THE ERA OF BIG DATA

Databases, Information Systems,

& Artificial Intelligence
 Objectives
 What are the data storage hierarchy, the key field, types of
files, and some methods of data access and storage?
 What are the benefits of database management systems, and
what are the main types of database access?
 What are the main types of database models?
 How does data mining work, and how could it be useful?
 The Evolving World of Big Data
 Information Systems in Organizations: Using Databases to
Help Make Decisions
 Artificial Intelligence
 Artificial Life, the Turing Test, & the Singularity

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 MANAGING FILES: Basic Concepts

• A database is a collection of interrelated data and files. More

specifically, it is a logically organized collection of related
data designed and built for a specific purpose,
• A technology for pulling together facts that allows the slicing
and dicing, and mixing and matching of unprocessed data in
all kinds of ways and turning it into useful information.

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 MANAGING FILES: Basic Concepts

• BITS Computers, as we have said, are based on the principle that

electricity may be on or off (Chapter 4, p. 197). Thus, the bit is
the smallest unit of data the computer can store in a database
represented by 0 for off or 1 for on. Next is the byte.
• A character (byte) is a letter, number, or special character.
Examples of single characters are A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, #, $, and %. A
combination of bits represents a character.

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 MANAGING FILES: Basic Concepts

• A field (column) is a unit or category of data consisting of one or

more characters (bytes). It is the smallest unit of meaningful
information in a database. Each field has a field name that
describes the kind of data that should be entered into the field.
• A record (row) is a collection of related fields; it represents one
entry in a table. Each record stores data about only one entity,
which can be a person, a place, a thing, an occurrence, or a
phenomenon.

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 MANAGING FILES: Basic Concepts

• A file ( often called a table) is a collection of related records. An

example of a table is data collected on everyone employed in the
same department of a company, including all names, addresses,
and Social Security numbers
• A key field (primary key) is a field (or fields) in a record that
holds unique data that identifies that record from all the other
records in the table and in the database

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 How Data Is Organized: The Data Storage
Hierarchy

• “Hierarchy” refers to a graded series of ordered groupings

usually a pyramid-like ranking, with the most important entities
on the top.
• The data storage hierarchy consists of the levels of data stored in
a computer database: bits, characters (bytes), fields, records, and
tables (files).

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 How Data Is Organized: The Data Storage
Hierarchy

• An alternative design is the hypertext database, in which any

object, whether it be a piece of text, a picture, or a film, can be
linked to any other object.
• Hypertext databases are great for organizing large amounts of
disparate information, but not for numerical analysis

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How Data Is Organized: The Data Storage
Hierarchy

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 Database Management System (DBMS)
• A database management system (DBMS), also called a database
software or database manager is software written specifically to
control the structure of a database and access the data.
• In a DBMS an address change needs to be entered only once, and
the updated information is then available in any relevant table
(file).
• The database is the collection of the data, and the database
management system is the software

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 The Benefits of Database Management
Systems
• Reduced Data redundancy, or repetition, means that the same
data fields (a person’s address, say) appear over and over again in
different files and often in different formats
• Speed: Modern DBMSs are obviously much faster than manual
data-organization systems and faster than older computer-based
data storage arrangements.
• Improved Data integrity means that data is accurate, consistent,
and up to date. In the old system, when a change was made in
one file, it might not have been made in other necessary files.
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 The Benefits of Database Management
Systems
• Timeliness: The speed and the efficiency of DBMSs generally
ensure that data can be supplied in a timely fashion when people
need it.
• Ease Of Sharing: The data in a database belongs to and is
shared, usually over a network, by an entire organization.
• Ease Of Data Maintenance Database management systems offer
standard procedures for adding, editing, and deleting records, as
well as validation checks to ensure that the appropriate type of
data is being entered properly and completely into each field type.
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 The Benefits of Database Management
Systems
• Forecasting Capabilities: DBMSs can hold massive amounts of
data that can be manipulated, studied, and compared in order to
forecast behaviors in markets and other areas.
• Increased Security: Although various departments may share
data, access to specific information can be limited to selected
users—called authorization control.
– Thus, for example, through the use of passwords, a student’s financial,
medical, and grade information in the university database is made available
only to those who have a legitimate need to know

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 Database Components
• A data dictionary also called a repository or database schema, is a
document or file that stores the data definitions and descriptions of
the structure of data used in the database.
• The data dictionary contains the metadata, data that describes other
data, such as the field name, the data type (text, numeric, and so
on), and the field size (expected length of each data for each field).
• The data dictionary defines the basic organization of the database
and contains a list of all tables in the database and the number of
records in each file, and may indicate who has the right to access it
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 Database Components
• Utilities: DBMS utilities are programs that allow you to maintain
the database by creating, editing, and deleting data, records, and
files. The utilities enable you to monitor the types of data being
input and to sort your database by key fields, making searching
and organizing information much easier.
• A DBMS may include a report generator, which is a program for
producing an on-screen or printed document from all or part of a
database.

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 Database Administrator
• Large databases are managed by a specialist called the database
administrator (DBA), who coordinates all related activities and
needs for an organization’s database.
• The goal of the DBA is to ensure the database’s recoverability,
integrity, security, availability, reliability, and performance.
• Database administrators determine user access privileges; set
standards, guidelines, and control procedures; assist in establishing
priorities for requests; prioritize conflicting user needs; and
develop user documentation and input procedures
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 Database Models
• A database model determines the information a database will
contain and how it will be used and how the items in the database
relate to one another.
• In a hierarchical database, fields or records are arranged in
related groups resembling a family tree, with child (lower-level)
records subordinate to parent (higher-level) records.
• The parent record at the top of the database is called the root
record or root parent

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 Database Models
• Hierarchical model

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 Database Models
• A network database is similar to a hierarchical database, but each
child record can have more than one parent record.
• Thus, a child record, which in network database terminology is
called a member, may be reached through more than one parent,
which is called an owner.

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 Database Models

Student B’s owners are instructors D.

Barry and R. DeNiro.

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 Database Models
• A relational database relates or connects, data in different tables
of rows and columns through the use of primary keys, or common
data elements; the tables are also called relations tables of related
data.
• In the relational database, there are no access paths down through a
hierarchy. Instead, data elements are stored in different tables made
up of rows and columns.

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 Relational Database
• Whereas in the hierarchical and network database models data is
arranged according to physical address (location in storage), in the
relational model data is arranged logically, by content. Hence, the
physical order of the records or fields in a table is completely
immaterial.
• Each record is identified by a primary key: Each record in the table
is identified by a field—the primary key—that contains a unique
value.

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Relational Database

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Using Structured Query Language(SQL)
• Structured query language ( SQL, pronounced “sequel”) is the
standard query language used to create, modify, maintain, and
query relational databases. SQL is the foundation for all the
popular database applications available today, from Access to
Oracle.

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 Reading Assignment

 Query By Example

 Object-oriented database

 Multimedia database

 multidimensional database (MDB)

 Data mining

 Data warehouse

 Data mart

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 Data Mining
• Data mining is the process of discovering patterns, relationships,
and insights from large amounts of data using machine learning,
statistical analysis, and other techniques.
• It involves extracting knowledge from data by identifying and
analyzing hidden patterns and trends that can be used to make
informed business decisions or gain new insights.
• By using data mining techniques to analyze this data,
organizations can gain valuable insights and make data-driven
decisions that can give them a competitive advantage.

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The Process of Data Mining

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 Mining The Data: Searching For Patterns &
Interpreting The Results

• Data in the warehouse is usually analyzed or mined using one of

two popular algorithms, or step-by-step problem-solving
procedures.
• Basically, regression analysis takes a particular set of numerical
data and develops a mathematical formula that fits the data. This
formula is then applied to new sets of data of the same type to
predict future situations
• Classification analysis is a statistics pattern-recognition process
that is applied to data sets with more than just numerical data

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 Some Applications Of Data Mining

 One telephone company, for instance, mined its existing billing

data to identify 10,000 supposedly “residential” customers who
spent more than $1,000 a month on their phone bills.
 When it looked more closely, the company found that these
customers were really small businesses trying to avoid paying the
more expensive business rates for their telephone service.

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 Big Data

 Big data refers to extremely large and complex sets of data that
cannot be processed or analyzed using traditional data processing
tools or methods. it is characterized by:
 Volume: The amount of data that is generated and stored is
massive, and can range from terabytes to petabytes and beyond.
 Velocity: The speed at which data is generated and processed is
high, and can range from real-time to near real-time.
 Variety: The different types of data that are generated, such as
structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data

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 Big Data

 Big Data analytics is the process of examining large amounts of

data of a variety of types to uncover hidden patterns, unknown
correlations, and other useful information.
 A specific kind of analytics is web analytics, the measurement and
analysis of Internet data to understand web usage.

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 Implications of big data

 Enhanced insights and decision-making: Big data provides an

enormous amount of information, allowing businesses to gain deep
insights into consumer behavior, market trends, and other important
metrics. By leveraging this data, businesses can make more
informed decisions that are grounded in data-driven insights.
 Improved efficiency and productivity: Big data analytics can help
businesses optimize their operations by identifying inefficiencies,
streamlining processes, and automating tasks. This can lead to
improved productivity and cost savings.

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 Implications of big data
 Increased competition: With big data becoming more widely
available, it is becoming easier for businesses of all sizes to
leverage data-driven insights to gain a competitive edge. This
means that businesses that do not invest in big data analytics may
find themselves falling behind their competitors.
 Data privacy and security concerns: With the vast amounts of
personal information being collected and stored, there is a growing
concern over data privacy and security. Businesses need to be
mindful of how they collect, store, and use personal data to protect
the privacy and security of their customers

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INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ORGANIZATIONS:
Using Databases to Help Make Decisions

 An information system is a combination of people, hardware,

software, communication devices, and databases that process data
and information for a specific purpose.
 Information systems can automate routine tasks and streamline
business processes, which can lead to increased productivity and
efficiency.
 Information systems provide tools for data analysis and reporting,
which can help organizations gain insights into their performance
and identify areas for improvement.

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 The Qualities of Good Information
 Correct and verifiable: This means information must be accurate
and checkable.
 Complete yet concise: Complete means information must include
all relevant data. Concise means it includes only relevant data.
 Cost-effective: This means the information is efficiently obtained
and understandable.
 Current: Current means timely yet also time-sensitive, based on
historical, present, or future information needs.
 Accessible: This means the information is quickly and easily
obtainable.
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 Information Flows within an
Organization
 Horizontal communication: This involves the flow of
information between departments or among employees at the same
level. For example, marketing and sales teams may communicate
with each other to coordinate their efforts and develop marketing
campaigns.
 The vertical flow of information within an organization refers to
the transmission of information between different levels of
hierarchy within the organization. In this type of communication,
information flows from the higher levels to the lower levels and
vice versa.

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Information Flows within an
Organization

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Computer-Based Information Systems
 Computer-based information systems are a combination of
hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that people
build and use to collect, create, and distribute data. Examples are?
 Office information systems
 Transaction processing systems
 Management information systems
 Decision support systems
 Executive support systems
 Expert systems

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 Office information systems (OIS)
 Office information systems (OISs), also called office automation
systems (OASs), combine various technologies to reduce the manual
labor required in operating an efficient office environment and to
increase productivity.
 Used throughout all levels of an organization, OIS technologies
include fax, voice mail, email, scheduling software, word
processing, and desktop publishing, among others.

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 Transaction Processing System (TPS)
 A transaction processing system (TPS) is a computer-based
information system that keeps track of the transactions needed to
conduct business.
 The transactions can be handled via batch processing, also known
as offline processing that is, the data is gathered and processed in
batches at periodic intervals, such as at the end of the day or once a
week.
 Or they may be handled via real-time processing, also known as
online transaction processing (OLTP) that is, each transaction is
processed immediately as it is entered.
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 Artificial intelligence (AI),
 Artificial intelligence (AI), is the branch of computer science that is
devoted to the creation of computer systems that simulate human
reasoning and sensation.
 Artificial intelligence research is divided into two schools of
thought: conventional AI and computational intelligence, sometimes
characterized as “neat” versus “scruffy” approaches

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 Conventional AI
 Conventional AI attempts to mimic human intelligence through logic
and symbol manipulation, as well as statistics.
 This branch of AI is based on machine learning, which is the
development of techniques that allow a computer to simulate
learning by generating rules from raw data fed into it.
 Expert systems, for example, make heavy use of this kind of AI.
 conventional AI has often been dubbed “neats” because they believe
that an intelligent system should be elegant, obvious, and based on
formal logic.

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 Computational intelligence
 Computational intelligence relies less on formal logical systems and
more on experimental and trial-and-error methods.
 This branch of AI is based on heuristics (“hyu- ris- tiks”), or rules of
thumb, for solving a problem, rather than hard-and-fast formulas or
algorithms
 Professionals associated with computational intelligence are called
“scruffies” because, in the words of one writer, “the Scruffies hold
that intelligence is too messy and complicated to be solved under the
limitations the Neats propose.

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 Weak AI versus Strong AI
 Weak AI: refers to AI systems that are designed to perform a
specific task or set of tasks.
 These systems are also referred to as narrow or task-specific AI.
Weak AI is designed to mimic human intelligence within a particular
domain, but it does not have the ability to think or reason beyond its
programmed functions.
 For example, a chatbot that provides customer support is a type of
weak AI because it is programmed to respond to specific customer
inquiries and cannot think or reason beyond its programming

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 Weak AI versus Strong AI
 Strong AI (Artificial General Intelligence) refers to AI systems that
have the ability to reason, think, and understand like a human being
across different domains.
 Strong AI is also referred to as general AI or human-level AI. This
type of AI is capable of performing any intellectual task that a
human can perform.
 weak AI is designed to perform a specific task or set of tasks within
a specific domain, while strong AI is designed to reason, think, and
understand like a human being across different domains.

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 THE AREAS OF AI
 Research on the following
 Expert systems

 Natural language processing

 Intelligent agents

 Pattern recognition

 Virtual reality and simulation devices

 Robotics

 Fuzzy logic

 Neural networks

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 Artificial Life
 Artificial Life: refers to the study of artificial systems that exhibit
properties of life, such as self-organization, adaptation, and
evolution.
 Researchers in this field use computer models and simulations to
explore the possibility of creating artificial living systems that can
replicate the behavior and characteristics of real-life organisms

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 The Turing Test
 The Turing Test: is a measure of a machine's ability to exhibit
intelligent behavior that is indistinguishable from that of a human.
 The test involves a human evaluator who engages in a conversation
with a machine and another human and attempts to identify which is
the machine and which is the human.
 If the machine can successfully fool the evaluator into thinking it is
human, it is said to have passed the Turing test.

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 Singularity
 The Singularity: The singularity is a hypothetical point in the future
when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and
accelerates technological progress beyond human control or
understanding.
 Some theorists predict that the singularity could result in a post-
human future where machines have become more intelligent than
humans, and the pace of technological change becomes too rapid for
humans to keep up.

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 Artificial Life, The Turing Test,
& The Singularity
 Overall, artificial life, the Turing test, and the singularity are all
important concepts in the field of artificial intelligence and its
potential implications for the future of humanity. While these
concepts remain theoretical, they highlight the need for careful
consideration of the ethical and societal implications of advancing
technology.

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 Assignment
 Describe a scenario in which a company has misused big data, and
discuss the potential consequences of this misuse on individuals and
society. What are some measures that can be taken to prevent such
misuse in the future?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Turing test as a
measure of artificial intelligence, and how can we improve our
assessments of machine intelligence beyond this test?
 How can information systems be used to enhance communication
and decision-making within an organization, and what are the key
factors that influence the success or failure of these systems? Provide
examples to support your argument
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