This article traces the connection between expert systems used as consultants in medicine and their design for instructional purposes in education. It is suggested that there are important differences between these applications. Recognizing these differences leads to the view that the development of intelligent computer-assisted instructions (ICAI) should be guided by empirical research into social/psychological consequences and by ethical inquiries into the acceptability of those consequences. Three proposals are put forward: (1) that the pedagogical role of intelligent CAI be clarified, (...) (2) that forms of intelligent CAI be developed that aim primarily at refining rather than replacing human judgements, and (3) that ICAI research and development projects contain components which address ethical and social/psychological components and which are equitably-funded, integral parts of the overall development effort. (shrink)

This paper describes the processes of cognitive modeling and representation of human expertise for developing an ontology and knowledge base of an expert system. An ontology is an organization and classification of knowledge. Ontological engineering in artificial intelligence (AI) has the practical goal of constructing frameworks for knowledge that allow computational systems to tackle knowledge-intensive problems and supports knowledge sharing and reuse. Ontological engineering is also a process that facilitates construction of the knowledge base of an intelligent system, which can (...) be defined as a computer program that can duplicate problem-solving capabilities of human experts in specific areas. This paper presents the processes of knowledge acquisition, analysis, and representation, which laid the basis for ontology construction. In this case, the processes are applied in ontological engineering for construction of an expert system in the domain of monitoring of a petroleum production and separation facility. The acquired knowledge was also formally represented in two knowledge acquisition tools. (shrink)

One of the more compelling beliefs about vision is that it is based on representations that are coherent and complete, with everything in the visual field described in great detail. However, changes made during a visual disturbance are found to be difficult to see, arguing against the idea that our brains contain a detailed, picture-like representation of the scene. Instead, it is argued here that a more dynamic, "just-in-time" representation is involved, one with deep similarities to the way that users (...) interact with external displays. It is further argued that these similarities can provide a basis for the design of intelligent display systems that can interact with humans in highly effective and novel ways. (shrink)

This paper presents work in progress on artificial intelligence in medicine (AIM) within the larger context of cognitive science. It introduces and develops the notion ofemergence both as an inevitable evolution of artificial intelligence towards machine learning programs and as the result of a synergistic co-operation between the physician and the computer. From this perspective, the emergence of knowledge takes placein fine in the expert's mind and is enhanced both by computerised strategies of induction and deduction, and by software abilities (...) to dialogue, co-operate and function as a cognitive extension of the physician's intellectual capabilities. The proposed methodology gives the expert a prominent role which consists, first, of faithfully enunciating the descriptive features of his medical knowledge, thus giving the computer a precise description of his own perception of basic medicine, and secondly, of painstakingly gathering patients into computerised case bases which simulate exhaustive long-term memory. The AI capacities for knowledge elaboration are then triggered, giving rise to mathematically optimal diagnoses, prognoses, or treatment protocols which the physician may then evaluate, accept, reject, or adapt at his convenience, and finally append to a knowledge base. The idea of emergence embraces many issues concerning the purpose and intent of artificial intelligence in medical practice. Particularly, we address the representation problem as it is raised by classical decisional knowledge-based systems, and develop the notions of classifiers and hybrid systems as possible answers to this problem. Finally, since the whole methodology touches the problem of technological investment in health care, now inherent in modern medical practice, some ethical considerations accompany the exposé. (shrink)

Allen (2001) proposed the “Getting Things Done” (GTD) method for personal productivity enhancement, and reduction of the stress caused by information overload. This paper argues that recent insights in psychology and cognitive science support and extend GTD’s recommendations. We first summarize GTD with the help of a flowchart. We then review the theories of situated, embodied and distributed cognition that purport to explain how the brain processes information and plans actions in the real world. The conclusion is that the brain (...) heavily relies on the environment, to function as an external memory, a trigger for actions, and a source of affordances, disturbances and feedback. We then show how these principles are practically implemented in GTD, with its focus on organizing tasks into “actionable” external memories, and on opportunistic, situation-dependent execution. Finally, we propose an extension of GTD to support collaborative work, inspired by the concept of stigmergy. (shrink)

Il rapporto tra lo spazio e la formazione del pensiero sollecita riflessioni pedagogiche in dialogo con il mondo dell'architettura. Nelle scienze umane è oggi sentita una "svolta spaziale" che induce la ricerca a riconsiderare il rapporto tra spazio e pedagogia. Una delle possibili declinazioni di tale rapporto riguarda la progettazione di scuole come ambienti di apprendimento.