Previous Weeks in SCXT 350
This page will record what we actually did on each day of the
class.
Week 1: Monday, January
17
Reading:
- Turing paper (pages 153 - 167 in the anthology). There will be a read-and-respond exercise on this assigned Friday and due next Monday (Jan. 24).
- Descartes handout
- Dawson, chapter 1
Topics:
- Introduction
- Descartes sets the stage
We begin with Descartes, who gives us an argument to say that computational
intelligence is not possible; an argument which will be reflected upon by
Turing, Newell-Simon, Searle, and Chomsky.
Monday
- Martin Luther King day (no classes)
Wednesday
- Introduction to the course
Friday
- Setting the stage: Descartes
Week 2:
Monday, January 24
Reading:
- Turing paper
- Dawson chapter 2
- Lisp handout (for next week)
Topic: Algorithms and computation
Is intelligence computable? Can intelligence be modeled in some fashion
using computers? Or is this idea a dead end? In order to decide what "computational intelligence" might mean, we need to
know something about computation. We begin this part of the discussion by
looking at what a modern computer can do, and how it might be programmed.
We use the programming language LISP for several reasons: Firstly, it is a
programming language which is likely to be new to everyone in the class, and,
secondly, since it is one of the primary languages used in artificial
intelligence.
Monday
Wednesday
- A basic model for a computer
- What a computer can do
Friday
- Instruction fetch-execute cycle
- Algorithms
Week 3:
Monday, January 31
Reading:
- GPS paper (pages 34-50 in the anthology)
- We will hold off on a discussion of this and the Turing award
lecture paper until a later meeting.
- Dawson chapter 2
- Lisp handout
Topic: A gentle introduction to Lisp
So - we have a notion of what a computer is and what it can do, and we have a
notion of what an algorithm is. How do we combine the two? One way
is to write programs in some basic computer language. One of the easiest
to learn is the programming language Lisp which is use for much of AI.
Monday
Wednesday
- Basic programming in LISP
Friday
- No class (instructor ill)
Week 4:
Monday, February 7
Reading:
Topic: Lisp and Discrete State Machines
Monday
- Programming in Lisp: defun
Wednesday
- Discrete State Machines
- There will be a "read and respond" assigned today due Monday.
Friday
- Lab day (rescheduled from last Friday)
Other Notes:
- Exam 1 will be next Friday, February 18
Week 5:
Monday, February 14
Reading:
Topic: Marr and Turing
Monday
- Marr's three levels of explanation
Wednesday
- Turing Machines
- Marr's three levels of explanation
- Review for exam #1
Friday
Other Notes:
- Next week: an introduction to artificial intelligence
Week 6:
Monday, February 21
Reading:
Topic: Turing machines and a survey of symbolic AI
Monday
Wednesday
- The Turing-Church hypothesis
- The Chomsky hierarchy (a first look)
- Where are we going?
- What is AI? An introduction and some history
Friday
- Several ways of looking at AI
- Return of exam
Other Notes:
Week 7:
Monday, February 28
Reading:
Topic: A survey of symbolic AI
Monday
- Video on AI
- Discussion of term paper
- A read-and-respond will be assigned later (but not this week).
Wednesday
- Video (concluded)
- An introduction to search
Friday
- Problem Solving as Search
- Term paper projects due
Other Notes:
- There will be no office hours on Tuesday, March 1 (Dydd Dewi Sant!)
- Next week: Knowledge representation
Week 8:
Monday, March 7
Reading:
Topic: A survey of symbolic AI
Monday
- Search: Breadth-first, depth-first, and heuristics
Wednesday
- Final comments on search
- A read-and-respond exercise will be assigned for Monday after the break
Friday
- No class or office hours - History of Science conference
Other Notes:
- Next week: Spring Break!
- Week after that - CLIPS and expert systems.
- We will have a read-and-respond for the Monday following Spring Break
- Exam #2 will be the Friday after Spring Break.
Week 9: Monday, March 14
Spring Break! No classes or office hours.
Week 10:
Monday, March 21
Reading:
Topic: The Physical Symbol System Hypothesis
Monday
- The Physical Symbol System Hypothesis (a read-and-respond exercise is due
today).
- Final comments on search: means-ends analysis
- Annotated paper bibliography due.
Wednesday
- An introduction to knowledge representation
- Review for exam #2.
Friday
Week 11:
Monday, March 28
Reading:
Topic: Knowledge Representation and Expert Systems
Monday
- The Story so Far
- A survey of knowledge representation (KR) schemes
Wednesday
- Survey of knowledge representation
Friday
- Final comments on knowledge representation
Other Notes:
- Next week: Expert systems
Week 12:
Monday, April 4
Reading:
Topic: Knowledge Representation and Expert Systems
Monday
- An Introduction to expert systems.
Wednesday
- An introduction to CLIPS (handout)
Friday
Other Notes:
- Next week: Connectionism and Artificial Neural Networks. (Chapter 3
of Dawson)
- First draft of paper due April 15
Week 13:
Monday, April 11
Reading:
- Neural Networks handout (later this week)
- Dawson, chapter 3
- Two readings from the anthology:
- Computing Machinery and Intelligence (J. R. Searle, page 140 in the
anthology). There will be a read-and-respond on this, probably next
Wednesday.
- Cognitive Activity in Artificial Neural Networks P. M.
Churchland, page 179 in the anthology. The introduction (page 169) will
also be useful to read.
- You may also want to skim Rosenblat's paper on page 171, and the McCulloch
and Pitts paper on page 333.
- Term paper draft is due Friday, April 15
Topic:
- Expert Systems
- Connectionism and Artificial Neural Networks
Monday
- Final comments on CLIPS
- A CLIPS assignment
- An introduction to connectionism and to artificial neural networks.
Wednesday
Friday
- No class - instructor ill..
- Paper draft due (but not collected until Monday because of instructor
illness)
Other Notes:
- Next week:
- Critics
- The problem of language
- First draft of paper due April 15
Week 14:
Monday, April 18
Reading:
- Neural Networks handout
- Dawson, chapter 3
- Terry Winograd: A Procedural Model of Language Understanding, page 95 in
the anthology
Topics:
- Connectionism
- The problem of language
Monday
- More on perceptrons
- Paper draft accepted (instructor was ill last Friday)Final comments on connectionism and artificial neural networks.
Wednesday
- Final discussion on perceptrons
Friday
- Feed-forward networks and their training.
- Searle read-and-respond assigned for next Wednesday
- The problem of language
Other Notes:
- Next week:
- Our third hour exam will be on Friday, April 29. Please note that
this is in the last full week of class.
Week 15:
Monday, April 25
Reading:
- Neural Networks handout
- Dawson, chapter 3
- Terry Winograd: A Procedural Model of Language Understanding, page 95 in
the anthology
Topic: The problem of language
Monday
- The problem of language
- Language and grammars
Wednesday
- Discussion on Searle paper
- Review for exam #3
Friday
Other Notes:
- Next week:
- Final Exam: 8:00 AM Friday, May 13. It will be a two-hour,
in-class final exam.
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