Means-Ends_Analysis
- If problems are well formed, means-ends analysis and problem reduction can work well
- Weak method (makes little use of knowledge)
State Spaces
- Initial state and goal state, the path along is a means of solving the problem
Means-Ends Analysis
- Positive steps reduce the difference between the current state and the goal state, think the
a*
algorithm - Example of a universal AI method
- No guarantee of optimality, or even being able to solve the problem
Problem Reduction
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Decompose a hard problem into several smaller, easier problems
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Think about how recurrsive solutions work to solve problems
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In the block stacking example, decompose the final state into a series of "milestones" that are more likely to lead to a successful solution.
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Does not provide guarantees of success