Artificial intelligence, or AI, is largely an experimental science—at least as much progress has been made by building and analyzing programs as by examining theoretical questions. MYCIN is one of several well-known programs that embody some intelligence and provide data on the extent to which intelligent behavior can be programmed. As with other AI programs, its development was slow and not always in a forward direction. But we feel we learned some useful lessons in the course of nearly a decade of work on MYCIN and related programs. In this book we share the results of many experiments performed in that time, and we try to paint a coherent picture of the work. The book is intended to be a critical analysis of several pieces of related research, performed by a large number of scientists. We believe that the whole field of AI will benefit from such attempts to take a detailed retrospective look at experiments, for in this way the scientific foundations of the field will gradually be defined. It is for all these reasons that we have prepared this analysis of the MYCIN experiments.

The complete book in a single file.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is largely an experimental science—at least as much progress has been made by building and analyzing programs as by examining theoretical questions. MYCIN is one of several well-known programs that embody some intelligence and provide data on the extent to which intelligent behavior can be programmed. As with other AI programs, its development was slow and not always in a forward direction. But we feel we learned some useful lessons in the course of nearly a decade of work on MYCIN and related programs. In this book we share the results of many experiments performed in that time, and we try to paint a coherent picture of the work. The book is intended to be a critical analysis of several pieces of related research, performed by a large number of scientists. We believe that the whole field of AI will benefit from such attempts to take a detailed retrospective look at experiments, for in this way the scientific foundations of the field will gradually be defined. It is for all these reasons that we have prepared this analysis of the MYCIN experiments.ContentsContributorsForewordAllen NewellPrefacePart One: BackgroundChapter 1—The Context of the MYCIN ExperimentsChapter 2—The Origin of Rule-Based Systems in AIRandall Davis and Jonathan J. KingPart Two: Using RulesChapter 3—The Evolution of MYCIN’s Rule FormChapter 4—The Structure of the MYCIN SystemWilliam van MelleChapter 5—Details of the Consultation SystemEdward H. ShortliffeChapter 6—Details of the Revised Therapy AlgorithmWilliam J. ClanceyPart Three: Building a Knowledge BaseChapter 7—Knowledge EngineeringChapter 8—Completeness and Consistency in a Rule-Based SystemMotoi Suwa, A. Carlisle Scott, and Edward H. ShortliffeChapter 9—Interactive Transfer of ExpertiseRandall Davis[#p4]] Part Four: Reasoning Under UncertaintyChapter 10—Uncertainty and Evidential SupportChapter 11—A Model of Inexact Reasoning in MedicineEdward H. Shortliffe and Bruce G. BuchananChapter 12—Probabilistic Reasoning and Certainty FactorsJ. Barclay AdamsChapter 13—The Dempster-Shafer Theory of EvidenceJean Gordon and Edward H. ShortliffePart Five: Generalizing MYCINChapter 14—Use of the MYCIN Inference EngineChapter 15—EMYCIN: A Knowledge Engineer’s Tool for Constructing Rule-Based Expert SystemsWilliam van Melle, Edward H. Shortliffe, and Bruce G. BuchananChapter 16—Experience Using EMYCINJames S. Bennett and Robert S. EngelmorePart Six: Explaining the ReasoningChapter 17—Explanation as a Topic of AI ResearchChapter 18—Methods for Generating ExplanationsA. Carlisle Scott, William J. Clancey, Randall Davis, and Edward H. ShortliffeChapter 19—Specialized Explanations for Dosage SelectionSharon Wraith Bennett and A. Carlisle ScottChapter 20—Customized Explanations Using Causal KnowledgeJerold W. Wallis and Edward H. ShortliffePart Seven: Using Other RepresentationsChapter 21—Other Representation FrameworksChapter 22—Extensions to the Rule-Based Formalism for a Monitoring TaskLawrence M. Fagan, John C. Kunz, Edward A. Feigenbaum, and John J. OsbornChapter 23—A Representation Scheme Using Both Frames and RulesJanice S. AikinsChapter 24—Another Look at FramesDavid E. Smith and Jan E. ClaytonPart Eight: TutoringChapter 25—Intelligent Computer-Aided InstructionChapter 26—Use of MYCIN’s Rules for TutoringWilliam J. ClanceyPart Nine: Augmenting the RulesChapter 27—Additional Knowledge StructuresChapter 28—Meta-Level KnowledgeRandall Davis and Bruce G. BuchananChapter 29—Extensions to Rules for Explanation and TutoringWilliam J. ClanceyPart Ten: Evaluating PerformanceChapter 30—The Problem of EvaluationChapter 31—An Evaluation of MYCIN’s AdviceVictor L. Yu, Lawrence M. Fagan, Sharon Wraith Bennett, William J . Clancey, A. Carlisle Scott, John F. Hannigan, Robert L. Blum, Bruce G. Buchanan, and Stanley N. CohenPart Eleven: Designing for Human UseChapter 32—Human Engineering of Medical Expert SystemsChapter 33—Strategies for Understanding Structured EnglishAlain BonnetChapter 34—An Analysis of Physicians’ AttitudesRandy L. Teach and Edward H. ShortliffeChapter 35—An Expert System for Oncology Protocol ManagementEdward H. Shortliffe, A. Carlisle Scott, Miriam B. Bischoff, A. Bruce Campbell, William van MeUe, and Charlotte D. JacobsPart Twelve: ConclusionsChapter 36—Major Lessons from This WorkEpilogAppendixReferencesName IndexSubject IndexReading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is largely an experimental science—at least as much progress has been made by building and analyzing programs as by examining theoretical questions. MYCIN is one of several well-known programs that embody some intelligence and provide data on the extent to which intelligent behavior can be programmed. As with other AI programs, its development was slow and not always in a forward direction. But we feel we learned some useful lessons in the course of nearly a decade of work on MYCIN and related programs. In this book we share the results of many experiments performed in that time, and we try to paint a coherent picture of the work. The book is intended to be a critical analysis of several pieces of related research, performed by a large number of scientists. We believe that the whole field of AI will benefit from such attempts to take a detailed retrospective look at experiments, for in this way the scientific foundations of the field will gradually be defined. It is for all these reasons that we have prepared this analysis of the MYCIN experiments.ContentsContributorsForewordAllen NewellPrefacePart One: BackgroundChapter 1—The Context of the MYCIN ExperimentsChapter 2—The Origin of Rule-Based Systems in AIRandall Davis and Jonathan J. KingPart Two: Using RulesChapter 3—The Evolution of MYCIN’s Rule FormChapter 4—The Structure of the MYCIN SystemWilliam van MelleChapter 5—Details of the Consultation SystemEdward H. ShortliffeChapter 6—Details of the Revised Therapy AlgorithmWilliam J. ClanceyPart Three: Building a Knowledge BaseChapter 7—Knowledge EngineeringChapter 8—Completeness and Consistency in a Rule-Based SystemMotoi Suwa, A. Carlisle Scott, and Edward H. ShortliffeChapter 9—Interactive Transfer of ExpertiseRandall Davis[#p4]] Part Four: Reasoning Under UncertaintyChapter 10—Uncertainty and Evidential SupportChapter 11—A Model of Inexact Reasoning in MedicineEdward H. Shortliffe and Bruce G. BuchananChapter 12—Probabilistic Reasoning and Certainty FactorsJ. Barclay AdamsChapter 13—The Dempster-Shafer Theory of EvidenceJean Gordon and Edward H. ShortliffePart Five: Generalizing MYCINChapter 14—Use of the MYCIN Inference EngineChapter 15—EMYCIN: A Knowledge Engineer’s Tool for Constructing Rule-Based Expert SystemsWilliam van Melle, Edward H. Shortliffe, and Bruce G. BuchananChapter 16—Experience Using EMYCINJames S. Bennett and Robert S. EngelmorePart Six: Explaining the ReasoningChapter 17—Explanation as a Topic of AI ResearchChapter 18—Methods for Generating ExplanationsA. Carlisle Scott, William J. Clancey, Randall Davis, and Edward H. ShortliffeChapter 19—Specialized Explanations for Dosage SelectionSharon Wraith Bennett and A. Carlisle ScottChapter 20—Customized Explanations Using Causal KnowledgeJerold W. Wallis and Edward H. ShortliffePart Seven: Using Other RepresentationsChapter 21—Other Representation FrameworksChapter 22—Extensions to the Rule-Based Formalism for a Monitoring TaskLawrence M. Fagan, John C. Kunz, Edward A. Feigenbaum, and John J. OsbornChapter 23—A Representation Scheme Using Both Frames and RulesJanice S. AikinsChapter 24—Another Look at FramesDavid E. Smith and Jan E. ClaytonPart Eight: TutoringChapter 25—Intelligent Computer-Aided InstructionChapter 26—Use of MYCIN’s Rules for TutoringWilliam J. ClanceyPart Nine: Augmenting the RulesChapter 27—Additional Knowledge StructuresChapter 28—Meta-Level KnowledgeRandall Davis and Bruce G. BuchananChapter 29—Extensions to Rules for Explanation and TutoringWilliam J. ClanceyPart Ten: Evaluating PerformanceChapter 30—The Problem of EvaluationChapter 31—An Evaluation of MYCIN’s AdviceVictor L. Yu, Lawrence M. Fagan, Sharon Wraith Bennett, William J . Clancey, A. Carlisle Scott, John F. Hannigan, Robert L. Blum, Bruce G. Buchanan, and Stanley N. CohenPart Eleven: Designing for Human UseChapter 32—Human Engineering of Medical Expert SystemsChapter 33—Strategies for Understanding Structured EnglishAlain BonnetChapter 34—An Analysis of Physicians’ AttitudesRandy L. Teach and Edward H. ShortliffeChapter 35—An Expert System for Oncology Protocol ManagementEdward H. Shortliffe, A. Carlisle Scott, Miriam B. Bischoff, A. Bruce Campbell, William van MeUe, and Charlotte D. JacobsPart Twelve: ConclusionsChapter 36—Major Lessons from This WorkEpilogAppendixReferencesName IndexSubject IndexReading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc.

A fifth answer is also advanced, but is immediately withdrawn. The Innovative Answer: "It also usually means getting fact, there are enough opinions for four men. Roger Schanks, and disagree with the other three. As & hank points out, this is unsatisfactory because it leads Schank hoped that his article would start a debate on to a shifting definition of AI. the issues he raised. Another of these answers, the learning answer, can also What are Schank's four views? Anyone who attempts to clarify a In answer to his question "What is AI all about?", he vague term, like AI, is allowed a certain amount of license in claims to see only two possible answers. The Scientific Answer: "that AI is concerned with highlighting other uses, but there are limits to this license.

Production rules are a popular representation for encoding heuristic knowledge in programs for scientific and medical problem solving. However, experience with one of these programs, mycin, indicates that the representation has serious limitations: people other than the original rule authors find it difficult to modify the rule set, and the rules are unsuitable for use in other settings, such as for application to teaching. These problems are rooted in fundamental limitations in mycin's original rule representation: the view that expert knowledge can be encoded as a uniform, weakly structured set of if/then associations is found to be wanting. To illustrate these problems, this paper examines mycin's rules from the perspective of a teacher trying to justify them and to convey a problem-solving approach. We discover that individual rules play different roles, have different kinds of justifications, and are constructed using different rationales for the ordering and choice of premise clauses.

We describe a program for verifying that a set of rules in an expert system comprehensively spans the knowledge of a specialized domain. The program has been devised and tested within the context of the ONCOCIN System, a rule-based consultant for clinical oncology. The stylized format of ONCOIN's rule has allowed the automatic detection of a number of common errors as the knowledge base has been developed. This capability suggests a general mechanism for correcting many problems with knowledge base completeness and consistency before they can cause performance errors.

We describe a program for verifying that a set of rules in an expert system comprehensively spans the knowledge of a specialized domain. The program has been devised and tested within the context of the ONCOCIN System, a rule-based consultant for clinical oncology. The stylized format of ONCOIN's rule has allowed the automatic detection of a number of common errors as the knowledge base has been developed. This capability suggests a general mechanism for correcting many problems with knowledge base completeness and consistency before they can cause performance errors.

Interactive intelligent systems often suffer from a basic conflict between their computationally intensive nature and the need for responsiveness to a user. This paper introduces the Interviewer/Reasoner model, which helps to reduce this conflict. This model partitions an intelligent system into two asynchronous components. The Interviewer's primary function is to gather data while providing an acceptable response time to the user. The Reasoner does most of the symbolic computation for the system. This paper describes the implementation of the model in both timesharing and personal workstation environments, and uses the ONCOCIN system as an example.

Work on expert systems has received extensive attention recently, prompting growing interest in a range of environments. Much has been made of the basic concept and of the rule-based system approach typically used to construct the programs. Perhaps this is a good time then to review what we know, asses the current prospects, and suggest directions appropriate for the next steps of basic research. I'd like to do that today, and propose to do it by taking you on a journey of sorts, a metaphorical trip through the State of the Art of Expert Systems.

Work on expert systems has received extensive attention recently, prompting growing interest in a range of environments. Much has been made of the basic concept and of the rule-based system approach typically used to construct the programs. Perhaps this is a good time then to review what we know, asses the current prospects, and suggest directions appropriate for the next steps of basic research. I'd like to do that today, and propose to do it by taking you on a journey of sorts, a metaphorical trip through the State of the Art of Expert Systems. We'll wander about the landscape, ranging from the familiar territory of the Land of Accepted Wisdom, to the vast unknowns at the Frontiers of Knowledge. I guarantee we'll all return safely, so come along....