CS 5600

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Fall 2008

Professor: Dr. Nick Flann

Office: Old Main 402D

Office Hours: You are encouraged to come to office hours whenever you have difficulties with the class. Whatever the problem, students should bring their class notes, program and attempts at solving the problem with them.

Office Hour Times: Available:

q Mon Wed Fri 12:30pm - 2:30pm, Main 402D

Other times by appointment through email, see below.

Other help: If you cannot come to office hours or want help outside office hours I recommend emailing me a clear and concise description of your problem or question. Often I will be able to get back to them immediately.

Email: nick.flann@usu.edu

Course website: Mostly blackboard (syllabus at http://www.cs.usu.edu/~flann/cs5600/fall2008/)

Class Time: 11:30am --- 12:20pm MWF

Objectives: The student will:

• understand classic machine intelligence methods including search and expert systems;
• appreciate the current “state of the art” in machine intelligence systems;
• understand ethical considerations in developing intelligent machines;
• be able to write agent-based intelligent systems;
• be able to formulate problem solving as search

Prerequisites: Advanced standing.

Text: Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, by Russell and Norvig

Last day to add/drop: see www.usu.edu/registrar/dates

Assignments: There will be assignments and projects given throughout the class. Completed assignments need to be submitted before the due date and time. All assignments will be posted on the class webpage and through blackboard. All completed work is to be submitted through blackboard. The deadline for assignments will be 11:59 pm on the due date. Late work will lose points.

Written assignments must be submitted in pdf format. Code must be submitted as a .zip file that contains all support files needed to run the code..

Programming: Some assignments will need to be completed in C#, while others can be done in any language.

Late Work: Will lose points. No work beyond 2 days late..

Quizzes: There will be quizzes during the semester, given at the beginning of class. The lowest scoring quiz will be dropped from your final score.

Exams: There will be two exams of duration 50 minutes. The first exam will be given within approximately 4 weeks, the second given within approximately 8 weeks. The final will be comprehensive.

Approximate Grading:

Assignments 55%

Quizzes 5%

Mid term Exams 20%

Final Exam 20%

Following each graded assignment, quiz or exam, a report detailing your scores, standing in the class and percentage available through blackboard. Please read this report carefully. Errors in recording scores must be corrected as soon as possible.

Re-grading: Occasionally, a mistake may be made in grading. If you think you have found an error, please email nick.flann@usu.edu as soon as possible explaining the error, then come and see me during office hours.

Email: All students in the class will need an email account in order to receive grade information. Your account on the usu system will be used unless you email a different address.

Learning Style

I think learning is a lot more than remembering the contents of power point slides! I will mostly teach using the board, where we will dynamically develop problems and solutions. I welcome your participation! When I ask questions during class time, these are not intended to be rhetorical questions (i.e., I expect an answer). I will encourage you to develop problem-solving skills, which will be utilized during class, test taking and completing assignments. I will use power points when appropriate and will often post power points on the class web site to use as a reference to help clarify what was done in class.

Rough Outline:

Week 1-5: Foundations and Searching

Week 6-8: Constraint Satisfaction

Week 9-12: Adversarial Search (Deep Blue etc.)

Week 13-15: Future of AI /Ethical issues

Incompletes:

The University policy will be adhered to for incompletes. This means that an incomplete cannot be given to prevent receipt of a bad grade. Under no circumstances can an incomplete be given for which a re-take of the class is required to make up the work. In such situations, a withdrawal or late withdrawal is required. If a student feels that an incomplete is appropriate, it is their responsibility to immediately discuss the matter with their instructor.

• Computer Science Code of Conduct :
  • Students are encouraged to discuss and exchange ideas on homework assignments, but must write up the solutions independently; tests and exams will be "closed book."
  • As a computer scientist, or someone taking a computer science class, you are expected to perform your work at all times in an ethical manner. This means that in addition to doing your own work and giving appropriate credit when the work of others is used, you are required to protect your work.
  • A student that protects their work will not allow another student access to that work whether it be allowing it to be copied, or treating its security in such a way as to give unintentional access, such as "accidental" loss. It is the policy of the department that when duplicate (essentially the same) work is turned in by two or more students, without acknowledgement of allowed cooperation, all involved students will be considered in violation of this department policy. Under such circumstances, each student will receive minus the points possible for the work.
  • Thus, for a 15 point assignment, all would receive -15 points. If the infraction is deemed more egregious, then further action may be taken.

MSDNAA software downloads :

The Computer Science Department is a member of the Microsoft Academic Alliance (MSDNAA), and specifically what is now called the Developer Academic Alliance. Through this program, students in CS courses can obtain and use a large number of Microsoft's operating systems and software packages. If you are interesting in downloading any of this software for your use, please follow the directions found at http://www.cs.usu.edu/elms.html

ADA Compliance:

If a student has a disability that will likely require some accommodation by the instructor, the student must contact   the instructor and document the disability through the Disability Resource Center, preferably during the first week of the course. Any requests for special considerations   relating to attendance, pedagogy, taking of examinations, etc. must be discussed with and approved by the instructor. In cooperation with the Disability Resource   Center, course materials can be provided in alternative formats, e.g. large   print, audio, diskette, or Braille.

Fee:

Associated with this class is a class fee of $25. Monies from this fee are used to maintain lab facilities for the class, purchase software and licenses, and supervise the lab. In some cases, students may have their own computing equipment, and thus feel that they do not need to use the lab. However, the lab must be maintained regardless of and individuals use of it, and thus the fee is charged to all registered for the class. If you have questions or concerns about the fee, please see the department head.