, the given conclusion is valid.
Example 2: Show that ~P is concluded from RV S, S-> ~Q, P -> Q and R ->~Q.
Proof: Step 1: ~(~P) (Negated conclusion as Premise)
Step 2: P (Step 1, Double negation)
Step 3: P -> Q (Premise)
Step 4: Q (Step 2, 3, Modus Ponens)
Step 5: S -> ~Q (Premise)
Step 6: ~S (Step 4, 5,Modus Tollens)
Step 7: R V S (Premise)
Step 8: R (Step 1, 3, 5, 7, Disjunctive Syllogism)
Step 9: R -> ~Q (Premise)
Step 10: ~Q (Step 1, 3, 5, 7, 9and Modus Ponens)
We obtain ~Q in Step 10and Q in step 4, which is a contradiction. Thus, our
assumption is not valid. Hence, the conclusion follows from the set of premises.
4.14 PROPOSITIONAL RESOLUTION

For the most part, there are two distinct strategies that can be implemented in
order to demonstrate the correctness of a theorem or derive a valid conclusion
from a given collection of axioms:
i) natural deduction
ii) the method of refutation 159
Artificial Intelligence In the method known as natural deduction, one begins with a given set of
– Introduction axioms, applies various rules of inference, and ultimately arrives at a conclusion.
This method is strikingly similar to the intuitive reasoning that is characteristic
of humans.
When using a refutation approach, one begins with the denial of the conclusion
that is to be drawn and then proceeds to deduce a contradiction or the word
"false." We are able to deduce a contradiction as a result of having presupposed
that the conclusion is incorrect; hence, the premise that the conclusion is
incorrect is itself incorrect. Therefore, the argument concerning the technique
of resolution leads to the correctness of the conclusion. In this part of the article,
we will talk about a different method known as the Resolution Method, which
was proposed by Robinson in 1965 and is based on the refutation approach.
The Robinson technique, which has served as the foundation for numerous
computerised theorem provers, highlights the significance of the method in
question.
Propositional resolution is a sound, complete and powerful rule of inference
used in Propositional Logic. It is used prove the unsatisfiability of the given set
of statements. This is done using a strategy called Resolution Refutation that
uses Resolution rule as described below.
Resolution Rule: The rule states given two statements as {α1, α2, α3…α,αm}
and {γ1, γ2, γ3….γn},then the conclusion is {α1, α2, α3…αm,γ1, γ2, γ3,….γn}.
For example, the statements {A, B} and {C, ~B} leads to the conclusion {A,
C}.
Resolution Refutation:
a) Convert all the given statements to Conjunctive Normal Form (CNF).It is
also described as AND of ORs’.For eg., (A ∨ B) ∧ (~A ∨ B) ∧ (~B ∨ A) is
a CNF.
b) Obtain the negation of the given conclusion
c) Apply the resolution rule until either the contradiction is obtained or the
resolution rule cannot be applied anymore.
4.14.1 Clausal Form

Any atomic sentence or its negation is called as a literal. A literal or the disjunction
of at least two literals is called as the clausal form or clause expression. Next,
a clause is defined as the set of literals in the clause form or clause expression.
For example, consider two atomic statements represented using the literals X
and Y. Their clausal expressions are X, ~X and (X V Y) and the clauses for
these expressions are {X}, {~X} and {X, Y}. It is noteworthy that the empty
set {} is always a clause as it represents an empty disjunction and hence, is
unsatisfiable. Kindly note, conjunctive normal form (CNF) of an expression
represents the corresponding clausal form.
Now, we shall first understand certain rules for converting the statements to the
clause form as given below.
160
i) Operator: (β1Vβ2Vβ3V.….Vβm)=>{β1,β2,β3,…. βm} Predicate
Andpropositional
(β1∧ β2∧ β3∧….∧ βm)=>{ β1},{ β2},{β3},….,{βm} Logic
ii) Negation: same as Double Negation and De Morgan’s Law in section 4.8
iii) Distribution: as in sub-section 4.8
iv) Implications: as Material implication and Material Equivalence (section
4.8)
Example 1: Convert A ∧ (B->C) to clausal expression.
Step 1: A ∧ (~B V C) (using rule Material Implication to eliminate ->)
Step 2: {A}, {~B V C} (using rule Operator to eliminate ∧)
Example 2: Derive the Clausal form or Conjunctive normal form of X <-> Y.
Step 1: Replace bi-condition using Material equivalence rule:
(X → Y) ∧ (Y → X)
Step 2: Use Material Implication replacement rule to replace the implication:
(¬ X ∨ Y) ∧ (¬ Y ∨ X)
Example 3: Derive the CNF of ~Z∧~((~X) ->( ~Y))
Step 1: Replace implication using Material Implication(MI):
~(~Z ∧ (~(~X) ∨~Y))
Step 2: Use double negation (DN):
~(~Z∧ (X ∨~Y))
Step 3: Apply DeMorgan’s Law:
~~Z ∨ ~(X ∨~Y)
Step 4: Apply Double Negation:
Z ∨~(X∨~Y)
Step 5: Apply DeMorgan’s Law again:
Z ∨ (~X ∧~~Y)
Step 6: Apply Double Negation on ~~Y:
Z ∨ (~X ∧Y)
Step 7: Lastly, apply Distributive law to obtain CNF:
(Z∨ ~X) ∧ (Z ∨ Y), which is the AND of OR’s form.
(Z∨ ~X), (Z ∨ Y) are the clausal forms for the given expression.
161
Artificial Intelligence 4.14.2 Determining Unsatisfiability
– Introduction
If the obtained set of clauses is not satisfiable, then one can derive an empty
clause using resolution principle as described above. In other words, to determine
whether a set of propositions or premises {P} logically entails a conclusion C,
write P ∨ {¬C} in clausal form and try to derive the empty clause as explained
in examples below.
Example 1: Given a set of propositions : X -> Y, Y -> Z. Prove X -> Z.
Proof: To prove the conclusion, we add the negation of conclusion i.e ~(X ->
Z) to the set of premises, and derive an empty clause.
Step 1: X -> Y (Premise)
Step 2: ~X ∨ Y (Premise, Material Implication)
Step 3: Y -> Z (Premise)
Step 4: ~Y ∨ Z (Premise, Material Implication)
Step 5: ~(X -> Z) (Premise, Negated Conclusion)
Step 6: ~(~X ∨ Z) (Premise, Material Implication)
Step 7: X ∧ ~Z (Premise, DeMorgans)
Step 8: X (Clausal form, Operator)
Step 9: ~Z (Clausal form, Operator)
Step 10: Y (Resolution rule on Premises in Step 2 and Step 8)
Step 11: Z (Resolution rule on Step 10 and Step 4)
Step 12: {} (Conjunction on Step 11 and Step 9)
Thus, the given set of premises entail the conclusion.
Example 2: Use propositional resolution to derive the goal from the given
knowledge base.
a) Either it is a head, or Lisa wins.
b) If Lisa wins, then Mary will go.
c) If it is a head, then the game is over.
d) The game is not over.
Conclusion: Mary will go.
Proof: First consider propositions to represent each of the statement in
knowledge base.
Let H: It is a head
L: Lisa wins
M: Mary will go
162 G: Game is over.

Re-writing the given knowledge base using the propositions defined. Predicate
Andpropositional
a) H ∨ L Logic
b) L -> M
c) H -> G
d) ~G
Conclusion: M
Step 1: H∨L (Premise)
Step 2: L -> M (Premise)
Step 3: ~L ∨ M (Step 4, Material Implication)
Step 4: H -> G (Premise)
Step 5: ~H ∨ G (Step 4, Material Implication)
Step 6: ~G (Premise)
Step 7: ~M (Negated conclusion as Premise)
Step 8: H ∨ M (Resolution principle on Step 1 and 3)
Step 9: M ∨ G (Resolution principle on Step 8 and 5)
Step 10: M (Resolution principle on Step 9 and 6)
Step 11: {} (Sep 10 and 7)
After applying Proof by Refutation i.e., contradicting the conclusion, the
problem is terminated with an empty clause ({}). Hence, the conclusion is
derived.
Example 3: Show that ~S1 follows from S1 -> S2 and ~(S1 ∧ S2).
Proof:
Step 1: S1 -> S2 (Premise)
Step 2: ~S1 ∨ S2 (Material Implication, Step 1)
Step 3: ~(S1 ∧ S2) (Premise)
Step 4: ~S1 ∨~S2 (De Morgan’s, Step 3)
Step 5: ~S1 (Resolution, Step 2, 4)
The resolution mechanism in PL is not used until after the given statements or
wffs have been converted into clausal forms. To obtain the clasual form of a
wff, one must first convert the wff into the Conjuctive Normal Form (CNF). We
are already familiar with the fact that a phrase is a formula (and only a formula)
of the form: A1∨ A2∨……..∨ An ,where Ai might be either any atomic formula
or its negation.
163
Artificial Intelligence The method of resolution is actually generalization of Modus Ponens, whose
– Introduction
P, P → Q
expression is which can be written in the equivalent form as
Q
P, ~ P ∨ Q
(i.e. by using the relation P→Q => ~P∨ Q).
Q
If we are provided that both P and ~ P ∨ Q are true, then we may safely assume
that Q is also true. This is a straightforward application of a general resolution
principle that will be covered in more detail in this unit.
The construction of a truth table can be used to demonstrate the validity of a
resolution process (generally). In order to talk about the resolution process, we
will first talk about some of the applications of that method.
Example: Let C1:Q∨R and C2: ~Q∨S be two given clauses, so that, one of the
literals i.e., Q occurs in one of the clauses (in this case C1)and its negation (~Q)
occurs in the other clause C2. Then application of resolution method in this case
tells us to take disjunction of the remaining parts of the given clause C1 and C2,
i.e., to take C3:R∨S as deduction from C1 and C2. Then C3 is called a resolvent
of C1 and C2.
The two literals Q and (~Q) which occur in two different clauses are called
complementary literals.
In order to illustrate resolution method, we consider another example.
Example: Let us be given the clauses C1:~S∨~Q∨R and C2:~P∨Q.
In this case, complementary pair of literals viz. Q and ~Q occur in the two
clause C1 and C2.
Hence, the resolution method states: ConcludeC3:~S∨R∨(~P)
Example: Let us be given the clauses C1:~Q∨R and C2:~Q∨S
Then, in this case, the clauses do not have any complementary pair of literals
and hence, resolution method cannot be applied.
Example: Consider a set of three clauses
C 1: R
C2: ~R∨S
C3: ~S
Then, from C1 and C2 we conclude, through resolution:
C4: S
From C3 and C4, we conclude,
C5: FALSE
164
However, a resolvent FALSE can be deduced only from anunstatisfiable set of Predicate
clauses. Hence, the set of clauses C1, C2 and C3 is an unsatisfiable set of clauses. Andpropositional
Logic
Example: Consider the set of clauses
C1: R∨S
C2: ~R∨S
C3: R∨~S
C4: ~R∨~S
Then, from clauses C1 and C2 we get the resolvent
C5: S∨S=S
From C3 and C4 we get the resolvent
C6: ~S
From C5 and C6 we get the resolvent
C7: FALSE
Thus, again the set of clauses C1, C2, C3 and C4 is unsatisfiable.
Note: We could have obtained the resolvent FALSE from only two clauses, viz.,
C2 and C3. Thus, out of the given four clauses, even set of only two clauses viz, C2
and C3 is unsatisfiable. Also, a superset of any unsatisfiable set is unsatisfiable.
Example: Show that the set of clauses:
C1: R∨S
C2: ~S∨W
C3: ~R∨S
C4: ~W is unsatisfiable.
From clauses C1 and C3 we get the resolvent
C7: S
From the clauses C7 and C2 we get the resolvent
C8: W
From the clauses C8 and C4 we get
C9: FALSE
Hence, the given set of clauses is unsatisfiable.
Solution of the Problem Using the Resolution Method As was discussed
before, the resolution process can also be understood as a refutation approach.
The following is an example of a proving technique that can be used to solve
problems:
165
Artificial Intelligence After the symbolic representation of the issue at hand, an additional premise
– Introduction in the form of the negation of the wff, which stands for conclusion, should be
added. You can infer either false or a contradiction from this improved set of
premises and axioms. If we are able to get to the conclusion that the statement
is not true, then the conclusion that was required to be formed is correct, and
the issue has been resolved. If, despite our best efforts, we are unable to arrive
at the conclusion that the hypothesis is false, then we are unable to determine
whether or not the conclusion is correct. As a result, the predicament cannot be
solved using the axioms that have been provided and the conclusion that has
been drawn.
Let's go on to the next step and apply Resolution Method to the issues we
discussed earlier.
Example: If the interest rate goes up, the stock prices might go down. Also,
let's say that most people are unhappy when the price of stocks goes down. Let's
say that the rate of interest goes up. Show that most people are unhappy and that
we can draw that conclusion.
To show the above conclusion, let us denote the statements as follows:
• A : Interest rate goes up,
• S : Stock prices go down
• U : Most people are unhappy
The problem has the following four statements
1) If the interest rate goes up, stock prices go down.
2) If stock prices go down, most people are unhappy.
3) The interest rate goes up.
4) Most people are unhappy. (to conclude)
These statements are first symbolized as wffs of PL as follows:
(1′) A→S
(2′) S→U
(3′) A
(4′) U(to conclude)
Converting to clausal form, we get
(i) ~A∨S
(ii) ~S∨U
(iii) A
(iv) U (to be concluded)
As per resolution method, assume (iv) as false, i.e., assume ~U as initially given
166 statement, i.e., an axiom.
Thus, the set of axioms in clasual form is: Predicate
Andpropositional
(i) ~A∨S Logic
(ii) ~S∨U
(iii) A
(iv) ~U
Then from (i) and (iii), through resolution, we get the clause
(v) S.
From (ii) and (iv), through resolution, we get the clause
(vi)~S
From (vi) and (v), through resolution we get,
(viii) FALSE
Hence, the conclusion, i.e., (iv) U: Most people are unhappy is valid.
From the above solution using the resolution method, we might have noticed
that clausal conversion is a major step that takes a lot of time after translation
to wffs. Most of the time, once the clause form is known, proof is easy to see,
at least by a person.
Ques1. Prove that given set of premises are unsatisfiable:
a) {X, Y}, {~X, Z}, {~X,~Z}, {X, ~Y}
Ques 2. Consider the given knowledge base to prove the conclusion.
KB1. If Mary goes to school, then Mary eats lunch.
KB 2. If it is Friday, then Mary goes to school or eats lunch.
Conclusion: If it is Friday, then Mary eats lunch.
4.15 ANSWERS/SOLUTIONS
Check Your Progress 1
Ques No Ans Ques No Ans

1 No 8 No
2 No 9 No
3 Yes 10 Yes
4 Yes 11 No
5 No 12 No
6 Yes 13 Yes
7 Yes 14 No
167
Artificial Intelligence Check Your Progress 2
– Introduction
Ques No Ans Ques No Ans
1 Atomic 6 Atomic
2 Compound 7 Compound
5 Atomic 10 Atomic

1. (~α_1 → (α_1 ∨α_2)) ↔α_2
α_1 α_2 α_1 ∨α_2 ~ α_1 → (α_1 ∨α_2) (~α_1 → (α_1 ∨α_2))
↔α_2
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
2. (~α_1 ↔ (α_2 ↔α_3) ) ∨ (α_3 ∧α_2)
α_1 α_2 α_3 α_2 (~α_1 ↔ α_3 (~α_1 ↔ (α_2

↔α_3 (α_2 ↔ S3) ∧α_2 ↔ α_3) ) ↔ (α_3
↔ α_2)
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
3. ((α_1 ∧α_2) → α_3) ∨ ~α_4
α_1 α_2 α_1∧α_2 α_3 ((α_1 ∧α_2) α_4 ((α_1 ∧α_2) →

→ α_3 α_3) ∨ ~α_4
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
168
Predicate
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ Andpropositional
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ Logic
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_

_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
4. ((α_1 → ~ α_2) ↔α_3) → ~ (α_1 V α_1)
α_1 Α_2 α_1 → α_3 ~α_1

((α_1 → ~α_2) ((α_1 → ~α_2)
~α_2 ↔ α_3) ↔ α_3) → ~
(α_1 V α_1)
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_
_T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_ _F(0)_
_T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_ _F(0)_ _T(1)_ _T(1)_

1. For the given set of premises, derivse an empty clause {} using proposition
resolution to show that the given set of premises are unsatisfiable.
Step 1: XV Y (Premise)
Step 2: ~X V Z (Premise)
Step 3: ~XV ~Z (Premise)
Step 4: X V ~Y (Premise)
Step 5: X (Resolution on Step 1 and 4)
Step 6: ~X ( Resolution on Step 2 and 3)
Step 7:{} (Using Step 5 and 6)
Thus, the given set of premises are unsatisfiable.
169
Artificial Intelligence 2. First introduce notation set for the given knowledge base as:
– Introduction
S: Mary goes to school
L: Mary eats lunch
F: It is Friday
Corresponding knowledge base is:
KB1: S -> L
KB2:F -> (S V L)
Conclusion: F -> L
Proof: Step 1: ~S V L (Premise, Material Implication)
Step 2: ~F V (S V L) (Premise, Material Implication)
Step 3: F (Negated conclusion)
Step 4: ~L (Negated conclusion)
Step 5: (S V L) (Resolution on Step 2 and 3)
Step 6: L (Resolution on Step 1 and 5)
Step 7:{}(Resolution on Step 4 and 6)

1. C. L. Liu & D. P. Mohapatra, Elements of Discrete Mathematics: A
Computer Oriented Approach, Fourth Edition, 2017, Tata McGraw Hill
Education.
2. David J. Hunter, Essentials of Discrete Mathematics, Third Edition, 2016,
Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
3. James L. Hein, Discrete Structures, Logic and Computability, Fourth
Edition, 2015, Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
4. Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, Eighth
Edition, 2021, Tata McGraw Hill Education.
5. Thomas Koshy, Discrete Mathematics with Applications, 2012, Elsevier
Academic Press.
170

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MCS-224

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND

School of Computer and Information Sciences (SOCIS)

COURSE DESIGN COMMITTEE

at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068 or visit University website http://www.ignou.ac.in.

Prof. Arvind (Writer Unit-4)

at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068 or visit University website http://www.ignou.ac.in.

1.3 BASICS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

AI TECHNOLOGIES ILLUSTRATIVE SOLUTIONS

Sense Computer Vision

Com prehend Natural Language Processing Cognitive

Figure-1: What is Artificial Intelligence? – Emerging AI Technologies

Figure 1(a) – Classification of Artificial Intelligence

Figure 1(b) –Three Stages of Type-I Artificial Intelligence

The various categories of Artificial Intelligence are discussed as follows:

1.4 BRIEF HISTORY -ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE

• Charles Babbage and Ada Byron worked on programmable mechanical

1.5 COMPONENTS OF INTELLIGENCE

1.6 APPROACHES TO ARTIFICIAL

Figure 2: Turing Test

1.7 COMPARISON - ARTIFICIAL

Deep Machine Artificial

Fig 2(a):AI, ML, DL

SUB DOMAINS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Figure 2(b) : Various Sub Domains of Artificial Intelligence

To make a system that is artificially intelligent, you have to carefully do Reverse-

Figure 3 :Machine Learning : Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics

Introduction to Deep Learning (DL) Deep Learning is a subfield of machine

1.8 APPLICATION AREAS OF ARTIFICIAL

Figure 4: Potential Use of AI in Health Care

b) Agriculture: AI has the potential to bring in a food revolution while

Figure 5: AI for Precision Farming -

1.9 INTELLIGENT AGENTS

For example : IF a human being comes in front of the automobile suddenly

1.12 FURTHER READINGS

2.2.2 Structure of a State space

2.2.3 Problem solution of State space

2.3.4 Searching for solution in state spaces formulated

2.3 Formulation of 8 puzzle problem from AI perspective

2.4.2 State space tree for 4-Queen’s problem

2.4.3 Backtracking approach to solve N Queen’s problem

2.5 Two agent search: Adversarial search

2.5.2 Types of algorithms in Adversarial search

2.6 Minimax search strategy

2.6.2 Working of Minimax algorithm

2.6.3 Properties of Minimax algorithm

2.6.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Minimax search

2.7 Alpha-Beta Pruning algorithm

2.7.2 Move Ordering of Alpha-Beta pruning

Before an AI problem can be solved it must be represented as a state space.

Fig 1: A sequence of action in a search space from initial to goal state.

Goal state: Tiles in a specific order

Solution: Optimal sequence of operators (Actions) 41

Fig2: A state space representation of 8-puzzle problem

2.2.1 Structure of a state space:

2.2.2 Problem Solution:

2.2.3 Problem formulation:

Fig 3 State space with initial and goal node

2.2.4 Searching for Solutions