[Ailist] RE: Lean and AI

['Marvin Faure']

Steve,

I was interested to see your post that you are doing research in AI and
problem-solving. 

It seems to me that the starting point for AI and for problem-solving is the
same: a situation that is at some level unsatisfactory. At one end of the
scale it is clearly a problem, at the other end it is an opportunity to do
or to "be" better (which is easily transformed into a problem to solve).

The two approaches diverge, of course, as soon as the starting point and
focus for the project have been identified. 

Taking a practical consultant's standpoint (at the risk of sounding
heretical) I think that while there are many situations where better results
will be obtained through AI, there are certain situations that might lend
themselves better either to "pure" problem-solving or to a blended approach
that uses tools from both. Optimising manufacturing processes may be one of
these areas.

It would be wonderful if you were able to set up some really rigorous
research to identify the conditions most favourable to each approach. I'm
not aware of any such research already out there but asking this list is
probably a good place to start!

I'd be very pleased to exchange ideas on this topic as you proceed with your
research.

Kind regards,

Marvin