Intelligent system

The investigation and construction of intelligent systems is part of the science of artificial intelligence. The science of artificial intelligence tries to build computer programs that have some function of a human or animal brain. The investigation of intelligent systems tries to explain the functioning of a brain. Artificial intelligent systems are computer programs that have the majority and eventually all the functions of a brain

The expression intelligent system is sometimes used for incomplete intelligent systems, for instance for an intelligent house or an expert system. Here we talk about complete intelligent systems. Such a system has senses to gather information from its environment. It can act and has a memory of the results of its actions. It has an objective and by inspecting its memory it can learn from experience, how to better reach its objectives.

For a complete intelligent system all these capabilities have to be present.

Intelligence
Many definitions of  “intelligence” are used. For practical purposes we use the following: Intelligence is the systems level of performance in reaching its objectives.

System
A system is part of the universe, with a limited extension in space and time. Stronger or more correlations exist between one part of the system and another, than between this part of the system and parts outside of the system.

Examples of intelligent systems
Human beings and animals are intelligent systems. At present, research is advancing in building primitive artificial intelligent systems. Intelligent systems are usually characterized by their ability to adapt to dynamic situations in uncertain environments. This is a high bar that at present only living systems can match. For example, a refrigerator is not an intelligent system since it cannot learn.

Sense
The sense organ is that part of an intelligent system that can receive communications from the environment. Sense organs are needed so that the system can know the environment and act accordingly.

Objective
An objective is a certain situation that some systems try to reach. Normally there are many levels of objectives, there can be a main objective and subobjectives.

Concept
A concept is the basic element of thought. It is a physical, material storage of information (in neurons or electronics). All the concepts in memory are interrelated, they form a web, a net.

Situation
The situation is a series of concepts that the intelligent system uses to express the information extracted from the environment through its senses.

Action rules
An action rule is the result of an experience or the result of observing its memory. It is the physical storage by the intelligent system of a situation and a good corresponding action.

Memory
The memory is the physical storage of concepts and action rules. This includes the situations that the intelligent system has experienced.

Learning
Learning is probably the most important capacity of an intelligent system. It learns concepts from concurrent sense information. It learns action rules from its experience. Acting, possibly haphazard acting, in a certain situation, is stored with a value. An action rule has a higher value if it helped to reach an objective. Learning includes creating abstract concepts based on concrete examples. It includes learning composite concepts containing the parts of an object. Learning is also the detection or relationships (patterns) between the situation part of an action rule and the resulting future situation.

Senses
A sense organ is that part of the intelligent system that can receive information from its environment. Sense organs are needed so that the system can know its environment and act accordingly