CS121: Course Info

Course Overview

Concepts, representations, and techniques used in building practical computational systems (agents) that appear to display artificial intelligence (AI), through the use of adaptive information processing algorithms. Topics: history of AI, reactive systems, heuristic search, planning, constraint satisfaction, knowledge representation and uncertain reasoning, machine learning, classification, applications to language, and vision. Prerequisites: 103B or X, and facility with differential calculus, vector algebra, and probability theory.

Course Goals

By taking CS 121, students should develop:

1. An understanding of how the overall concept of AI comes to life through and is linked to the nitty-gritty details of specific algorithms

2. The ability to choose the best AI algorithm or method to solve a given abstract problem

3. The ability to synthesize and combine elements from different AI methods to solve novel problems related to their field of study

4. A solid understanding of fundamental search algorithms, machine learning algorithms, and algorithms for decision-making under uncertainty

Lectures and Recitations

The main course lectures will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:15PM-3:05PM in Gates B01. Recitations will be held on Fridays, in Gates B01, from 11am-11:50am.

For information on office hours, please see the Contact page.

Grading

The final grade will be based on a combination of homeworks, a midterm, and a final.

• Homeworks (50%): There will be six homework assignments. Homeworks will be distributed weekly on Mondays, and will be due the following Tuesday by 1:15PM in class, or in the drop-off box located on the first floor of gates. (The red square in this map indicates its precise location.) Homeworks can be downloaded from the Homework page.

• Midterm (20%): A midterm exam covering the first half of the course will be held some time during the week of July 20th at a time and place TBD. More information on the midterm and final can be found on the Exams page.

• Final (30%): A final exam covering both halves of the course will be held some time during August 15th or 16th, at a place and time TBD. More information on the midterm and final can be found on the Exams page.

Homework Policy

Collaboration on homework assignments is encouraged. You may consult outside reference materials, other students, the TA, or the instructor, but you cannot consult homework, midterm, or final solutions from prior years and you must cite any use of material from outside references. All solutions that are handed in should be written up individually and should reflect your own understanding of the subject matter at the time of writing. No collaboration is allowed on the midterm or final exams.

Late homework will not be accepted without prior written permission of the instructor. Additionally, non-SCPD students must submit their homework in hardcopy form; emailed homeworks from non-SCPD students will not be accepted without prior written permission of the teaching staff