On 5/17/07, Mike Tintner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Pei: AI is about "what is the best solution to a problem if > the system has INSUFFICIENT knowledge and resources". Just so. I have just spent the last hour thinking about this area, and you have spoken the line I allotted to you almost perfectly. Your definition is a CONTRADICTION IN TERMS. If a system has insufficient knowledge there is NO BEST, no "optimal," solution to any decision - that's a fiction. If a system is uncertain, there is no certain way to deal with it. If there is no right answer, there really is no right answer.
Mike, With insufficient knowledge and resources, a system cannot get answers that are ABSOLUTELY correct and optimal (with respect to the problem only), but can still get answers that are RELATIVELY correct (with respect to available knowledge) and optimal (with respect to available resources). BEST was used in this sense in my previous message. In a sense, the whole field of "reasoning under uncertainty" is about "finding certainty in handling uncertainty", and the whole field of "decision making" is about "find the best answer when the right answer is unknown". There is no contradiction, but different levels of descriptions. Pei ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=231415&user_secret=fabd7936
