Text:

Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving (6th ed.), George F. Luger, Addison-Wesley, 2008.

Course Description

Artificial Intelligence is the subfield of computer science concerned with automating tasks that would require "intelligence" if performed by people. AI is a highly eclectic field, with roots in mathematics, logic, psychology, philosophy, and engineering. The goal of this course is to introduce and survey the field of Artificial Intelligence, paying special attention to foundational concepts and theories. In addition, current trends and approaches in AI research will be studied.

Specific goals for the course are:

• To survey the field of Artificial Intelligence, including major areas of study and research (e.g., planning, understanding, learning)
• To study the foundational concepts and theories that underlie AI, including search, knowledge representation, and sub-symbolic models.
• To contrast the main approaches to AI: symbolic vs. emergent.
• To provide practical experience developing AI systems using the functional programming language Scheme.

Required Work

There will be five to seven homework assignments spread throughout the term. These assignments will cover concepts and problems from class and the readings, and may involve writing and modifying AI programs in Scheme. Assignments are due before midnight on the date specified. Late assignments will receive 75% of full credit if they are handed in within one week of the specified due date. After one week, no credit will be given. In addition, students will be expected to independently research a topic in AI and present that topic to the class. There will be weekly quizzes, a midterm exam and a cumulative final exam (see the schedule below for exam dates).

Regular attendance is expected of all students. If you must miss class for a legitimate reason, it is your responsibility to make up missed work. Quizzes and Assignments will not be rescheduled except in extreme circumstances. However, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

It is expected that all students check their Creighton email accounts regularly. Official announcements, such as assignment revisions or class cancellations, will be distributed through Creighton email.

Grades will be determined as follows:

At the minimum, traditional grading cutoffs will apply. That is, 90% is guaranteed an A, 87% is guaranteed a B+, etc. Depending on class performance, some shifting of grades (in an upward direction only) may occur as final letter grades are assigned.

Policy on Collaboration

The college policy on cheating and plagiarism is spelled out in the Student Handbook. In addition to this, the following guidelines hold for this course.

• All quizzes and tests are closed book, with no collaboration between students allowed.
• Programming assignments allow only limited collaboration. You may ask for debugging help from your peers, but at no time should another student assist in the design or coding of your program. Instead, you must contact the instructor directly for assistance on completing homework assignments. The design and implementation of your program should be entirely your own work!

Tentative Schedule

Access sample code from class