Power Point Slides used in class
Welcome to 810:161, Artificial Intelligence.
I am Ben Schafer, and I will be your instructor for Artificial Intelligence. While I am by no means an AI expert, I consider myself an AI scientist. Much of my own research draws from both the roots and the cutting edge of AI (as we will discuss several times throughout the semester), and I feel a strong affinity towards those who truly are AI experts.
Depending on where you are at in your degree, this course may very well be different than the CS courses you are used to because ...
This course should expand the view that you may have of computer science to include new problems and new techniques. This can be exciting if you are interested in how computer systems might do things beyond what most folks think of as computer science -- solve problems that we don't know how to solve, plan, diagnose, see, process human language, play complex games, etc. It is always more fun and challenging to be on the frontier of knowledge than to be doing the same old thing.
That is the question I often get asked. Students want to know if AI is "hot," if it will get them a job, or even if it is relevant to their studies. I KNOW that I can't answer the first two questions very well, because they deal with fads, trends. I am interested in the longer term, what we can do for your minds.
I can tell you that AI will always be relevant to the student of CS. In one sense, it doesn't matter what AI is, or whether it's hot, or whether it will get you a job on its own. Every practitioner of computer science should be familiar with the field, its techniques, and its current interests.
Why? you may ask. Well, consider this list of topics related to computers and computer science:
They all have their roots in AI research. Why such disparate results, some of which are seemingly as unintelligent as can be? Because AI is at the frontier of CS research. It aims at the hardest problems and occasionally requires tools that do not yet exist. So AI researchers have to create them, or at least start the ball rolling.
They do that in a lot of different ways. Some focus on "real-world" applications, like scheduling satellite experiments or screening credit card applicants or writing music. Others start with more whimsical problems, like playing chess or having on-line agents with personas or telling interesting stories. But both groups encounter unexpected difficulties and advance the cause of AI and computer science. (The first group works to identify the principles that underlie its results, and the second works to demonstrate that the lessons it learned apply to real problems.)
So, I think that you are well-served to learn about what is going on at this frontier of computing.
Those of you who have had me for class before know that I do make an honest effort to get to know who is in my class. I am particularly bad at remembering names, but I make an honest effort to learn them for at least the semester that you are in my class (I make no promises to remember your name in the spring, although I rarely forget a face).
To help both myself, and your classmates, start to learn names and faces, lets make some name tents. On a folded sheet of paper, please write your first name and last initial with one of my markers and large enough that others can read it from a distance. Bring this with you for the first couple of classes so that I can start to learn who you are.
Furthermore, I will move around the room and take your picture with your name tent so I can practice outside of class (the infamous "mug shots").
While I am taking the photos, I would like to gather a little bit of information about you. Please fill out the provided information sheet
A lot of the information you need to know early is contained in the course syllabus. Please make sure that you take the time to read it thoroughly so that you aren't surprised by course policies. We will talk about a few of them in a little bit, but it is still important that you read it on your own.
But a few issues: