EngrI/CS 172 : Computation, Information, and Intelligence, Fall 2001

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Knowledge without appropriate procedures for its use is dumb, and procedure without suitable knowledge is blind.
-- Herb Simon, "Artificial Intelligence Systems that Understand", 1977. 

Epigraph runner-ups:

In the world of systems design, programs and data are the scissor blades working together to form the broader class -- software. Lacking either blade, computers couldn't cut through problems -- yet for many people, "software" is synonymous with "programs". 
--Tom Gilb and Gerald M. Weinberg, Humanized Input: Techniques for Reliable Keyed Input, 1977

There is a sense in which the study of machine intelligence can be described as the application of philosophy to technology.
--Donald Michie, Machine Intelligence and Related Topics: An Information Scientist's Weekend Book, 1982.


Final and course grades were posted on the door of Upson 4152 at 10pm Tuesday 12/18/01. Course policy is that information about grades, means, etc. cannot be posted on the web or given through email. Final exams can be viewed by appointment.


An introduction to computer science using techniques and examples from the field of artificial intelligence. Topics include compute-intensive methods, search techniques, game playing, natural language processing, data mining, the World Wide Web, information retrieval, learning theory, machine translation, the Turing test. This is not a programming course. Course work will include "pencil and paper" problem solving assignments.

Course Staff

Time and Location

MWF Upson 205, 9:05-9:55.

Back Course Materials

Copies of handouts, including the September 3 Course Information handout which contains much administrative information for the course, will be available in the racks outside Upson 303. Unclaimed homework and exams for which batch return has been permitted will be available in Upson 303.

Syllabus:

Computation Information Intelligence

Required Texts

Margaret Boden (1990). The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Oxford University Press.
David Stork and Arthur C. Clark (1998). Hal's Legacy; 2001's Computer as Dream and Reality, MIT Press.
Note: the Dewdney book is not required.

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