Professor: Yu Zhang

office: 201H HAS

phone: 999-7399

email: yzhang@cs.trinity.edu

Office hours: MWF 11:30am-1:30pm or by appointment Help session hours: W 4:30-6:30pm, 228 HAS

TA: Phillip Coleman Phillip.Coleman@Trinity.edu

Course Pre-requisites

1. CSCI1320 PAD1, CSCI1321 PAD2 and CSCI1323 Discrete Structures.
   
2. Solid programming experience. You are expected to write programs that implement and test various heuristic search algorithms, etc., for which you may use either C, C++, or Java.
   

Textbook

Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, second edition. Prentice Hall, 2002.

Course URL

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~yzhang/teaching/spring2008/CSCI3344.

Goals of This Course

Artificial Intelligence is possibly some of the most interesteing, alluring, challenging and stimulating topics in Computer Science today. Intelligent Agents, in particular, have played an important role in intelligent search engines, personalized web-based services, computer games, and e-ecommerce. Over the pase two decades, views about AI have undergone several major changes -- from highly optimistic expectations for simulating all aspects of human intelligence, to a period of set back due to overclaims, to the current more realistic role in embedding the technology in a wide range of "digital personal assistants" and other "intelligent appliances". We shall try to reveal the true capabilities of the technology while understanding its current limitations in our path through the course.

1. To understand the concepts behind, and potential of, intelligent agents.
2. To learn search and representation techniques for building intelligent problem-solving programs.
3. To get exposure to tradition fields of AI.

Email and WWW

We will be using an email list this semester to communicate pertinent messages to everyone in the class. I will put together the list of email addresses in the first two weeks of class. It is the student's responsbility to ensure that they watch for and read any messages throughout the semester. In addition, this web page will continually be updated with the class schedule, resources, and other information.

Late Turn-in Policy

The penalty for late assignments will be -10% per day (determined on a 24-hour basis relative the due-time, which is the start of class), down to a minimum of 50% (you can still get 1/2 credit if you turn it in by the end of the semester).

Assignments, Projects, Quizzes and Presentations

There will be NO exams.
The will be several quizzes which will be given randomly in class.
There will be about 5-6 homework assignments: e.g. search algorithms to analyze, problems to do in logic, etc.
There will be three project assignments. Projects will be done in groups (3 students).

1. Using Simulated Annealing algorithm to solve N-Queens problem.
2. Solving Wumpus World problem in JESS.
3. Developing a rules-based system.
   

1. Bayesian Network (Ch 13, Ch 14).
2. Neural Network (Ch 20.5)
3. Game Theory (Ch 17.6)
4. Genetic Algorithm (Ch 4.3)

Grading

Grades will be determined by the percentage of total points earned during the course of the semester. The total points will be computed according to the following approximate weighting scheme, though it is subject to slight adjustment as appropriate:

The cutoff for an `A' will be at most 90%, 80% for a `B', 70% for a `C', and 60% for a `D'. However, these cutoffs might be lowered at the end of the semester to accomodate the actual distribution of grades.

Attendance Policy

Lecture attendance is encouraged, but will not be used for grades. Unavoidable absences are understood, but each student is responsible for any missed material. For excused absences, an opportunity will be provided to make up any graded work that was missed. For unexcused absences, a grade of zero will be assigned for in-class assignment. Missed exams will be rescheduled without penalty for an excused absence, or with a 25% penalty if the absence is not excused. If you are going to be absent when an assignment is due you should try to turn in the assignment early. If that is not possible, be sure to include a request for an extended turn-in time in your e-mail.

To request approval of an absence or late turn-in, send me an e-mail explaining the reason prior to the class or due date. Tell me if you believe it is a university excused absence. If advance notification is not possible (e.g. unexpected illness) send the e-mail within 48 hours of the absence and be sure to explain why you were not able to notify me in advance. For illness, follow-up the e-mail by submitting a note from a doctor or clinic to my office.

Miscellaneous Notes

Do not copy anybody else's homework assignments or source code, or even give the appearance of having shared work. You can talk with each other about problems and solutions unless otherwise specified, but do not turn in syntactically similar work. Cheating will be dealt with according to the university's policies on academic integrity.

If you have a documented disability and will need accomodations in this class, please speak with me privately early in the semester so I may be prepared to meet your needs. If you have not already registered with Disability Services for Students, contact the office at 999-7411. You must be registered with DSS before I can provide accommodations.

Tentative Schedule

The following is a planning schedule. It may be modified as necessary during the course. Students will be expected to have some familiarity with the material in the schedule at the beginning of the lecture.

Calendar

Details about lectures, homework assignments, exams etc. are added here.