Monash FCIT AI Consortium (MAIC)
  Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, Monash University

                  * * *  Seminar Announcement  * * *

  "Abduction as a General Framework for Knowledge-Based Systems"

			     Tim Menzies
		  Department of Software Development
		     timm@insect.sd.monash.edu.au

		       
		  Wednesday 30 August 1995 at 2.00 pm
		 Computer Science Seminar Room (135)
		CS Building 26, Clayton, Victoria 3168

Abstract
========

Abduction  is not a  useful sub-routine within  KBS inference; it _is_
KBS  inference.   Abduction can   be used  for (amongst  other things)
prediction,   classification,   explanation,    planning,  monitoring,
diagnosis,    qualitative   reasoning,   validation,     verification,
diagrammatic  reasoning,   multiple-expert  knowledge  acquisition and
decision support systems.

We  prefer this  abductive approach  to other  general KBS  frameworks
(e.g. KADS) for  two reasons.  Firstly, once a  KBS has  been  modeled
abductively, then  we can execute it   directly. Methodologies such as
KADS  require  a subsequent implementation   phase.  Secondly, we have
argued  elsewhere  that the limits to   KBS validation are  really the
limits to KBS construction since  we  should not use heuristic  models
that have not been tested.  Such  validation engines are extra work in
alternative apporaches.  Hence, in the usual case, they are not built.
An abductive KBS provides a validation engine for free.

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