Research
Anthony Francis is a Ph.D. candidate in Artificial
Intelligence at the College
of Computing of the Georgia
Institute of Technology. He received his B.S. in Information and
Computer Science from Georgia Tech in 1991, and expects to complete his
Ph.D. in 1996.
He is conducting research into memory, reasoning and the utility problem under the direction
of his thesis advisor, Ashwin
Ram. His other research interests include agents, natural language understanding,
case-based reasoning, distributed artificial intelligence, semiotics
and cognitive science. He is also a professional science fiction writer.
Anthony held his thesis proposal in late May. His thesis committee is:
-
Dr. Ashwin Ram (computer science)
-
Dr. Janet Kolodner (computer science)
-
Dr. Kurt Eiselt (computer science)
A copy of his thesis proposal is now on-line in
postscript or
HTML format.
Anthony participates in several research groups at
Georgia Tech, including the IGOR Group, the NLR Group, the Creativity
Group, and, of course, the AI and Cognitive Science Groups.
- The IGOR Group
Research in learning, case-based reasoning, natural language understanding,
creativity, education, and cognitive science.
- The NLR group
An interdisciplinary research group investigating natural language issues.
-
Artificial Intelligence Group
The College of Computing's Artificial Intelligence program.
-
Cognitive Science Group
The interdisciplinary Cognitive Science program at Georgia Tech.
Research projects and sample publications:
Anthony Francis has published papers in the AAAI Workshop on
Case-Based Reasoning, the Knowledge Compilation and Speedup
Learning Workshop, and the European Conference on Machine Learning.
- The Utility Problem
The utility problem arises when knowledge learned to improve a problem solver's
performance degrades it instead. Anthony is investigating methodologies for the study
of the utility problem and has applied those methodologies to case-based reasoning
and control-rule learning systems.
- Francis, A.G. and Ram, A. (1995).
A Comparative Utility Analysis of Case-Based Reasoning and Control-Rule Problem Solving.
In ECML-95: Proceedings of the Eighth European Conference on Machine Learning.
- Francis, A.G. and Ram, A. (1994).
A Comparative Utility Analysis of Case-Based and Control-Rule Learning Systems.
In AAAI-CBR-94: Workshop Notes on the AAAI-94 Workshop on Case-Based Reasoning..
- Francis, A.G., & Ram, A. (1993).
Computational Models of the Utility Problem and their Application to an Analysis of Case-Based Reasoning.
In KCSL-93: Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Knowledge Compilation and Speedup Learning.
- Francis, A.G., & Ram, A. (1993).
The Utility Problem in Case-Based Reasoning.
Abstracted in AAAI-CBR-93, the Proceedings of the 1993 Case-Based Reasoning Workshop.
- Memory in Humans and Computers
Anthony's research on memory investigates the advantages of spontaneous, asynchronous
remindings and their effects on problem solving. He has implemented a memory module,
MOORE (the Memory Organization and Optimized Retrieval Engine), which is a testbed
for these ideas. MOORE is designed to be a portable, generic memory system capable of use in
many different kinds of AI systems.
- Agents and Flexible Problem Solving
Anthony's research on agents and reasoning has led to the development of MPA, a
multi-plan merging system for a least-commitment partial order planning system.
MPA is a component of the larger
Nicole Project,
a flexible agent architecture which integrates reasoning components like MPA
with a flexible meta-level controller and an opportunistic reminding system (MOORE).
- Francis, A.G. & Ram, A. (in press).
Can Your Architecture Do This: A Proposal for Impasse-driven Asychronous Memory Retrieval Request Generation.
To appear in the AAAI-97 Fall Symposium on ROBOTS, SOFTBOTS, IMMOBOTS: Theories of Action, Planning and Control..
- Ram, A. & Francis, A.G. (1996).
Multi-Plan Adaptation and Retrieval in an Experience-based Agent.
In David Leake, Ed., Case-Based Reasoning: Experiences, Lessons, Future Directions.. MIT Press.
- Francis, A.G. & Ram, A. (1995).
An Algorithm for Multi-Plan Adaptation and Merging for Least-Commitment Planners.
In AKR-95: AAAI Fall Symposium on Adaptation of Knowledge for Reuse..
- Francis, A.G. (1995).
Memory-Based Opportunistic Reasoning. Ph.D. Thesis Proposal. Also available in
HTML format.
- Animal Cognition
Along with Kurt
Eiselt, Anthony Francis is involved in the 1994 Cognitive Science Conference
Symposium on Animal Cognition.
The Symposium will address issues in animal reasoning, animal communication, the
possibility of animal language, and comparative animal-human studies.
Speakers at the Symposium will also present recent work in the field
of animal cognition. Featured speakers at the 1994 Symposium included
Duane Rumbaugh, David Washburn, and Mike Tomasello.
Direct academic correspondence to:
Anthony G. Francis, Jr.
AI / Cognitive-Science Group
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0280
centaur@cc.gatech.edu
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for additional information via 'finger'.