Conventional data processing - inputting and processing data in the form of facts and figures in order to produce operational or management information

• based on knowledge
• the science of making machines perform tasks that would require intelligence if done by people
• includes expert systems, problem solving, robot control, intelligent database querying and pattern recognition (speech comprehension, image processing, robot vision)
• computer capable of learning and improving performance at a given task

Turing test - consider two identical terminals in a room, one connected to a computer and the other operated remotely by a person. If someone using the two terminals is unable to tell which is connected to the computer and which is operated by the person, the computer can be credited with intelligence

• computer programs that attempt to replicate the performance of a human expert on some specialised reasoning task
• can store and manipulate knowledge so that they can help a user solve a problem or make a decision
• consists of a knowledge base (facts and rules), an inference mechanism (a means of using the knowledge) and a human computer interface
• can explain its reasoning to the user
• limited to a specific area of expertise
• PROLOG is one language developed for the creation of expert systems
• used in medical diagnosis, fault diagnosis, geological surveys (to find oil and mineral deposits), financial services (to predict stock market movement), social services (to calculate benefits to claimants), industrial uses (e.g ELSIE)

• built in the 1980s for use in the construction industry
• details entered using a simple menu-driven interface -> system gives a total cost for the building along with a detailed breakdown
• knowledge base also contains current building regulations for all areas of the country to ensure the proposed building stays within the law
• can perform calculations in seconds which would previously have taken days or weeks of a quantity surveyor's time

• special software program that allows a user to build an expert system without having to learn a programming language
• provides a straightforward user interface for the expert to enter facts and rules and for the end-user to use the system to solve a problem