UNIT-III Knowledge Representation Issues

Knowledge representation

 Knowledge representation and reasoning (KR, KRR) is the part of Artificial intelligence which
concerned with AI agents thinking and how thinking contributes to intelligent behavior of
agents.
 It is responsible for representing information about the real world so that a computer can
understand and can utilize this knowledge to solve the complex real world problems such as
diagnosis a medical condition or communicating with humans in natural language.
 It is also a way which describes how we can represent knowledge in artificial intelligence.
Knowledge representation is not just storing data into some database, but it also enables an
intelligent machine to learn from that knowledge and experiences so that it can behave
intelligently like a human.

Following are the kind of knowledge which needs to be represented in AI systems:

Object: All the facts about objects in our world domain. E.g., Guitars contains strings, trumpets
are brass instruments.
Events: Events are the actions which occur in our world.
Performance: It describes behaviour which involves knowledge about how to do things.
Meta-knowledge: It is knowledge about what we know.
Facts: Facts are the truths about the real world and what we represent.
Knowledge-Base: The central component of the knowledge-based agents is the knowledge
base. It is represented as KB. The Knowledgebase is a group of the Sentences (Here, sentences
are used as a technical term and not identical with the English language).

Knowledge: Knowledge is awareness or familiarity gained by experiences of facts, data, and

situations. Following are the types of knowledge in artificial intelligence:

Types of knowledge
1. Declarative Knowledge:

o Declarative knowledge is to know about something.

o It includes concepts, facts, and objects.
o It is also called descriptive knowledge and expressed in declarativesentences.
o It is simpler than procedural language.

2. Procedural Knowledge

o It is also known as imperative knowledge.

o Procedural knowledge is a type of knowledge which is responsible for knowing how to do
something.
o It can be directly applied to any task.
o It includes rules, strategies, procedures, agendas, etc.
o Procedural knowledge depends on the task on which it can be applied.

3. Meta-knowledge:

o Knowledge about the other types of knowledge is called Meta-knowledge.

4. Heuristic knowledge:

o Heuristic knowledge is representing knowledge of some experts in a filed or subject.

o Heuristic knowledge is rules of thumb based on previous experiences, awareness of
approaches, and which are good to work but not guaranteed.

5. Structural knowledge:

o Structural knowledge is basic knowledge to problem-solving.

o It describes relationships between various concepts such as kind of, part of, and grouping of
something.
o It describes the relationship that exists between concepts or objects.

The relation between knowledge and intelligence:

Knowledge of real-worlds plays a vital role in intelligence and same for creating artificial intelligence.
Knowledge plays an important role in demonstrating intelligent behaviour in AI agents. An agent is
only able to accurately act on some input when he has some knowledge or experience about that
input.

Let's suppose if you met some person who is speaking in a language which you don't know, then how
you will able to act on that. The same thing applies to the intelligent behavior of the agents.

As we can see in below diagram, there is one decision maker which act by sensing the environment
and using knowledge. But if the knowledge part will not present then, it cannot display intelligent
behavior.
AI knowledge cycle:

An Artificial intelligence system has the following components for displaying intelligent behavior:

o Perception
o Learning
o Knowledge Representation and Reasoning
o Planning
o Execution

Explanation:

 The above diagram is showing how an AI system can interact with the real world and what
components help it to show intelligence.
 AI system has Perception component by which it retrieves information from its environment.
It can be visual, audio or another form of sensory input.

 The learning component is responsible for learning from data captured by Perception
comportment. In the complete cycle, the main components are knowledge representation and
Reasoning. These two components are involved in showing the intelligence in machine-like
 humans. These two components are independent with each other but also coupled together.
The planning and execution depend on analysis of Knowledge representation and reasoning.

Approaches to knowledge representation:

There are mainly four approaches to knowledge representation, which are givenbelow:

1. Simple relational knowledge:

o It is the simplest way of storing facts which uses the relational method, and each fact about a
set of the object is set out systematically in columns.
o This approach of knowledge representation is famous in database systems where the
relationship between different entities is represented.
o This approach has little opportunity for inference.

Example: The following is the simple relational knowledge representation.

Player Weight Age

Player1 65 23

Player2 58 18

Player3 75 24

2. Inheritable knowledge:

o In the inheritable knowledge approach, all data must be stored into a hierarchy of classes.
o All classes should be arranged in a generalized form or a hierarchal manner.
o In this approach, we apply inheritance property.
o Elements inherit values from other members of a class.
o This approach contains inheritable knowledge which shows a relation between instance and
class, and it is called instance relation.
o Every individual frame can represent the collection of attributes and its value.
o In this approach, objects and values are represented in Boxed nodes.
o We use Arrows which point from objects to their values.
 Example:

3. Inferential knowledge:

o Inferential knowledge approach represents knowledge in the form of formal logics.

o This approach can be used to derive more facts.
o It guaranteed correctness.
o Example: Let's suppose there are two statements:
a. Marcus is a man
b. All men are mortal
Then it can represent as;

man(Marcus)
∀x = man (x) ----------> mortal (x)s

4. Procedural knowledge:

o Procedural knowledge approach uses small programs and codes which describes how to do
specific things, and how to proceed.
o In this approach, one important rule is used which is If-Then rule.
o In this knowledge, we can use various coding languages such as LISP language and Prolog
language.
o We can easily represent heuristic or domain-specific knowledge using this approach.
o But it is not necessary that we can represent all cases in this approach.
Requirements for knowledge Representation system:

A good knowledge representation system must possess the following properties.

1. Representational Accuracy:
KR system should have the ability to represent all kind of required knowledge.

2. Inferential Adequacy:
KR system should have ability to manipulate the representational structures to produce new
knowledge corresponding to existing structure.

3. Inferential Efficiency:
The ability to direct the inferential knowledge mechanism into the most productive directions
by storing appropriate guides.

4. Acquisitional efficiency- The ability to acquire the new knowledge easily using automatic
methods.

Issues in Knowledge Representation in AI

Knowledge representation is a critical aspect of artificial intelligence (AI) and involves

encoding information about the world into a format that a computer system can use to make
decisions, solve problems, and understand contexts. Several issues arise in knowledge
representation, each posing its own challenges:

Expressiveness vs. Complexity: Striking a balance between how much information can be
represented (expressiveness) and the complexity of managing and processing that information
is challenging. More expressive representations can capture more nuanced details but may
require more computational resources and sophisticated algorithms.
Ambiguity and Vagueness: Natural language and real-world knowledge often involve
ambiguous or vague concepts. Handling these ambiguities and ensuring that AI systems
interpret information correctly is a significant challenge. For instance, the term "bank" can
refer to a financial institution or the side of a river, and resolving such ambiguities requires
context.
Scalability: As the amount of knowledge grows, the systems need to scale accordingly.
Managing large knowledge bases efficiently without degrading performance is an ongoing
issue. This involves both storage and retrieval optimizations.
Integration of Diverse Knowledge Sources: Combining information from various sources,
especially when those sources have different formats, structures, or represent knowledge in
different ways, is challenging. Ensuring that the integrated knowledge is consistent and
accurate is a major issue.
 Context Sensitivity: Knowledge representation systems need to handle context effectively.
The meaning or relevance of information can change depending on the context, and systems
must be able to adapt accordingly.
Dynamic and Evolving Knowledge: Knowledge about the world is not static. Systems need to
update their knowledge bases as new information becomes available and as existing
information changes. Managing this dynamic aspect efficiently is a complex problem.
Common-Sense Reasoning: Humans use a vast amount of common-sense knowledge to make
decisions and interpret information. Replicating this ability in AI systems is difficult because
common-sense knowledge is often implicit and not formally codified.
Representation Bias: The way knowledge is represented can introduce biases. For example, if
an AI system is trained on biased data, the representation of knowledge can perpetuate those
biases, leading to unfair or inaccurate outcomes.
Interoperability: Different AI systems or components might use different knowledge
representation formats or ontologies. Ensuring that these systems can work together
effectively, sharing and understanding knowledge, is a significant challenge.
Human-Understandability: The knowledge representation should not only be interpretable
by machines but also by humans. This is important for debugging, validation, and collaboration
purposes.
Knowledge Acquisition: Acquiring and encoding knowledge into a system can be labor-
intensive and error-prone. Developing efficient methods for automating this process or
improving its accuracy is a key area of research

Techniques of knowledge representation

There are mainly four ways of knowledge representation which are given as follows:

1. Logical Representation
2. Semantic Network Representation
3. Frame Representation
4. Production Rules
1. Logical Representation

Logical representation is a language with some concrete rules which deals with propositions and has
no ambiguity in representation. Logical representation means drawing a conclusion based on various
conditions. This representation lays down some important communication rules. It consists of
precisely defined syntax and semantics which supports the sound inference.

Each sentence can be translated into logics using syntax and semantics.

Syntax:

o Syntaxes are the rules which decide how we can construct legal sentences in the logic.
o It determines which symbol we can use in knowledge representation.
o How to write those symbols.

Semantics:

o Semantics are the rules by which we can interpret the sentence in the logic.
o Semantic also involves assigning a meaning to each sentence.

Logical representation can be categorised into mainly two logics:

 Propositional Logics
 Predicate logics

Key Concepts in Predicate Logic:

1. Predicates:
o A predicate is a function that returns a truth value. It represents a property or
relationship involving one or more objects. For example, in the predicate P(x)P(x)P(x),
PPP is a predicate and xxx is a variable that represents an object.
2. Terms:
o Constants: Specific objects in the domain. For instance, in a domain of people, "Alice"
could be a constant.
o Variables: Symbols that stand for arbitrary objects. For example, xxx and yyy can
represent any object in the domain.
o Functions: Functions that map objects to other objects. For example, f(x)f(x)f(x) could
represent the "father of xxx."
3. Quantifiers:
o Universal Quantifier (∀\forall∀): Indicates that a statement applies to all objects in the
domain. For example, ∀x P(x)\forall x \, P(x)∀xP(x) means "For all xxx, P(x)P(x)P(x) is
true."
o Existential Quantifier (∃\exists∃): Indicates that there is at least one object in the
domain for which the statement is true. For example, ∃x P(x)\exists x \, P(x)∃xP(x)
means "There exists some xxx such that P(x)P(x)P(x) is true."
Advantages of logical representation:

1. Logical representation enables us to do logical reasoning.

2. Logical representation is the basis for the programming languages.

Disadvantages of logical Representation:

1. Logical representations have some restrictions and are challenging to work with.
2. Logical representation technique may not be very natural, and inference may not be so
efficient.

2. Semantic Network Representation

Semantic networks are alternative of predicate logic for knowledge representation. In Semantic
networks, we can represent our knowledge in the form of graphical networks. This network consists
of nodes representing objects and arcs which describe the relationship between those objects.
Semantic networks can categorize the object in different forms and can also link those objects.
Semantic networks are easy to understand and can be easily extended.

This representation consists of mainly two types of relations:

 IS-A relation (Inheritance)

 Kind-of-relation

Example: Following are some statements which we need to represent in the form of nodes and arcs.

Statements:

a. Jerry is a cat.
b. Jerry is a mammal
c. Jerry is owned by Priya.
d. Jerry is brown colored.
e. All Mammals are animal.

In the above diagram, we have represented the different type of knowledge in the form of nodes and
arcs. Each object is connected with another object by some relation.
Drawbacks in Semantic representation:

 Semantic networks take more computational time at runtime as we need to traverse the
complete network tree to answer some questions. It might be possible in the worst case
scenario that after traversing the entire tree, we find that the solution does not exist in this
network.
 Semantic networks try to model human-like memory (Which has 1015 neurons and links) to
store the information, but in practice, it is not possible to build such a vast semantic network.
 These types of representations are inadequate as they do not have any equivalent quantifier,
e.g., for all, for some, none, etc.
 Semantic networks do not have any standard definition for the link names.
 These networks are not intelligent and depend on the creator of the system.

Advantages of Semantic network:

1. Semantic networks are a natural representation of knowledge.

2. Semantic networks convey meaning in a transparent manner.
3. These networks are simple and easily understandable.

3. Frame Representation

A frame is a record like structure which consists of a collection of attributes and its values to describe
an entity in the world. Frames are the AI data structure which divides knowledge into substructures
by representing stereotypes situations. It consists of a collection of slots and slot values. These slots
may be of any type and sizes. Slots have names and values which are called facets.

Example:

Let's take an example of a frame for a book

Slots Filters

Title Artificial Intelligence

Genre Computer Science

Author Peter Norvig

Advantages of frame representation:

1. The frame knowledge representation makes the programming easier by grouping the related
data.
2. The frame representation is comparably flexible and used by many applications in AI.
3. It is very easy to add slots for new attribute and relations.
4. It is easy to include default data and to search for missing values.
5. Frame representation is easy to understand and visualize.

Disadvantages of frame representation:

1. In frame system inference mechanism is not be easily processed.

2. Inference mechanism cannot be smoothly proceeded by frame representation.
3. Frame representation has a much generalized approach.

4. Production Rules

Production rules system consist of (condition, action) pairs which mean, "If condition then action". It
has mainly three parts:

o The set of production rules

o Working Memory
o The recognize-act-cycle

In production rules agent checks for the condition and if the condition exists then production rule fires
and corresponding action is carried out. The condition part of the rule determines which rule may be
applied to a problem. And the action part carries out the associated problem-solving steps. This
complete process is called a recognize-act cycle.

The working memory contains the description of the current state of problems-solving and rule can
write knowledge to the working memory. This knowledge match and may fire other rules.

If there is a new situation (state) generates, then multiple production rules will be fired together, this
is called conflict set. In this situation, the agent needs to select a rule from these sets, and it is called a
conflict resolution.

Example:

o IF (at bus stop AND bus arrives) THEN action (get into the bus)
o IF (on the bus AND paid AND empty seat) THEN action (sit down).
o IF (on bus AND unpaid) THEN action (pay charges).
o IF (bus arrives at destination) THEN action (get down from the bus).
Advantages of Production rule:

1. The production rules are expressed in natural language.

2. The production rules are highly modular, so we can easily remove, add or modify an individual
rule.

Disadvantages of Production rule:

1. Production rule system does not exhibit any learning capabilities, as it does not store the result
of the problem for the future uses.
2. During the execution of the program, many rules may be active hence rule-based production
systems are inefficient.

Representing knowledge using rules

Representing knowledge using rules is a common approach in AI and knowledge representation,

leveraging rule-based systems to model and process information. Rules provide a way to encode
knowledge in a format that can be easily interpreted and acted upon by computer systems.

Key Concepts in Rule-Based Knowledge Representation

1. Rules: Rules are conditional statements that define relationships between conditions and
actions. They are typically expressed in the form of "If-Then" statements:
o Rule Format: IF Condition(s) THEN Action(s)\text{IF } \text{Condition(s)} \text{ THEN
} \text{Action(s)}IF Condition(s) THEN Action(s)
o Condition: Specifies the criteria that need to be satisfied.
o Action: Defines what should be done if the condition is met.
2. Production Rules: In a production rule system, each rule has two parts:
o Antecedent (Condition): The part before the "THEN," specifying the conditions under
which the rule should be applied.
o Consequent (Action): The part after the "THEN," specifying the outcome or action to be
taken when the conditions are met.
3. Rule-Based Systems:
o Expert Systems: These are AI systems that use rules to mimic the decision-making
abilities of human experts. For example, a medical diagnosis expert system might use
rules to diagnose illnesses based on symptoms.
o Production Systems: These systems use a set of rules to manipulate a working memory
or database to solve problems or make decisions.
4. Forward and Backward Chaining:
o Forward Chaining: This approach starts with known facts and applies rules to infer new
facts or reach a conclusion. It is data-driven and often used for reasoning and problem-
solving.
o Backward Chaining: This approach starts with a goal or hypothesis and works backward
to determine which facts need to be established or which rules need to be applied. It is
goal-driven and used for proving or validating hypotheses.
 Comparison of procedural and declarative knowledge

Aspect Procedural Knowledge Declarative Knowledge

Definition Knowledge of how to perform tasks or Knowledge of facts, concepts, or
procedures. information.
Nature Process-oriented; focuses on how Content-oriented; focuses on what things
things are done. are.
Representation Often represented as algorithms, Often represented as facts, rules, or
procedures, or steps. statements.
Example Knowing how to ride a bike, play a Knowing that Paris is the capital of
piano, or cook a recipe. France or that water boils at 100°C.
Learning Acquired through practice, experience, Acquired through learning, reading, or
Method or training. instruction.
Application Applied in executing tasks or solving Applied in understanding, recalling, or
problems by following steps or reasoning about facts and relationships.
procedures.
Flexibility Can be less flexible; may require More flexible; changes in facts or rules
explicit reprogramming for changes. are easier to update.
Examples in AI Algorithms, control flow in Knowledge bases, ontologies, semantic
programming, expert systems with networks, fact databases.
procedural rules.
Explanation Difficult to explain the reasoning Easier to explain the reasoning; focuses
behind actions; focuses on the "how." on the "what" and "why."
Maintenance Can be complex; modifications may Typically easier to maintain; updates
require changes to the entire involve adding or changing facts or rules.
procedure.
Use Case Best suited for tasks that involve Best suited for applications requiring
specific sequences of actions or factual knowledge or inference based on
procedures. known facts

Comparison of forward and backward reasoning

Aspect Forward Reasoning Backward Reasoning

Also Known Forward Chaining Backward Chaining
As
Starting Starts with known facts and applies Starts with a goal or hypothesis and works
Point rules to infer new facts. backward to determine the facts needed.
Approach Data-driven; works from specific Goal-driven; works from desired outcomes to
facts to general conclusions. specific facts or conditions.
Process 1. Collect initial facts. 1. Define the goal or hypothesis.
2. Apply rules to infer new facts. 2. Determine the conditions needed to achieve
3. Continue until no new facts can the goal.
be inferred or a goal is achieved. 3. Check if those conditions can be met with
known facts.
Example Determining the symptoms of an Diagnosing an illness by starting with a specific
illness based on observed patient diagnosis and working backward to verify the
data. For instance, if a patient has a necessary symptoms. For instance, if the goal is
fever and cough, infer they may to diagnose the flu, check if the patient exhibits
have the flu. symptoms like fever and cough.
Usage Often used in systems where you Often used in systems where you have a specific
Context have a lot of data and want to derive goal or hypothesis and need to determine the
conclusions or patterns. required conditions to reach that goal.
Efficiency Can be efficient if the number of Can be efficient if the goal is clearly defined and
facts is small or the rules lead the conditions are well-understood.
quickly to conclusions.
Complexity Complexity increases with the Complexity depends on the clarity of the goal
number of facts and rules. Can and the number of conditions that need to be
potentially generate a lot of data checked. It often involves searching through the
before reaching conclusions. potential paths to meet the goal.

Matching:-

Matching in AI refers to the process of finding correspondences between different sets of data or
entities.

Types of Matching in AI

 Pattern Matching:
o Definition: Identifying patterns or structures within data based on predefined patterns
or templates.
o Applications: Text search engines, speech recognition, image recognition.
 Entity Matching:
o Definition: Determining whether two entities (e.g., people, places, or objects) are the
same or related.
o Applications: Data deduplication, database merging, knowledge graph construction.
 Similarity Matching:
o Definition: Comparing the similarity between objects or data points to find the most
similar ones.
o Applications: Recommender systems, document retrieval, plagiarism detection.
 Semantic Matching:
o Definition: Aligning data or concepts based on their meanings rather than exact
matches.
o Applications: Natural language processing, ontology alignment, information retrieval.
 Structural Matching:
o Definition: Comparing and aligning the structures of data or entities, such as trees or
graphs.
o Applications: Graph databases, bioinformatics, network analysis.