Distributed Expert Systems for Planners

When the Aswan Dam was planned, there was recorded as well as tacit knowledge about its unwanted side effects, such as the spread of schistosomiasis and diminished soil fertility. The fact that Egyptian’ experts now regard its benefits to greatly outweigh the costs and disutilities does not excuse lack of better planning. The knowledge may not have been retrieved and brought to bear at the right time. If it was, it may not have played an appropriate role in the planning process. We have yet to learn how to fully utilize relevant knowledge in planning. We need first to understand what knowledge it takes to plan various courses of actions that pursue a given policy. We need to determine whether that needed knowledge exists. If we believe it to exist,