Learning Adaptation Strategies by Introspective Reasoning about Memory Search

In case-based reasoning systems, the case adaptation process is traditionally controlled by static libraries of hand-coded adaptation rules. This paper proposes a method for learning adaptation knowledge in the form of 6dapLaLioa strategies of the type developed and hand-coded by Kass [90] . Adaptation strategies differ from standard adaptation rules in that they encode general memory search procedures for finding the information needed during case adaptation; this paper focuses on the issues involved in learning memory search procedures to form the basis of new adaptation strategies. It proposes a method that starts with a small library of abstract adaptation rules and uses introspective reasoning about the system’s memory organization to generate the memory search plans needed to apply those rules. The search plans are then packaged with the original abstract rules to form new adaptation strategies for future use. This process allows a CBR system not only to learn about its domain, by storing the results of case adaptation, but also to learn how to apply the cases in its memory more effectively.