About the Course

This course will begin by covering the basics of Lisp and the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, plus discussion of simple systems, architectures, and platforms (robotics, etc.). From there we will discuss methods in learning (neural networks, decision trees, optimization, and time permitting, reinforcement learning). Then the course will turn to issues in problem solving and search, game design, and logic and representation.

This course will be very challenging but (I hope!) interesting and eye-opening. Artificial Intelligence is a broad interdisciplinary field with a strong tradition in exploratory programming. You are expected to know the material in CS310 and CS330 well, and be able to get up to speed rapidly doing software development with strange new programming languages. Learning Lisp is a nontrivial endeavor. You should also be prepared to discuss and think about philosophical issues and be able to draw ideas from areas outside of computer science.

Course Information

Data, homework, lecture notes, etc. for the course will be posted at the CS480 Home Page at http://cs.gmu.edu/~sean/cs480/

Required Textbooks

	The required text is Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach SECOND edition. This book is green, not red. The second edition differs significantly from the first edition, which is red.
	ANSI Common Lisp by Paul Graham.

Grading Policies

This course will consist of homework and projects, and two exams. The breakdown will be approximately:

Homework and Projects	50% with higher weight given to harder projects
Exams	25% Each

There will be no make-up tests for missed examinations. Late homework will be accepted but at a loss of 20% per day (homework later than 4 days, or as of the first reading day, is worth nothing).

Plagiarism and Cheating Policy

Each year I commonly catch several students plagarizing. The penalties for plagarism are severe: offenders will be sent to the Honor Court with a recommended penalty of one full letter reduction in course grade (for minor offenses) up to course failure (for major offenses). The Honor Court has never been softer than (and often harder than) my recommendation. In more than one case, the result has been a student not graduating that year. The combination of severity plus the fact that students are regularly caught should be a red flag: this isn't the class to be cheating in.

What is plagarism? Plagarism is soliciting help, or providing help, in course assignments, or discussing approaches to doing them. Help includes, but is not limited to, any discussion about the assignment or any code. In general, you should not even discuss (let alone trade code) any assignment until at least the deadline plus four days. Solicitation also includes requesting help from external sources like web pages.