Expert System
Expert System
A system that incorporates expert knowledge to automatically diagnose diseases and solve problems.
In Simple Terms
An expert system is a computer program designed to give you the same kind of answers and advice a human expert would. For example, it's used in medicine to suggest a diagnosis based on a patient's symptoms, or in factories to help pinpoint the cause of equipment failures. Its defining trait is reaching conclusions by applying a set of pre-programmed expert knowledge rules.
Behind the Name
"Expert System" combines "Expert," meaning a specialist with deep knowledge in a field, and "System," meaning a mechanism or setup that carries out a process automatically.
Take a Closer Look!
An expert system is a type of AI that stores the knowledge and know-how of a specific field in a computer, letting it make judgments and diagnoses the way a human expert would.
Put simply, it gathers up all those "if this, then that" rules that live in an expert's head and uses them to work out answers automatically.
The system is built from two main parts: a knowledge base that stores the expert's knowledge, and an inference engine that matches the information you enter against that knowledge to reach a conclusion.
When you enter your question or situation, the inference engine applies the matching rules from the knowledge base and produces an appropriate answer.
Expert systems are used in fields where analysis can be based on fixed rules, such as assisting medical diagnosis or pinpointing the cause of equipment failures.
They can provide answers by following the rules they've been given, but they struggle with the flexible judgment of a human expert or with new problems that fall outside those rules.