CSCI 460: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Course Overview:

CSCI 460 provides you an introduction to the exciting field of Artificial Intelligence.  Since the dawn of computing, it has always been a major goal of computer scientists to make computers more useful to humans and, in some cases, have computers exhibit what you and I might recognize as “intelligent” behavior.  In this course, we provide you the fundamentals of the field of artificial intelligence.  Topics we will cover include the concepts of Intelligent Agents, various kinds of search algorithms (including informed and uninformed search), game playing, foundations of logic and automated reasoning, knowledge bases, planning systems, variations of logic to handle uncertainty, neural networks, and genetic algorithms. 

At the end of this course, students should have familiarity with the concepts and techniques of Artificial Intelligence in general.  Students should also know how to program applications in C++ or some other programming language that embody some or all of the concepts. 

It is expected that all students who are taking this course are competent programmers.  This means you have taken the necessary programming courses and are familiar with the concepts of good programming. 

Course Schedule:

This class meets Tuesdays, between 6:00 p.m. to 8:50 p.m.  Each lecture day features two lectures with a 15 minute break in between at about the halfway point.  Each lecture will cover appropriate technical topics.  Please follow the provided Course Syllabus to know what the lecture topic will be, relevant readings, and assignment schedule.  You are completely responsible for making sure that you stay current on all course developments and on knowing how well the class is keeping up with the prescribed syllabus.

There are no Lab sessions in this course.  If you need help with anything related to the course it is critical that you interact with the TA and formulate a good working relationship with that individual.  You are encouraged and expected to speak up if you have questions or comments in class or outside class as you are comfortable.  Please do not hesitate to ask for help of any kind.  Both the Professor and the TA are here to assist you in learning as much as you want to learn.

Text Books:

There is a required textbook for this course.  We provide guidance about the book chapters for reading purposes.  No assignments will be set from the text book, however.  Before a session, skim the portions of the book, if you have time.  Certainly, after a class session, it is important to read the topic more carefully, and understand the discussions.

·        Required Text:  Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, (referred to as AIMA) in the course syllabus, Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, ISBN 0-13-103805-2, Prentice Hall, 1995. (3rd edition)

We intend to follow the book closely in conducting the course.  So, please make sure you have the text.  If you have the earlier edition (2^nd edition, for example), you may have to do a little more work to correlate where we are in the course with that version of the book.

Computing Resources:

All program assignments should be submitted using your student account on University resources – specifically the “submit” program.  Programs will be tested only on University resources.  Wherever and however you develop your programs, test them on the University’s UNIX infrastructure before submission. 

In particular, all C++ programs must compile and work using SUN workstations and the GNU C++ compiler ( g++ ).   You may use other platforms to help you develop and debug the program, but the eventual submission will have to be done with the “submit” program using the UNIX infrastructure.  NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE AND NO EXCUSES!!

Course Responsibilities:

In addition to attending lectures and participating in class, your activities on this course will incorporate a number of homework assignments and exams.  There will be a combination of 5 homework assignments, some of which may be programming assignments, a mid-term examination, and a final examination. 

1.      Examinations: All examinations are open-book and open-notes.  The mid-term examination will include all topics done up to that point, and final examination will be comprehensive.  The examinations will be a mixture of objective questions and some questions requiring analysis or synthesis of small code segments.  Unless there is a documented dire emergency, examinations cannot be made up.  Please be mindful of this in planning your schedule.

2.      Homework Assignments: You will have 5 homework assignments during this course.  Some of these will be programming assignments.  All homework assignments will be posted on the date noted in the syllabus, and will be due at midnight on the due date.   All homework assignments will be submitted through the submit program, which will be set up for you.   For programming assignments the late policies: you will lose 30% of credit per day that the assignment is late.  No submissions are possible after a programming assignment is 3 days late.  Other homework assignments (which are not programming assignments) MUST be submitted on the due date by the due time.  Non-programming homework assignments will not be accepted after the due date and time without a valid, documented, medical issue or emergency. 

Grading criteria and requirements for each assignment will be provided with that assignment.  For programming assignments, correctness will not be the sole criterion for full credit.  Good programming practices and a clear design will be required to get full credit on programming assignments.

Course Grades:

Your overall course grade will be based on your performance in the different course items.  The relative weight of each course assignment is as follows:

·        Homework Assignments ( 5 assignments X 10 points) = 50 % of your grade

·        Mid Term Examination  = 20 %

·        Final Examination = 30 %  (to be held during finals week in the designated room)