Knowledge, Skill and Artificial Intelligence

Issues raised by the Theory of Knowledge, a central theme in the development of Artificial Intelligence, are the main topic of this book. The major questions are: How is the expert's knowledge to be elicited, what are the limits and possibilities? How can skill be developed and maintained in a more and more computerized and abstract working life? This last question is also closely related to the discussion on programs for education and training in society and working life. Long term effects on skill formation in working life in relation to new technology are a very important area of research. Case studies form the basis for philosophical reflections with the main concept of tacit knowledge as the central issue of skill and new technology. To a great extent the discussion is based on current case studies of professional groups with experience in advanced computer technology. The contributions of this book demonstrate the complicated nature of human knowledge. They introduce different theoretical perspectives on the issue of knowledge acquisition and elicitation.

Section I. Introduction.- 1. Introduction.- Section II. Tacit Knowledge and Apprenticeship.- 2. The Practice of the Use of Computers. A Paradoxical Encounter between Different Traditions of Knowledge.- Paradoxical Views of Knowledge in the Age of Enlightenment.- On Following Rules.- What is a Computer?.- A Boat Builder on the West Coast of Sweden.- Judging Light in Photography.- Technology and Culture.- Routine Practice and Development Practice.- Error-Location in a Computer Program.- Three Categories of Knowledge.- An Epistemological Error.- 3. The Nurse as Engineer — the Theory of Knowledge in Research in the Care Sector.- Two Irreconcilable Traditions.- Systems Theory in Medical Care.- Expert Systems.- The Theory of Knowledge for Practitioners.- The Concept of Practice.- Who Draws the Boundary between Man and Machine?.- Conclusion.- 4. Automation-Skill-Apprenticeship.- The Dream of the Automated Factory.- Practical Knowledge.- Propositional Knowledge.- Conclusions.- 5. Computerization and Skill in Local Weather Forecasting.- Method.- What is the Weather Like Today?.- Weather Forecasting and Computerization.- Working Knowledge and Skill.- The Inner Weather Picture.- Experiences of Numerical Forecasts.- Experiences of the Computerized Map-Plotting System.- Skill as a Basis for Alternatives.- Conclusion.- 6. Tacit Knowledge, Working Life and Scientific Method.- Section III. Skill and Artificial Intelligence.- 7. Can Skills be Transferable?.- The Politics of Skills Transfer.- What are Skills?.- The Strategic Significance of Skills.- Transferring Skills.- Models for the Transfer of Skills.- Preconditions for the Transfer of Skills.- Technology and Skills.- Artificial Intelligence and Skills.- The Politics of Skills.- 8. Artificial Intelligence and Social Action: Education and Training.- Nature of Expert Knowledge and Its Transfer.- Design Issues.- Social Domains: Design Criteria for AI Systems.- Human-centred Approach for Knowledge Transfer.- Participatory Model.- The Human Domain: AI Technology and its Limitations.- Towards Designing Human-Centred Learning Systems: A Research Initiative at the SEAKE Centre.- A New Initiative in Health Care Training.- The Domain of Health: Some Concerns of Automating Social Knowledge.- A Knowledge-Based Learning System for a Social Domain: A Case-Study in Adult Literacy using the Domain of Diet Planning and Health.- Designing the System: using Learning as a Social Process.- Learning through Designing the Knowledge Base.- Piloting the System with Students and Lessons Learnt.- Back to the Health Care Project: Preliminary Work.- Concluding Remarks.- 9. Skill, Education and Social Value: Some Thoughts on the Metonymy of Skill and Skill Transfer.- Introduction: Skills and Social Interaction.- The Metonymy of Skill.- Power of Knowledge Transfer.- Two Models of Knowledge Transfer; Colonial and Independent.- 10. Knowledge Acquisition for Expert Systems.- Computer Knowledge.- System Development.- Understanding the Problem.- The Knowledge Acquisition Process.- Methods.- Conclusion.- 11. Knowledge-Based Computer Decision-Aids for General Practice.- Information Overload in General Practice.- How Do General Practitioners Make Decisions?.- General Practitioners as Experts?.- What Do We Mean by Knowledge?.- What Kinds of Knowledge?.- Certainty and Risk in Data and Knowledge.- Putting Knowledge to Practical Use.- The Oxford System of Medicine (OSM).- The User Interface.- Will General Practitioners Accept a Computerized Decision-Aid?.- Section IV. Artificial Intelligence and the Flexible Craftsman.- 12. Creativity, Skill and Human-Centred Systems.- Common Sense and Tacit Knowledge.- The Acquisition of Skill.- Problems of Human—Machine Interaction.- Human-Centred CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing).- 13. Professional Knowledge and the Limits of Automation in Administrations.- The Problem.- Learning from Experience and the Computerization of Administrative Work.- Distributive Effects of the Use of New Technology.- Substitutive Effects of the Use of New Technology.- Conclusions.- 14. The Changing Nature of the Engineering Craft Apprenticeship System in the United Kingdom.- The 1960s to the Present Day.- The Engineering Craft Job Structure.- Training for Engineering Craft Skills.- Conclusions.- 15. Delegation and Decentralization — Computer Systems as Tools for Instruction and Improved Service to Clients.- Delegation and Central Control in the Norwegian National Insurance Service.- Instruction and Quality of Service.- Information Technology and the Decentralized Organizational Structure.- Quality of Service and the Importance of Direct Contact with the Public.- Conclusion.- 16. Applying Expert Systems Technology: Division of Labour and Division of Knowledge.- New Paradigm or More of the Same?.- Codifying Domain Data.- Experiences from Applied Expert Systems.- The Flexibility Myth.- The Explanation Problem.- ES Amplification of the Organizational Culture.- Concluding Advice to System Designers.