| 1993 Publications |
|
| Knowledge Histories |
|
| B. Kang and P. Compton
|
| 2nd Australian Cognitive Science Conference |
|
| Situated cognition is a multifarious critique of more conventional approaches to understanding knowledge and expertise. In this paper we wish to pay particular attention to the approach to situated cognition exemplified by Clancey [1] . A central feature of Clancey's approach is that rather than storing representations one remembers how to produce representations. When we speak we are not recalling a representation but creating a representation and it is only in producing these symbolic representations that we can perceive them. "Representations are not in the mind but emerge from the interaction of mental processes with the environment" [2] . Clancey quotes Rosenfield (p 267) [1] : "There are no specific recollections in our brains; there are only the means for organising past impressions . . . Memories are not fixed but are constantly evolving generalisations - recreations of the past . . .". Clancey's central message is that knowledge is created afresh and exists in its expression. The aim of this paper is to show that such ideas are not just a critique of current approaches to knowledge based systems but suggest ways of developing superior knowledge based systems. |
|
|
|
| Knowledge Acquisition Without Analysis |
|
| P. Compton, B. Kang, P. Preston and M. Mulholland
|
| Knowledge Acquisition for Knowledge Based Systems, Lectures Notes in AI (723) |
|
| This paper suggests that a distinction between knowledge acquisition methods should be made. On the one hand there are methods which aim to help the expert and knowledge engineer analyse what knowledge is involved in solving a particular type of problem and how this problem solving is carried out. These methods are concerned with classifying the different types of problem solving and providing tools and methods to help the knowledge engineer identify the appropriate approach and ensure nothing is omitted.. A different approach to knowledge acquisition focuses on ensuring incremental addition of validated knowledge as mistakes are discovered (validated knowledge here means only that the earlier performance of the system is not degraded by the addition of new knowledge). The organisation of this knowledge is managed by the system rather than the expert and knowledge engineer. This would seem to correspond to human incremental development of expertise. From this perspective task analysis is a secondary activity related to explanation and justification not acknowledge acquisition. Ripple Down Rules is a limited example of this approach. The paper considers the possibility of extending this approach to make it a more generally applicable. |
|
|
|
| Taking Knowledge in Context out of its Context |
|
| B. Kang and P. Compton
|
| IJCAI workshop on context |
|
| In conventional knowledge engineering, knowledge is taken out of context when it is acquired and used out of context. A knowledge acquisition methodology, Ripple Down Rules, has been developed in which knowledge is stored in the context in which it is acquired and only used in the same context. This strong use of context so simplifies knowledge acquisition that large expert systems can be built by experts without knowledge engineering assistance or skill. Despite the simplicity of the knowledge acquisition this use of context is too strong as knowledge often has application beyond the immediate context in which it is acquired. This paper considers the possibility of acquiring and storing knowledge in context but using this knowledge out of context. An approach is proposed where knowledge acquisition has the same simplicity as RDR, but is somewhat more tedious because of extra steps in rule validation. This approach is still far easier than conventional knowledge engineering. The approach also opens up the possibility of using knowledge in different contexts to critique conclusions drawn in other contexts. |
|
|
