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The Role of Experimentation in Theory Formation
Experimentation serves three purposes: (a) hypothesis testing, (b) gathering of new data to constrain the theory generator, and (c) manipulation of the external system to reveal its structure. A theory formation system, EG, is described that employs experimentation and observation techniques to develop a theory of the UNIX file system and executive-level file commands. This theory formation task is more complex than previous efforts, and the goal of the project is to determine which existing theory formation methods are applicable and what new methods need to be developed. Previous techniques arc reviewed, and none of them arc found to be applicable. A new technique, based on controlled experimentation, is de3cribcd, and a hypothetical trace of EG's execution is presented. Key terms: 'Theory formation, generate-and-test, controlled experimentation, exploratory experiments, observation experiments, hypothesis-test experiments, credit assignment, new terms.
ip Report 83 20 The Utility of Level Effort . Stanford Jeffrey S. Singh Mar 1983 II
Meta-level control, in an Artificial Intelligence system, can provide increased capabilities and improved performanct. This improvement, however, is achieved at the cost of the meta-level effort itself. To ensure an overall increase in system efficiency, the savings brought about at the base level cannot be exceeded by the effort at the meta-level. This paper outlines a formalization of the costs involved in choosing between independent problem-solving methods: the cost of meta-level control is explicitly included. It is shown that when meta-level effort is related to its efficacy, there exists an amount of this effort that should optimally be expended. Too much or too little meta -le-,e1 effort can result in a loss of overall system performance.
Integration of A Computer-Based Consultant Into the Clinical Setting Miriam B. BischofT, Edward H. Shortliffe, A. Carlisle Scottl, Robert W. Carlson, and Charlotte D. Jacobs
ONCOC1N's design and implementation has occurred in unison with a set of studies and analyses Intended to help us better understand the demands of physicians as computer users. Our study of physician attitudes towards computer-based clinical consultation systems 112: emphasized the importance of a system's explanation capabilities and helped convince us of the important role that Al techniques are likely to play in the development of optimal decision aids.
The Science of Biomedical Computing
This is a remarkab'y exciting time to be involved professionally in the field of medical informatics. The underlying scientific principles are beginning to be identified and defined, educators are increasingly acknowledging the importance of thc field for physicians of the present and future, and the tec mology itself is growing at rates that make the future of the field both unbounded and impossible to predict. One has the sense that what was once a field for pioneers is now reaching the stage of established settlements, with a history, traditions, and a feel of permanence. It is therefore appropriate that, at the beginning of ddiberations designed to achieve significant educational goals for the field, we might start by considering the discipline itself and the characteristics that hnve tended to separate it from other traditional academic and research medical specialties. I would like to begin by assuming that certain basic points are well accepted and need not be defended here: first that medical informatics holds both realized and potential importance for the science anc practice of medicine, and second, that there is a need for all medical practitioners to be familiar both with information handling technology and with the underlying principles that make the field relevant, regardless of whether computers are involved.