→ Opportunistic reasoning:
It is a method of selecting a suitable logical inference strategy within artificial intelligence applications.
Opportunistic reasoning has been used in applications such as blackboard systems and medical applications.
→ Specific reasoning methods may be used to draw conclusions from a set of given facts in a knowledge base, e.g. forward chaining versus backward chaining.
→ However, in opportunistic reasoning, pieces of knowledge may be applied either forward or backward, at the "most opportune time".
→ An opportunistic reasoning system may combine elements of both forward and backward reasoning.
→ It is useful when the number of possible inferences is very large and the reasoning system must be responsive to new data that may become known.