Description

This course will introduce fundamental concepts and tools from the field of artificial intelligence including search, constraint satisfaction, knowledge representation, reasoning and game playing. Additional topics will be drawn from planning, temporal reasoning and neural networks, as time permits. Some programming assignments will require implementing concepts and tools from scratch; others will involve using existing planning and reasoning systems.

The following topics will be covered:

• Programming in Lisp
• Search Algorithms
• Constraint Satisfaction
• Game Playing
• First-order Logic and Automated Inference
• Planning Formalisms and Algorithms*
• Temporal Networks*
• Neural Networks*

The topics with an asterisk will be chosen according to student interest and time remaining in the semester.

Books

The following required texts are available in the bookstore and on-line (e.g., at amazon.com).

Required Text 1:	Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach , by Russell and Norvig (3rd edition!) Students intending to continue studying artificial intelligence are strongly encouraged to purchase the 3rd edition of this book; others may choose to purchase the 2nd edition. I will try to point out the differences as much as possible during the semester. PDF files of Stuart Russell's lecture slides.
Required Text 2:	ANSI Common Lisp, by Paul Graham

Grading

There will be three types of graded material in this course: programming assignments, written exams, and a final project.

Programming Assignments	55%	There will be 6-8 programming assignments assigned at regular intervals during the semester. (Some assignments may count less than others.) Each assignment must be submitted electronically, and printouts of assignment files must be turned in, too. Printouts of assignment files may be given to me in class or may be put into the box outside my office door. The code you turn in must run on the version of Lisp installed on the department machines. Late assignments will be penalized 15% per day late. Assignments will not be accepted more than two days late.
Exams	30%	There will be one midterm exam, shortly before spring break, worth 15%. There will be a regularly scheduled final exam that will primarily emphasize material covered after spring break, also worth 15%. The midterm and final exams will both be open-book and open-notes.
Final Project	25%	The final project will be an implementation based on algorithms or ideas covered in class, or an investigation into algorithms or ideas that we may have mentioned in class but did not address in depth. In either case, there must be a programming part and a written part describing what you have done. To ensure that you get off to a good start, 15% of the grade for your final project will be based on your initial project proposal. An additional 15% of the project grade will be based on a short, in-class presentation of your project. The in-class presentations will be given prior to the due date for the project so that you can receive feedback on your approach, progress, etc. The final project will be due at 5 p.m. on the last day of the study period.

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