Reference no: EM131738350

Research and discuss how five categories of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems (See p. 59 of your textbook for expert systems, neural networks, genetic algorithms, intelligent agents, and virtual reality) affect our lives now and further impact in the next decade. (Hint: Google’s driver-less car, IBM’s Watson, etc.) Artificial intelligence (AI) simulates human thinking and behavior, such as the ability to reason and learn. Its ultimate goal is to build a system that can mimic human intelligence. And Five categories of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems (See p. 59 of your textbook for expert systems, neural networks, genetic algorithms, intelligent agents, and virtual reality) affect our lives now and further impact in the next decade: Expert systems are computerized advisory programs that imitate the reasoning processes of experts in solving difficult problems. Typically, they include a knowledge base containing various accumulated experience and a set of rules for applying the knowledge base to each particular situation. Expert systems are the most common form of AI in the business arena because they fill the gap when human experts are difficult to find or retain or are too expensive. The best-known systems play chess and assist in medical diagnosis. 2. A neural network, also called an artificial neural network, is a category of AI that attempts to emulate the way the human brain works. Neural networks analyze large quantities of information to establish patterns and characteristics when the logic or rules are unknown. Neural networks' many features include: Learning and adjusting to new circumstances on their own. Lending themselves to massive parallel processing. Functioning without complete or well-structured information. Coping with huge volumes of information with many dependent variables. Analyzing nonlinear relationships in information. (They have been called fancy regression analysis systems.) 3. A genetic algorithm is an artificial intelligence system that mimics the evolutionary, survival-of-the-fittest process to generate increasingly better solutions to a problem. A genetic algorithm is essentially an optimizing system: It finds the combination of inputs that gives the best outputs. Mutation is the process within a genetic algorithm of randomly trying combinations and evaluating the success (or failure) of the outcome. 4. An intelligent agent is a special-purpose, knowledge-based information system that accomplishes specific tasks on behalf of its users. Intelligent agents usually have a graphical representation, such as “Sherlock Holmes” for an information search agent. One of the simplest examples of an intelligent agent is a shopping bot. A shopping bot is software that will search several retailer websites and provide a comparison of each retailer's offerings, including price and availability. Increasingly, intelligent agents handle the majority of a company's Internet buying and selling and complete such processes as finding products, bargaining over prices, and executing transactions. Intelligent agents also have the capability to handle all supply chain buying and selling. Another application for intelligent agents is in environmental scanning and competitive intelligence. For instance, an intelligent agent can learn the types of competitor information users want to track, continuously scan the web for it, and alert users when a significant event occurs. 5. Virtual reality is a computer-simulated environment that can be a simulation of the real world or an imaginary world. Virtual reality is a fast-growing area of artificial intelligence that had its origins in efforts to build more natural, realistic, multisensory human–computer interfaces. Virtual reality enables telepresence by which users can be anywhere in the world and use virtual reality systems to work alone or together at a remote site. Typically, this involves using a virtual reality system to enhance the sight and touch of a human who is remotely manipulating equipment to accomplish a task. Examples range from virtual surgery, during which surgeon and patient may be on opposite sides of the globe to the remote use of equipment in hazardous environments such as chemical plants and nuclear reactors.