Welcome to AI
CS 3610, Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Ben Schafer
www.cs.uni.edu/~schafer/3610
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Getting to know you
• “Mugshots”
• Information Sheet
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Getting Started
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Name : Dr. Ben Schafer
Hometown : Ames originally but …
Class : 15th year (plus 5 as an undergrad)
Previous languages/comfort: Too many to list.
At one time I knew all of the ones on the list, but
Java and Python are the ones I use the most.
• Anything you should know about me :
• My handwriting can be messy
• My voice can get loud.
Why Are You Here?
• Common reasons I have heard.
– AI looks “cool” in the movies (in my video games).
– I want to write a super cool app that does ______.
– AI is a “hot” field.
– Knowing AI might help me get a job.
– Because I needed one last class in Foundations (or
Data & Applications depending on your year)
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Why Are You Here?
• Common reasons I have heard.
– AI is a “hot” field.
– Knowing AI might help me get a job.
• True??? I don’t know
• But, I do think that AI will always be relevant to the
student of CS. Every practitioner of computer
science should be familiar with the field, its
techniques, and its current interests.
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Why?
• Well, consider this list of topics :
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the first Fortran compiler
timesharing systems
Deep Blue and Watson
object-oriented programming
visual programming
client-server computing
web crawlers
Marketing Systems (such as used at Amazon.com).
• All have their roots in AI research!
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How this course is “different” from
other CS courses
• We will not focus our attention on programming.
– Although we will program.
• We will discuss a lot of philosophical issues.
– Although we will almost always ground them in algorithms
and data structures.
• You will have an opportunity to solve a problem our
two outside the discipline of computer science.
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Syllabus Discussion
• Course website
– www.cs.uni.edu/~schafer/3610/
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Syllabus Discussion
• The Textbook
– Artificial Intelligence : A Modern Approach (3rd
edition) Russell and Norvig, (ISBN 0136042597)
• Lot’s of good books in the library or available
online. Feel free to consult other books for a
different approach
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Grading
Activity
Estimated Points
(approx. %)
Homework
Research Paper
Mid-term exams
Final exam
200 (28.6%)
200 (28.6%)
200 (28.6%)
100 (14.3%)
Syllabus Discussion
• I take academic misconduct seriously
• In general, I do not accept late work
• No cell phones. No laptops without prior
discussion with me.
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Syllabus Discussion
• Research paper
– Consists of “seven” deliverables pre-scheduled
throughout the semester.
– Will consist of a mixture of individual and group
based activities
– Will culminate in you working with a group of
classmates to write and “publish” a very
specifically formatted overview of an AI topic of
your choice.
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Your FIRST Homework
• Homework 0 is posted and due on Wed.
– Type up a couple of pages (600-1200 words) on
“How do you define AI?”
• This is an “opinion” piece and will be granted credit for
thoughtful completion.
– Submit via the electronic submission system
(testing it more than anything).
– Bring a print copy to class.
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