The Real Estate Agent: Modeling Users By Uncertain Reasoning

Two topics are treated here. First we present a user model patterned after the stereotype approach (Rich, 1979). This model surpasses Rich's model with respect to it's greater flexibility in the construction of user profiles, and it's treatment of positive and negative arguments. Second, we present an inference machine. This machine treats uncertain knowledge in the form of evidence for and against the accuracy of a proposition. Truth values are replaced by the concept of two-dimensional evidence space. We discuss the consequences of the concept, particularly with regard to verification. The connection between these two topics is established by implementation of the user model on the inference machine.