Ch 7 - Knowledge Management and Specialized Information Systems

Knowledge Management Systems recap: Data consists of raw facts
Information: collection of facts organised so they have additional value beyond the facts themselves
Knowledge: awareness and understanding of a set of information and the ways that information can be made useful to support a specific task or reach a decision
Knowledge Management Systems (KMS): is an organised collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices. * Used to create, store, share, and use the organisation’s knowledge and experience

Explicit Knowledge: is objective, can be measured and documented in reports, papers, and rulers
Tacit Knowledge: hard to measure and document, typically not objective or formalised

Data and Knowledge Management workers: * Data workers: secretaries, administrative assistants, bookkeepers * Knowledge workers: create, use, and disseminate knowledge
Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO): top-level executive who helps the organisation use a KMS to create, store, and use knowledge to achieve organisational goals
Communities of Practice (COP): group of people dedicated to a common discipline or practice. May be used to create, store, and share knowledge * Knowledge repository: includes documents, reports, files and databases * Knowledge map: directory that points the knowledge worker to the needed knowledge * Effective KMS: is based on learning new knowledge and changing procedure and approaches as a result

Overview on Artificial Intelligence: * Artificial Intelligence: computers with the ability to mimic or duplicate the functions of the human brain * Artificial intelligence systems: include the people, procedures, hardware, software, data, and knowledge needed to develop computer systems and machines that demonstrate characteristics of human intelligence * Turing Test: determines whether responses from a computer with high intelligence are distinguishable from a human being

Characteristics of Artificial Intelligence: * Determine key factors * React quickly and correctly to new situation * Understand visual imagine * Process and manipulate symbols * Creative and imaginative

Brain Computer Interface: * Brain computer interface (BCI): idea is to directly connect the human brain to a computer and have thought control computer activities * The BCI experiment will allow people to control computers and artificial arms and legs through thought alone * AI includes: * Expert systems and robotics * Vision systems and natural language processing * Learning systems and neural networks

\ * Expert systems: hardware and software that stores knowledge and makes inferences, similar to human expert * Consists of a collection of integrated and related components * Robotics: mechanical devices that can perform tasks that require a high degree of precision * Manufacturers use robots to assemble and paint products * Contemporary robotics: combine both high precision machine capabilities and sophisticated controlling software

Vision Systems: Hardware and software that permit computers to capture, store, and manipulate visual images and pictures * Effective at identifying people based on facial features

Natural language processing: processing that allows the computer to understand and react to statements and commands made in a “natural” language
Voice recognition: converting sound waves into words
Learning systems: combination of software and hardware that allows the computer to change how it functions or reacts to situations based on feedback it receives
Learning systems software: requires feedback on results of actions or decisions

Neural Networks: computer system that simulates functioning of a human brain * Can process many pieces of data at the same time * Neural network program: helps engineers slow or speed drilling operations to help increase accuracy/reduce costs
Genetic Algorithm: approach to solving complex problems in which a number of related operations or models change and evolve until the best one emerges
Intelligent Agent: programs and a knowledge base used to perform a specific task for a person, process, or another program

Computerised expert systems: systems that use heuristics (techniques) to arrive at conclusions or make suggestions * Expert systems should be introduced in organisations if it can: * High payoff/reduce risk * Capture and preserve irreplaceable expertise * Solve a problem not easily solved using traditional programming techniques * More consistent system than human experts

Components of Expert System: * Knowledge base: stores all relevant information, data, rules, cases, and relationship used by expert system * Created by using rules and cases

Inference Engine: seeks information and relationships from the knowledge base * Provides answers, predictions, and suggestions like a human expert
Explanation Facility: allows user or decision maker to understand how the expert system arrived at certain conclusions or results
Knowledge Acquisition facility: provides convenient and efficient means of capturing and string all components of knowledge base
Knowledge acquisition software: * Can present users and decision makers with easy to use menus
User Interface: permits decision makers to develop and use their own expert systems * Main purpose: to make development and use of an expert system easier for users and decision makers

Participants in developing and Using Expert Systems: * Domain Expert: person or group with the expertise or knowledge the expert system is trying to capture * Knowledge engineer: person who has training in the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of an expert system * Knowledge user: person or group who uses and benefits from the expert system * Expert systems can be developed from any programming language * Expert system shells and products: collections of software packages and tools used to design, develop, implement, and maintain expert systems

Multimedia and Virtual Reality: * They have helped many companies achieve a competitive advantage ad increase profits. The approach and technology used in multimedia is often the foundation of virtual reality systems * Multimedia is: * Text and graphics * Audio * Video and animation

Virtual reality system: enables one or more users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment
Immersive virtual reality: user becomes fully immersed in an artificial, 3D world that is completely generated by a computer \n
Interface devices: * Haptic interface: relays sense of touch and other sensations in a virtual world * Most challenging to create

Specialised systems: * Game theory: uses information systems to develop competitive strategies for people, organisations, or even countries * Informatics: combines traditional disciplines, such as science and medicine, with computer systems and technology