Uncertainty And Vagueness In Knowledge Based Systems

The primary aim of this monograph is to provide a formal framework for the representation and management of uncertainty and vagueness in the field of artificial intelligence. It puts particular emphasis on a thorough analysis of these phenomena and on the development of sound mathematical modeling approaches. Beyond this theoretical basis the scope of the book includes also implementational aspects and a valuation of existing models and systems. The fundamental ambition of this book is to show that vagueness and un certainty can be handled adequately by using measure-theoretic methods. The presentation of applicable knowledge representation formalisms and reasoning algorithms substantiates the claim that efficiency requirements do not necessar ily require renunciation of an uncompromising mathematical modeling. These results are used to evaluate systems based on probabilistic methods as well as on non-standard concepts such as certainty factors, fuzzy sets or belief functions. The book is intended to be self-contained and addresses researchers and practioneers in the field of knowledge based systems. It is in particular suit able as a textbook for graduate-level students in AI, operations research and applied probability. A solid mathematical background is necessary for reading this book. Essential parts of the material have been the subject of courses given by the first author for students of computer science and mathematics held since 1984 at the University in Braunschweig.

Focusing on fundamental scientific and engineering issues, this book communicates the principles of building and using knowledge systems from the conceptual standpoint as well as the practical. Previous treatments of knowledge systems have focused on applications within a particular field, or on symbol-level representations, such as the use of frame and rule representations. Introduction to Knowledge Systems presents fundamentals of symbol-level representations including representations for time, space, uncertainty, and vagueness. It also compares the knowledge-level organizations for three common knowledge-intensive tasks: classification, configuration, and diagnosis. The art of building knowledge systems incorporates computer science theory, programming practice, and psychology. The scope of this book is appropriately broad, ranging from the design of hierarchical search algorithms to techniques for acquiring the task-specific knowledge needed for successful applications. Each chapter proceeds from concepts to applications, and closes with a brief tour of current research topics and open issues. Readers will come away with a solid foundation that will enable them to create real-world knowledge systems using whatever tools and programming languages are most current and appropriate.

As we stand at the precipice of the twenty first century the ability to capture and transmit copious amounts of information is clearly a defining feature of the human race. In order to increase the value of this vast supply of information we must develop means for effectively processing it. Newly emerging disciplines such as Information Engineering and Soft Computing are being developed in order to provide the tools required. Conferences such as the International Conference on Information Processing and ManagementofUncertainty in Knowledge-based Systems (IPMU) are being held to provide forums in which researchers can discuss the latest developments. The recent IPMU conference held at La Sorbonne in Paris brought together some of the world's leading experts in uncertainty and information fusion. In this volume we have included a selection ofpapers from this conference. What should be clear from looking at this volume is the number of different ways that are available for representing uncertain information. This variety in representational frameworks is a manifestation of the different types of uncertainty that appear in the information available to the users. Perhaps, the representation with the longest history is probability theory. This representation is best at addressing the uncertainty associated with the occurrence of different values for similar variables. This uncertainty is often described as randomness. Rough sets can be seen as a type of uncertainty that can deal effectively with lack of specificity, it is a powerful tool for manipulating granular information.

These three volumes (CCIS 442, 443, 444) constitute the proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Information Processing and Management of Uncertainty in Knowledge-Based Systems, IPMU 2014, held in Montpellier, France, July 15-19, 2014. The 180 revised full papers presented together with five invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on uncertainty and imprecision on the web of data; decision support and uncertainty management in agri-environment; fuzzy implications; clustering; fuzzy measures and integrals; non-classical logics; data analysis; real-world applications; aggregation; probabilistic networks; recommendation systems and social networks; fuzzy systems; fuzzy logic in boolean framework; management of uncertainty in social networks; from different to same, from imitation to analogy; soft computing and sensory analysis; database systems; fuzzy set theory; measurement and sensory information; aggregation; formal methods for vagueness and uncertainty in a many-valued realm; graduality; preferences; uncertainty management in machine learning; philosophy and history of soft computing; soft computing and sensory analysis; similarity analysis; fuzzy logic, formal concept analysis and rough set; intelligent databases and information systems; theory of evidence; aggregation functions; big data - the role of fuzzy methods; imprecise probabilities: from foundations to applications; multinomial logistic regression on Markov chains for crop rotation modelling; intelligent measurement and control for nonlinear systems.

A review of the present state of knowledge engineering, drawing together underlying theory from related disciplines, with particular attention to fuzzy logics, the theory of fuzzy sets, and decision support systems, along with practical applications. For managers wishing to evaluate expert decision systems, for systems designers and knowledge engineers, and for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in computer science. Many charts, diagrams, tables, and logical or mathematical formulas; extensive references. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The notion of uncertainty in expert systems is dealing with vague data, incomplete information, and imprecise knowledge. Different uncertainty types which are imprecision, vagueness, ambiguity, and inconsistence need different handling models. Uncertain knowledge representation and analysis is an essential issue.