What's New
- Jan 15: First day of class. This web-page will be your
main source of information about this
class. Plan to check this page regularly.
Course Details
Textbook
Overview
This course will provide an introduction to artificial intelligence. In particular,
we will be taking an empirical approach: how can we have a computer act rationally? We
will study both local and global search techniques for problem solving, automated logical
reasoning, statistical machine learning, and complex adaptive systems.
This course will require experience in programming equivalent to that from CSC 104. You
may program the solutions in the language of your choice (Python or Java). If you are
unfamiliar with these languages, see me to discuss you situation and how to prepare
for this course.
Prerequisites
CSC 104, experience programming, or permission of instructor.
Quizzes and Participation
You are encouraged to attend class and participate in discussions.
Active participation in class discussions and short quizzes will
comprise 5% of your final grade.
Extra Credit
Extra credit for this course can be earned by participating in the
Centenary Math Problem of the Week (POTW). Each reasonable submission will be worth an
additional 0.5% toward your final grade, CC me with your submission for credit.
Disabilities
Centenary assures students with disabilities equal opportunity to reach the same level of
achievement as other students. Strict confidentiality will be maintained on students with
disabilities. Services for students with disabilities are available through the Counseling
Center, located on the ground floor of Rotary Residence Hall, phone (318) 869-5424.
Honor Code
All students are bound by the Honor System. The Honor System is applicable to all academic
work. See the
Centenary College Handbook
for the complete
Honor Code.
Extensions
Extensions and rescheduling for labs, projects, exams and quizzes are only given when
circumstances beyond your control (e.g. being sick, choir or sports travel)
prevent you from completing a project on time. You must notify me either by
email or phone of your circumstances well in advance of the due date.
No extensions are given for requests made within three days of the due date.
Syllabus
We will be covering pieces of the textbook, Chapters 1-9 and 18-20.
We will also be using additional supplemental material such as relevant web-pages
and background material.
Readings will be assigned before material will be covered in class. You are expected
to review the material and come to class prepared. As readings are assigned,
they will be posted
here.
- Week of January 15th
- Chapter 1,2 - Introduction and Rational Agents
- Week of January 22th
- Chapter 3 - Search and Problem Solving
- Week of January 29th, February 7th, 12th
- Chapter 4 - Informed Search and Optimization
- Week of February 19th
- Chapter 4 - Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithms
- Week of February 26th
- Week of March 4th
- Chapter 17.6 - Game Theory
- Week of March 11th
- Chapter 7 - Propositional Logic, Soundness and Completeness, Midterm
- Week of March 25th
- Chapter 8 - First-Order Logic
- Week of April 1st
- Chapter 9 - Inference, Prolog
- Week of April 8th
- Chapter 18 - Decision Trees, Ensembles
- Week of April 15th
- Chapter 20 - Neural Networks
- Week of April 22nd
- Chapter 19 - Inductive Logic Programming
- Week of April 28th
- Week of May 5th
Homework
You will have five Homeworks in this course, one about every four weeks, for a total of
40% of your final grade. These homeworks will cover concepts we have
discussed in class, and will be due approximately two to three weeks
after they are assigned.
You must work individually on these homeworks.
You may discuss concepts and ideas with your classmates, but the code you turn in
must be your own. You will be graded not only on correctness, but also technique,
documentation and evaluation
of your solution. Further details on the grading standards
for each project will be given when they are assigned.
Project
The purpose of this project is to improve your research, writing and communication
skills as well as give you an opportunity to explore in-depth a particular area of
artificial intellgence. You will gain a grasp of the state-of-the-art AI research in
your particular topic and share this with the rest of the class through a paper /
web-page and a presentation.
The project will involve:
- a literature search for relevant articles
- a six (6) page report / web-page
- a 15 minute in-class presentation.
See the Project page for more details.
Exams
There will be two exams (midterm and final), each worth 20% of your final grade.
- Midterm: March 13th, covering Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17.6
exam1.pdf
- Final: Tuesday, May 6th, 12pm, Chapters 7, 8, 9, 18, 19, 20
Grading
Your final grade for this course will be based on the Homework, Project, Exams and
Participation described above.
Grading Scale |
90-100 | A |
80-89 | B |
70-79 | C |
60-69 | D |
0-59 | F |
|
Weights |
Homework | 40% |
Project | 15% |
Participation | 5% |
Midterm | 20% |
Final | 20% |
|
© Mark Goadrich, Centenary College of Louisiana