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information system, an integrated set of components for collecting, storing, and processing
data and for delivering information, knowledge, and digital products. Business firms and
other organizations rely on information systems to carry out and manage their operations,
interact with their customers and suppliers, and compete in the marketplace. For instance,
corporations use information systems to reach their potential customers with targeted
messages over the Web, to process financial accounts, and to manage their human resources.
Governments deploy information systems to provide services cost-effectively to citizens.
Digital goods, such as electronic books and software, and online services, such as auctions
and social networking, are delivered with information systems. Individuals rely on
information systems, generally Internet-based, for conducting much of their personal lives:
for socializing, study, shopping, banking, and entertainment.
As major new technologies for recording and processing information have been invented over
the millennia, new capabilities have appeared. The invention of the printing press by
Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century and the invention of a mechanical calculator by
Blaise Pascal in the 17th century are but two examples. These inventions led to a profound
revolution in the ability to record, process, and disseminate information and knowledge. The
first large-scale mechanical information system was Herman Holleriths census tabulator.
Invented in time to process the 1890 U.S. census, Holleriths machine represented a major
step in automation, as well as an inspiration to develop computerized information systems.
One of the first computers used for such information processing was the UNIVAC I, installed
at the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1951 for administrative use and at General Electric in
1954 for commercial use. Beginning in the late 1970s, personal computers brought some of
the advantages of information systems to small businesses and to individuals. Early in the
same decade the Internet began its expansion as the global network of networks. In 1991 the
World Wide Web, invented by Tim Berners-Lee as a means to access the interlinked
information stored in the computers connected by the Internet, was installed to become the
principal service delivered on the network. The global penetration of the Internet and the Web
has enabled access to information and other resources and facilitated the forming of
relationships among people and organizations on an unprecedented scale. The progress of
electronic commerce over the Internet has resulted in a dramatic growth in digital
interpersonal communications (via e-mail and social networks), distribution of products
(software, music, e-books, and movies), and business transactions (buying, selling, and
advertising on the Web). With the emergence of smartphones, tablets, and other computerbased mobile devices, all of which are connected by wireless communication networks,
information systems have been extended to support mobility as the natural human condition.
As information systems have enabled more diverse human activities, they have exerted a
profound influence over society. These systems have quickened the pace of daily activities,
affected the structure and mix of organizations, changed the type of products bought, and
influenced the nature of work. Information and knowledge have become vital economic
resources. Yet, along with opportunities, the dependence on information systems has brought
new threats. Intensive industry innovation and academic research continually develop new
opportunities while aiming to contain the threats.
Computer hardware
Today even the smallest firms, as well as many households throughout the world, own or
lease computers. These are usually microcomputers, also called personal computers.
Individuals may own multiple computers in the form of smartphones and other portable
devices. Large organizations typically employ distributed computer systems, from powerful
parallel-processing servers located in data centres to widely dispersed personal computers
and mobile devices, integrated into the organizational information systems. Together with the
peripheral equipment, such as magnetic or solid-state storage disks, input-output devices, and
telecommunications gear, these constitute the hardware of information systems. The cost of
hardware has steadily and rapidly decreased, while processing speed and storage capacity
have increased vastly. However, hardwares use of electric power and its environmental
impact are concerns being addressed by designers.
Computer software
Computer software falls into two broad classes: system software and application software.
The principal system software is the operating system. It manages the hardware, data and
program files, and other system resources and provides means for the user to control the
computer, generally via a graphical user interface (GUI). Application software is programs
designed to handle specific tasks for users. Examples include general-purpose application
suites with their spreadsheet and word-processing programs, as well as vertical applications
that serve a specific industry segmentfor instance, an application that schedules, routes,
and tracks package deliveries for an overnight carrier. Larger firms use licensed applications,
customizing them to meet their specific needs, and develop other applications in-house or on
an outsourced basis. Companies may also use applications delivered as software-as-a-service
(SaaS) over the Web. Proprietary software, available from and supported by its vendors, is
being challenged by open-source software available on the Web for free use and modification
under a license that protects its future availability.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications are used to connect, or network, computer systems and transmit
information. Connections are established via wired or wireless media. Wired technologies
include coaxial cable and fibre optics. Wireless technologies, predominantly based on the
transmission of microwaves and radio waves, support mobile computing. Pervasive
information systems have arisen with the computing devices embedded in many different
physical objects. For example, sensors such as radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs)
can be attached to products moving through the supply chain to enable the tracking of their
location and the monitoring of their condition. Wireless sensor networks that are integrated
into the Internet can produce massive amounts of data that can be used in seeking higher
productivity or in monitoring the environment.
Various computer network configurations are possible, depending on the needs of an
organization. Local area networks (LANs) join computers at a particular site, such as an
office building or an academic campus. Metropolitan area networks (MANs) cover a limited
densely populated area. Wide area networks (WANs) connect widely distributed data centres,
frequently run by different organizations. The Internet is a network of networks, connecting
billions of computers located on every continent. Through networking, users gain access to
information resources, such as large databases, and to other individuals, such as coworkers,
clients, or people who share their professional or private interests. Internet-type services can
be provided within an organization and for its exclusive use by various intranets that are
accessible through a browser; for example, an intranet may be deployed as an access portal to
a shared corporate document base. To connect with business partners over the Internet in a
private and secure manner, extranets are established as so-called virtual private networks
(VPNs) by encrypting the messages.
can be more effective in the development and delivery of the firms products and can be
evaluated more closely with respect to the business outcomes.
Transaction processing systems accumulate the data in databases and data warehouses that
are necessary for the higher-level information systems. Enterprise systems also provide
software modules needed to perform many of these higher-level functions.
Collaboration systems
The main objectives of collaboration systems are to facilitate communication and teamwork
among the members of an organization and across organizations. One type of collaboration
system, known as a workflow system, is used to route relevant documents automatically to all
appropriate individuals for their contributions.
Pricing and approval of a commercial insurance policy is a process that can benefit from such
a system. Another category of collaboration systems allows different individuals to work
simultaneously on a shared project. Known as groupware, such systems accomplish this by
allowing controlled shared access, often over an intranet, to the work objects, such as
business proposals, new designs, or digital products in progress. The collaborators can be
located anywhere in the world: in some multinational companies, work on a project continues
24 hours a day. Other types of collaboration systems include enhanced e-mail and
videoconferencing systems, sometimes with telepresence using avatars of the participants.
Yet another type of collaboration software, known as wiki, enables multiple participants to
add and edit content. (Some online encyclopedias are produced on such platforms.)
Collaboration systems can also be established on social network platforms or virtual life
systems. The members of the public, as well as potential customers, can be drawn in if
desired to enable the cocreation of new products or projection of future outcomes.
Knowledge management systems provide a means to assemble and act on the knowledge
accumulated throughout an organization. Such knowledge may include the texts and images
contained in patents, design methods, best practices, competitor intelligence, and similar
sources, with the elaboration and commentary included. Placing the organizations documents
and communications in an indexed and cross-referenced form enables rich search capabilities.
Organizational knowledge is often tacit, rather than explicit, so these systems must also direct
users to members of the organization with special expertise.
Management support
A large category of information systems comprises those designed to support the
management of an organization. These systems rely on the data obtained by transaction
processing systems, as well as on data and information acquired outside the organization (on
the Web, for example) and provided by business partners, suppliers, and customers.
data mining. Data mining aims to discover significant patterns, such as sequences (buying a
new house, followed by a new dinner table), clusters, and correlations (large families and van
sales), with which decisions can be made. Predictive data mining attempts to forecast future
outcomes based on the discovered trends. Data-driven decision support systems include a
variety of statistical models and may rely on various artificial intelligence techniques, such as
expert systems, neural networks, and machine learning. In addition to mining numeric data,
text mining is conducted on large aggregates of unstructured data, such as the contents of
social media that include social networks, wikis, blogs, and microblogs. As used in electronic
commerce, for example, text mining helps in finding buying trends, targeting advertisements,
and detecting fraud.
An important variety of decision support systems enables a group of decision makers to work
together without necessarily being in the same place at the same time. These group decision
systems include software tools for brainstorming and reaching consensus.
Another category, geographic information systems, can help analyze and display data by
using digitized maps. Such data visualization supports rapid decision making. By looking at a
geographic distribution of mortgage loans, for example, one can easily establish a pattern of
discrimination.
Expert systems
Expert systems occupy a type of microworldfor example, a model of a ships hold and its
cargothat is self-contained and relatively uncomplicated. For such AI systems every effort
is made to incorporate all the information about some narrow field that an expert (or group of
experts) would know, so that a good expert system can often outperform any single human
expert. There are many commercial expert systems, including programs for medical
diagnosis, chemical analysis, credit authorization, financial management, corporate planning,
financial document routing, oil and mineral prospecting, genetic engineering, automobile
design and manufacture, camera lens design, computer installation design, airline scheduling,
cargo placement, and automatic help services for home computer owners.
Applications of AI
he is buying it (e.g., about whether there have been previous credit card frauds at this
establishment).
Computer scientists have long been inspired by the human brain. In 1943, Warren S.
McCulloch, a neuroscientist, and Walter Pitts, a logician, developed the first conceptual
model of an artificial neural network. In their paper, "A logical calculus of the ideas imminent
in nervous activity, they describe the concept of a neuron, a single cell living in a network of
cells that receives inputs, processes those inputs, and generates an output.
Their work, and the work of many scientists and researchers that followed, was not meant to
accurately describe how the biological brain works. Rather, an artificial neural network
(which we will now simply refer to as a neural network) was designed as a computational
model based on the brain to solve certain kinds of problems.
Its probably pretty obvious to you that there are problems that are incredibly simple for a
computer to solve, but difficult for you. Take the square root of 964,324, for example. A
quick line of code produces the value 982, a number Processing computed in less than a
millisecond. There are, on the other hand, problems that are incredibly simple for you or me
to solve, but not so easy for a computer. Show any toddler a picture of a kitten or puppy and
theyll be able to tell you very quickly which one is which. Say hello and shake my hand one
morning and you should be able to pick me out of a crowd of people the next day. But need a
machine to perform one of these tasks? Scientists have already spent entire careers
researching and implementing complex solutions.
The most common application of neural networks in computing today is to perform one of
these easy-for-a-human, difficult-for-a-machine tasks, often referred to as pattern
recognition. Applications range from optical character recognition (turning printed or
handwritten scans into digital text) to facial recognition. We dont have the time or need to
use some of these more elaborate artificial intelligence algorithms here, but if you are
interested in researching neural networks, Id recommend the books Artificial Intelligence: A
Modern Approach by Stuart J. Russell and Peter Norvig and AI for Game Developers by
David M. Bourg and Glenn Seemann.
Figure 10.2
A neural network is a connectionist computational system. The computational systems we
write are procedural; a program starts at the first line of code, executes it, and goes on to the
next, following instructions in a linear fashion. A true neural network does not follow a linear
path. Rather, information is processed collectively, in parallel throughout a network of nodes
(the nodes, in this case, being neurons).
Here we have yet another example of a complex system, much like the ones we examined in
Chapters 6, 7, and 8. The individual elements of the network, the neurons, are simple. They
read an input, process it, and generate an output. A network of many neurons, however, can
exhibit incredibly rich and intelligent behaviors.
One of the key elements of a neural network is its ability to learn. A neural network is not just
a complex system, but a complex adaptive system, meaning it can change its internal
structure based on the information flowing through it. Typically, this is achieved through the
adjusting of weights. In the diagram above, each line represents a connection between two
neurons and indicates the pathway for the flow of information. Each connection has a weight,
a number that controls the signal between the two neurons. If the network generates a good
output (which well define later), there is no need to adjust the weights. However, if the
network generates a poor outputan error, so to speakthen the system adapts, altering
the weights in order to improve subsequent results.
There are several strategies for learning, and well examine two of them in this chapter.
known correct ones and make adjustments according to its errors. Our first neural
network in the next section will follow this model.
Unsupervised Learning Required when there isnt an example data set with known
answers. Imagine searching for a hidden pattern in a data set. An application of this is
clustering, i.e. dividing a set of elements into groups according to some unknown
pattern. We wont be looking at any examples of unsupervised learning in this chapter,
as this strategy is less relevant for our examples.
This ability of a neural network to learn, to make adjustments to its structure over time, is
what makes it so useful in the field of artificial intelligence. Here are some standard uses of
neural networks in software today.
Pattern Recognition Weve mentioned this several times already and its probably
the most common application. Examples are facial recognition, optical character
recognition, etc.
Time Series Prediction Neural networks can be used to make predictions. Will the
stock rise or fall tomorrow? Will it rain or be sunny?
Signal Processing Cochlear implants and hearing aids need to filter out
unnecessary noise and amplify the important sounds. Neural networks can be trained
to process an audio signal and filter it appropriately.
Control You may have read about recent research advances in self-driving cars.
Neural networks are often used to manage steering decisions of physical vehicles (or
simulated ones).
Soft Sensors A soft sensor refers to the process of analyzing a collection of many
measurements. A thermometer can tell you the temperature of the air, but what if you
also knew the humidity, barometric pressure, dewpoint, air quality, air density, etc.?
Neural networks can be employed to process the input data from many individual
sensors and evaluate them as a whole.
This is the definitive guide to virtual reality. It contains a wealth of information about virtual
reality which is designed for the newcomer and experienced technologist alike. It discusses
all aspects of virtual reality which includes concepts of virtual reality, technologies used,
applications and ethical issues.
This is a complex and at times, esoteric subject which continues to fascinate a great many
people. Yet there is a certain amount of cynicism towards virtual reality or VR for short
which in the early days, promised so much but did not always deliver.
We have also included a section about augmented reality: this is a similar form of
technology in which the lines are blurred between the real world and computer generated
imagery, e.g. video. Sound, video or images are overlaid onto a real world environment in
order to enhance the user experience.
Virtual Reality (VR), sometimes referred to as immersive multimedia, is a computersimulated environment that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world or
imagined worlds. Virtual reality can recreate sensory experiences, which include virtual taste,
sight, smell, sound, and touch.
Most current virtual reality environments are displayed either on a computer screen or with
special stereoscopic displays, and some simulations include additional sensory information
and emphasise real sound through speakers or headphones targeted towards VR users. Some
advanced, haptic, systems now include tactile information, generally known as force
feedback in medical, gaming and military applications. Furthermore, virtual reality covers
remote communication environments which provide virtual presence of users with the
concepts of telepresence and telexistence or a virtual artifact (VA) either through the use of
standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as
a wired glove or omnidirectional treadmills. The simulated environment can be similar to the
real world in order to create a lifelike experiencefor example, in simulations for pilot or
combat trainingor it differs significantly from reality, such as in VR games. In practice, it is
currently very difficult to create a high-fidelity virtual reality experience, because of technical
limitations on processing power, image resolution, and communication bandwidth. However,
VR's proponents hope that virtual reality's enabling technologies become more powerful and
cost effective over time.
Virtual reality is often used to describe a wide variety of applications commonly associated
with immersive, highly visual, 3D environments. The development of CAD software,
graphics hardware acceleration, head-mounted displays, datagloves, and miniaturization have
helped popularize the notion. In the book The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality by Michael R.
Heim, seven different concepts of virtual reality are identified: simulation, interaction,
artificiality, immersion, telepresence, full-body immersion, and network communication.
People often identify VR with head mounted displays and data suits
Fuzzy logic is an approach to computing based on "degrees of truth" rather than the usual "true or
false" (1 or 0) Boolean logic on which the modern computer is based. The idea of fuzzy logic was first
advanced by Dr. Lotfi Zadeh of the University of California at Berkeley in the 1960s. Dr. Zadeh was
working on the problem of computer understanding of natural language. Natural language (like most
other activities in life and indeed the universe) is not easily translated into the absolute terms of 0 and
1. (Whether everything is ultimately describable in binary terms is a philosophical question worth
pursuing, but in practice much data we might want to feed a computer is in some state in between and
so, frequently, are the results of computing.)
Fuzzy logic includes 0 and 1 as extreme cases of truth (or "the state of matters" or "fact") but
also includes the various states of truth in between so that, for example, the result of a
comparison between two things could be not "tall" or "short" but ".38 of tallness."
Fuzzy logic seems closer to the way our brains work. We aggregate data and form a number
of partial truths which we aggregate further into higher truths which in turn, when certain
thresholds are exceeded, cause certain further results such as motor reaction. A similar kind of
process is used in artificial computer neural network and expert systems..
It may help to see fuzzy logic as the way reasoning really works and binary or Boolean logic
is simply a special case of it