Satisfiability

In the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science, satisfiability refers to the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfies a given Boolean formula. A Boolean formula, or propositional logic formula, is built from variables and operators such as AND, OR, NOT, and parentheses. A formula is said to be satisfiable if it can be made TRUE by assigning appropriate logical values (TRUE, FALSE) to its variables.

Satisfiability

Areas of application

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Science
  • Logic and Probability Theory
  • Cryptography and Security
  • Expert Systems
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Knowledge Representation and Reasoning

Example

For instance, consider a Boolean formula: (A AND B) OR (C AND D). If the variables A, B, C, and D have appropriate values assigned to them, such as TRUE or FALSE, then the formula will be satisfiable. However, if the formula is not satisfiable, there may not exist any interpretation that makes it TRUE.