Introduction to Artificial Intelligence - Old Questions

1.   What do you mean by forward chaining? Why it is required? Explain it with two practical examples.

When we have some data and we make a decision based on this data then the process is called as forward chaining. Forward chaining starts with the available data and uses inference rules to extract more data until a goal is reached.

Forward chaining has the capability of providing a lot of data from the available few initial data or facts.

Forward chaining is a very popular technique for implementation to expert system, and system using production rules in the knowledge base. For expert system that needs interruption, control, monitoring and planning, the forward chaining is the best.

Examples:

1. While diagnosing a patient the doctor first check the symptoms and medical condition of the body such as temperature, blood, pressure, pulse, blood etc. After that, the patient symptoms are analysed and compared against the predetermined symptoms. Then the doctor is able to provide the medicine according to the symptoms of the patient.

2. "if it is raining then we will take umbrella". Here "it is raining" is data and "we will take umbrella" is a decision. It was alrready known that it is raining that is why we are going to take umbrella. This is forward chaining.