Intelligent support systems
Encyclopedia
Intelligent Decision Support Systems (IDSS) is a term that describes decision support systems that make extensive use of artificial intelligence
(AI) techniques. Use of AI techniques in management information systems has a long history, indeed terms such as Knowledge-based systems
(KBS) and intelligent systems
have been used since the early 1980s to describe components of management systems, but the term "Intelligent decision support system" is thought to originate with Clyde Holsapple and Andrew Whinston
in the late 1970s. Flexible manufacturing system
s (FMS) , intelligent marketing decision support systems and medical diagnosis systems can also be considered examples of intelligent decision support systems.
Ideally, an intelligent decision support system should behave like a human consultant; supporting decision makers by gathering and analysing evidence, identifying and diagnosing problems, proposing possible courses of action and evaluating the proposed actions. The aim of the AI techniques embedded in an intelligent decision support system is to enable these tasks to be performed by a computer, whilst emulating human capabilities as closely as possible.
Many IDSS implementations are based on expert systems, a well established type of KBS that encode the cognitive behaviours of human experts using predicate logic rules and have been shown to perform better than the original human experts in some circumstances. Expert systems emerged as practical applications in the 1980s based on research in artificial intelligence performed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. They typically combine knowledge of a particular application domain with an inference
capability to enable the system to propose decisions or diagnoses. Accuracy and consistency can be comparable to (or even exceed) that of human experts when the decision parameters are well known (e.g. if a common disease is being diagnosed), but performance can be poor when novel or uncertain circumstances arise.
Some research in AI, focused on enabling systems to respond to novelty and uncertainty in more flexible ways is starting to be used in intelligent decision support systems. For example intelligent agent
s that perform complex cognitive tasks
without any need for human intervention have been used in a range of decision support applications. Capabilities of these intelligent agents include knowledge sharing, machine learning
, data mining
, and automated inference
. A range of AI techniques such as case based reasoning, rough set
s and fuzzy logic
have also been used to enable decision support systems to perform better in uncertain conditions.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI) techniques. Use of AI techniques in management information systems has a long history, indeed terms such as Knowledge-based systems
Knowledge-based systems
Knowledge based systems are artificial intelligent tools working in a narrow domain to provide intelligent decisions with justification. Knowledge is acquired and represented using various knowledge representation techniques rules, frames and scripts...
(KBS) and intelligent systems
Intelligent Systems
is a Japanese first-party video game developer and internal team of Nintendo Co., Ltd. It has its headquarters in the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture....
have been used since the early 1980s to describe components of management systems, but the term "Intelligent decision support system" is thought to originate with Clyde Holsapple and Andrew Whinston
Andrew B. Whinston
Andrew B. Whinston is an American economist and computer scientist. He is the Hugh Roy Cullen Centennial Chair in Business Administration, Professor of Information Systems, Computer Science and Economics, and Director of the Center for Research in Electronic Commerce in the McCombs School of...
in the late 1970s. Flexible manufacturing system
Flexible manufacturing system
A flexible manufacturing system is a manufacturing system in which there is some amount of flexibility that allows the system to react in the case of changes, whether predicted or unpredicted...
s (FMS) , intelligent marketing decision support systems and medical diagnosis systems can also be considered examples of intelligent decision support systems.
Ideally, an intelligent decision support system should behave like a human consultant; supporting decision makers by gathering and analysing evidence, identifying and diagnosing problems, proposing possible courses of action and evaluating the proposed actions. The aim of the AI techniques embedded in an intelligent decision support system is to enable these tasks to be performed by a computer, whilst emulating human capabilities as closely as possible.
Many IDSS implementations are based on expert systems, a well established type of KBS that encode the cognitive behaviours of human experts using predicate logic rules and have been shown to perform better than the original human experts in some circumstances. Expert systems emerged as practical applications in the 1980s based on research in artificial intelligence performed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. They typically combine knowledge of a particular application domain with an inference
Inference
Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an idiomatic. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.Human inference Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions...
capability to enable the system to propose decisions or diagnoses. Accuracy and consistency can be comparable to (or even exceed) that of human experts when the decision parameters are well known (e.g. if a common disease is being diagnosed), but performance can be poor when novel or uncertain circumstances arise.
Some research in AI, focused on enabling systems to respond to novelty and uncertainty in more flexible ways is starting to be used in intelligent decision support systems. For example intelligent agent
Intelligent agent
In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent is an autonomous entity which observes through sensors and acts upon an environment using actuators and directs its activity towards achieving goals . Intelligent agents may also learn or use knowledge to achieve their goals...
s that perform complex cognitive tasks
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
without any need for human intervention have been used in a range of decision support applications. Capabilities of these intelligent agents include knowledge sharing, machine learning
Machine learning
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
, data mining
Data mining
Data mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...
, and automated inference
Inference
Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an idiomatic. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.Human inference Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions...
. A range of AI techniques such as case based reasoning, rough set
Rough set
In computer science, a rough set, first described by a Polish computer scientist Zdzisław I. Pawlak, is a formal approximation of a crisp set in terms of a pair of sets which give the lower and the upper approximation of the original set...
s and fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic; it deals with reasoning that is approximate rather than fixed and exact. In contrast with traditional logic theory, where binary sets have two-valued logic: true or false, fuzzy logic variables may have a truth value that ranges in degree between 0 and 1...
have also been used to enable decision support systems to perform better in uncertain conditions.
Further reading
- Turban, E., Aronson J., & Liang T.: Decision support systems and Intelligent systems (2004) Pearson