CS 475 / 505 Artificial Intelligence I
Course Syllabus Spring 2012

Meeting times: Tu Th 5:00pm-6:15pm in SH 118B
Instructor: Dr. Inna Pivkina
Office: SH 172
E-mail: ipivkina@cs.nmsu.edu
Phone: 646-6237
Office Hours: Tue 11am-12pm, Wed 5pm-6pm, and by appointment.
Teaching Assistant: Gholamali Rahnavard
Office: SH 149
E-mail: rah@cs.nmsu.edu
Office Hours: Fri 10am-11am and by appointment.
Course Web Page: http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~ipivkina/cs475/ and on Blackboard

Textbook:

Artificial Intelligence, A Modern Approach; 3rd edition. Russell and Norvig. Prentice Hall, 2009. ISBN: 0136042597.

Course Description:

The course is a basic introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Tentatively, the following topics will be covered (Topics may be deleted and additional topics may be added depending on the interests of the participants and the available time):

Course learning objectives / Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who succeed in the course

  1. will demonstrate an understanding of agent-based AI architectures,
  2. will demonstrate an understanding of various searching algorithms commonly used in problem-solving,
  3. will demonstrate an understanding of constrain satisfaction problems and methods to solve them,
  4. will demonstrate an understanding of adversarial search and game-playing agents,
  5. will demonstrate an understanding of knowledge representation and reasoning,
  6. will be able to use logical inference methods to derive new knowledge from a knowledge base,
  7. will use and extend existing Java code libraries of artificial intelligence software,
  8. will design and implement a software agent that plays a board game.
Prerequisites:

It is expected that students taking the course are comfortable with computer science basics such as discrete mathematics, data structures, programming, and algorithms. No previous knowledge of Artificial Intelligence is required.

Homework

There will be approximately one homework assignment every two weeks. Assignments will include programming.
Many algorithms from the textbook are implemented and are posted at http://aima.cs.berkeley.edu/. Some of the assignments will require using and extending existing Java code libraries.
Assignments will also include writing an agent to play a board game. We will held a tournament among the agents for those who wish to participate.

Attendance and class participation:

Students are responsible for all lecture material, handouts and announcements given during class. Too many absences will make it very difficult for the student to complete the assignments satisfactorily.
Class participation portion of the grade will reflect how actively student participates. Participation consists of attempts to answer questions asked of the class, asking questions about the material being discussed, contributing to class discussions, taking part in classroom activities. Clearly, if you do not attend you do not participate.

Exams:

There will be one midterm exam and one final exam. Midterm exam will be on Thursday, March 1. There will not be any make-up exam unless there is a very good documented reason to have it. Final exam will be on Tuesday, May 8, 6pm-8pm. Final exam will be a comprehensive exam.

Evaluation Scheme:
Homework 55%
Midterm Exam 15%
Final Exam (Comprehensive) 25%
Class Participation 5%

Grading Scale:
90-100% = A 80-89.99 = B 70-79.99 = C
60-69.99 = D below 60 = F

Due Dates and Late Policy:

Every assignment will have a due date and time. Every school day the assignment is late, the penalty is 5 percent of the possible points off. An assignment submitted on a due date but after its due time is considered to be one day late. Each student has two late days that they can use during the semester with no penalty. Late assignments will not be accepted once solutions have been discussed in class or the graded work has been returned to the class!

Difference between CS 475 and CS 505:

There will be a difference in exams for undergraduate students enrolled in CS 475 and graduate students enrolled in CS 505. There may be extra questions in exams for CS 505 students. Homework assignments for CS 475 and CS 505 will be the same.

Class Policy:

The grade of I (incomplete) may be given only if you are unable to complete the course due to documented circumstances beyond your control that develop after the last day to withdraw from the course. Appropriate circumstances include illness and death or crisis in your immediate family. Consult the university catalog for regulations regarding the I grade. In no case will an I grade be assigned to avoid a grade of D or F in the course. If you elect to be graded under the S/U option, you must declare your intention when registering for the course. All work in the class will be graded in a manner identical to that for students choosing the letter grade option. At the end of the semester, your final letter grade in the course will be used to assign either a S or an U. You must achieve a minimum grade of C in order to receive a grade of S.

Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism is prohibited. It is expected that students follow the code of conduct stated in the Student Code of Conduct available at http://www.nmsu.edu/~vpsa/SCOC/. It reads as follows:

"Academic Misconduct - Any student found guilty of academic misconduct shall be subject to disciplinary action. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following actions:

  1. Cheating or knowingly assisting another student in committing an act of cheating or other forms of academic dishonesty.
  2. Plagiarism is using another person's work without acknowledgment, making it appear to be one's own. Any ideas, words, pictures, or other source must be acknowledged in a citation that gives credit to the source. This is true no matter where the material comes from, including the internet, other student's work, unpublished materials, or oral sources. Intentional and unintentional instances of plagiarism are considered instances of academic misconduct. It is the responsibility of the student submitting the work in question to know, understand, and comply with this policy. If no citation is given, then borrowing any of the following would be an example of plagiarism: This list is not meant to include all possible examples of plagiarism. See the University Library's web page on plagiarism for further examples.
  3. Unauthorized possession of examinations, reserve library materials, laboratory materials, or other course-related materials.
  4. Unauthorized changing of grades on an examination, in an instructor's grade book, or on a grade report; or unauthorized access to academic computer records.
  5. Nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications or other University records in, or for, academic departments or colleges.
Students who engage in disruptive activities in an academic setting (e.g., classrooms, academic offices or academic buildings) are subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Section IV-Non Academic Misconduct-All Students. Such students are also subject to administrative actions in accordance with the NMSU Graduate and Undergraduate Catalogs."

Unless explicitly stated by the instructor, you are assumed to perform the assigned work by yourself, without any external collaboration. Cheating in all forms is prohibited. Note that a person copying an assignment is guilty of a violation of academic conduct, as is the person from whom the assignment was copied.

ADA:

If you have, or believe you have a disability, you may contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office located in Corbett Center, Room 244, 575-646-6840, or email sas@nmsu.edu. Appropriate accommodations may then be provided for you. All medical information will be treated confidentially. If you have a condition which may affect your ability to exit safely from the premises in an emergency during class, you are encouraged to discuss this in confidence with the instructor and/or the Director of University Disability Services/ADA Coordinator, Diana Quintana, at the SAS Office. Questions regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the American with Disabilities Amendment Act and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 should be directed to the SAS Office.

Questions regarding NMSU's Non-discrimination Policy and discrimination complaints should be referred to Gerard Nevarez, Office of Institutional Equity, 575-646-3635.