Course Title Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence

Course Code SEng9141

CP 5 (2hr Lecture, 3hr Laboratory)
Module Title AI, Machine Learning and Big Data
Module Number 9
Pre-requisites None
Year IV
Semester I
Status of Course Compulsory

Course Description

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a research field that studies how to realize the intelligent human behaviors
on a computer. The ultimate goal of AI is to make a computer that can learn, plan, and solve problems
autonomously. Although AI has been studied for more than half a century, we still cannot make a
computer that is as intelligent as a human in all aspects. However, we do have many successful
applications. In some cases, the computer equipped with AI technology can be even more intelligent than
us. The Deep Blue system which defeated the world chess champion is a well-know example. The main
research topics in AI include: problem solving, reasoning, planning, natural language understanding,
computer vision, automatic programming, machine learning, and so on. Of course, these topics are closely
related with each other. For example, the knowledge acquired through learning can be used both for
problem solving and for reasoning. In fact, the skill for problem solving itself should be acquired through
learning. Also, methods for problem solving are useful both for reasoning and planning. Further, both
natural language understanding and computer vision can be solved using methods developed in the field
of pattern recognition.

Course objective

The primary objective of this course is to provide an introduction to the basic principles and applications
of Artificial Intelligence. Programming assignments are used to help clarify basic concepts. The emphasis
of the course is on teaching the fundamentals, and not on providing a mastery of specific commercially
available software tools or programming environments. In short, this is course is about the design and
implementation of intelligent agents---software or hardware entities that perform useful tasks with some
degree of autonomy. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have an understanding of
the basic areas of artificial intelligence including problem solving, knowledge representation, reasoning,
decision making, planning, perception and action, and learning -- and their applications (e.g., big data
analytics, data mining, computational discovery, information retrieval.

Course Goals or Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course the students will be able to:
• Understand reasoning, knowledge representation and learning techniques of artificial intelligence
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these techniques and their applicability to different tasks
• Assess the role of AI in gaining insight into intelligence and perception
• know classical examples of artificial intelligence
• know characteristics of programs that can be considered "intelligent"
• understand the use of heuristics in search problems and games
• know a variety of ways to represent and retrieve knowledge and information
• know the fundamentals of artificial intelligence programming techniques in a modern programming language
• consider ideas and issues associated with social technical, and ethical uses of machines that involve
artificial intelligence

Course Contents
Content Week Reference book
CHAPTER 1: week 1 and 2 Russell, S. and P. Norvig
Introduction to AI (1995) Artificial
Objectives/Goals of AI Intelligence: A Modern
What is AI? Approach Prentice-Hall.
Approaches to AI – making computer:
Think like a human (Thinking humanly)
Act like a human (Acting humanly)
Think rationally (Thinking rationally)
Act rationally (Acting rationally)
The Foundations of AI
Bits of History and the State of the Art
CHAPTER 2: weeks 3 and 4 Russell, S. and P. Norvig
Intelligent Agents (1995) Artificial
Introduction Intelligence: A Modern
Agents and Environments Approach Prentice-Hall.
Acting of Intelligent Agents (Rationality)
Structure of Intelligent Agents
Agent Types
Simple reflex agent
Model-based reflex agent
Goal-based agent
Utility-based agent
Learning agent
Important Concepts and Terms
CHAPTER 3: Weeks 5,6,7 Russell, S. and P. Norvig
Solving Problems by Searching and &8 (1995) Artificial
Constraint Satisfaction Problem Intelligence: A Modern
Problem Solving by Searching Approach Prentice-Hall.
Problem Solving Agents
Problem Formulation
Search Strategies
Avoiding Repeated States
Constraint Satisfaction Search
Games as Search Problems
CHAPTER 4: Weeks 9 and Russell, S. and P. Norvig
 Knowledge and Reasoning 10 (1995) Artificial
Logical Agents Intelligence: A Modern
Propositional Logic Approach Prentice-Hall.
Predicate (First-Order) Logic
Inference in First-Order Logic
Knowledge Representation
Knowledge-based Systems
Uncertain Knowledge and Reasoning weeks 11 and Russell, S. and P. Norvig
(optional) 12 (1995) Artificial
Quantifying Uncertainty Intelligence: A Modern
Probabilistic Reasoning Approach Prentice-Hall.
Probabilistic Reasoning over Time
Making Simple Decisions
Making Complex Decisions
Chapter 5: Weeks 13 and Russell, S. and P. Norvig
Learning 14 (1995) Artificial
Learning from Examples/Observation Intelligence: A Modern
Knowledge in Learning Approach Prentice-Hall.
Learning Probabilistic Models
Neural Networks
Communicating, Perceiving, and Acting weeks 15 and Russell, S. and P. Norvig
Natural Language Processing 16 (1995) Artificial
Natural Language for Communication Intelligence: A Modern
Perception Approach Prentice-Hall.
Robotics

Summary of Teaching Learning Methods

The course will be delivered in the form of lectures, demonstration, student presentations, group
discussions, and individual and group project works.
Assessment Methods: - As per the academic regulation
Required Texts: Text Book;
Russell, S. and P. Norvig (1995) Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach Prentice-Hall.

References
Luger, G. (2002) Artificial Intelligence, 4th ed. Addison-Wesley.
Bratko, Ivan (1990) PROLOG Programming for Artificial Intelligence, 2nd ed. Addison-Wesley, 1990
Winston, P.H. (1992) Artificial Intelligence Addison-Wesley.
Ginsberg, M.L. (1993) Essentials of Artificial Intelligence. Morgan Kaufman.