Information on getting into CS 4700: Foundations of Artificial Intelligence

Enrollment logistics

• Enrollment preference is given to students affiliated with CS or CIS majors. That doesn't mean you won't be able to take the course, it just means you'll have to read this page further.
• If you can't enroll - for whatever reason - put yourself on the waitlist. If you can't figure out how to do it, it's there, but some instructions might help.
  • The waitlist is closed during pre-enrollment. You will need to wait until the add/drop period to get onto the waitlist.
  • The waitlist does not prioritize based on when you got on it. Ignore your position on the waitlist.
• If you have applied to affiliate but aren't affiliated yet you are unaffiliated and can't pre-enroll. However, we prioritize enrollment for affiliated students so if all you're doing is waiting for the approval to happen, it will happen, but it may require you to sit tight on the waitlist while that gets processed. Over the last few years all such students have gotten into CS 4700.
• Over the last few years everyone with the necessary background has gotten into CS 4700, regardless of affiliation. That's not a guarantee, but I share it to provide you with some expectations for how getting on the waitlist might play out.
• I am not the expert on CS enrollments. If you have any further questions about the logistics of getting into the course please consult the following resources:
  • General CS Enrollment Information
  • CS Enrollment information specific to 4000- and 5000-level courses
  • CS Waitlist FAQs
  If the above does not address your specific circumstances, please email cs-course-enroll@cornell.edu.
• You will not get permission numbers from me to get into the course. It will come from email cs-course-enroll@cornell.edu.

Expected background

• Trees and graphs and algorithms on them. You should come into the course capable of, for example, giving a pseudo-code algorithm for depth-first search or Dijkstra's shortest path algoritm.
• Basic probability. For example, if asked to compute P(A|B) and you know P(B|A), P(A), and P(B), you should recognize that this is when you pull out Bayes Rule (and, obviously, then correctly compute P(A|B)).
• Multi-variate calculus. You should be able to minimize a function of multiple variables, and especially be able to compute the derivative of the function with respect to a particular variable.
• Propositional and first-order logic. Coverage of this topic in 2800 can be somewhat variable, so this is the one prerequisite we spend some time reviewing and not just assuming.
• Programming. This is a 4000-level course, and it will therefore also assume you are comfortable programming. While the course isn't about learning anything new programming-wise, some homework assignments will involve programming. If you don't feel comfortable programming do not take this course. It is a 4000-level CS course! All programming assignments will require Python. If you do not know it yet, the course assumes you will be able to pick it up. (Moreover, if you don't know it, it's something you really should have picked up by the time you leave Cornell.) Much of the infrastructure for your programming assignments will be given to you, so if you don't know Python your knowledge gaps will largely be filled by looking up the syntax for things you already know. All programming assignments will be done in Jupyter Notebooks. We will have a primer on it for those who haven't used it in a course as yet. (Similarly, if you didn't already know it, it's something good to have picked up by the time you leave Cornell.)

Synchronous lectures with in-person exams

• Synchronous lectures. Although because of its size lectures will be given online, the course will be a synchronous learning experience. You will be required to attend lectures "in person" and (unless technology issues intrude) with video.
• In-person exams. Because of the nature of the material, it is difficult to do assessment via take-home exams or projects in the way that some courses have been able to do. I have also done two semesters of online testing and found serious limitations to them. As a result assessment will take the form of traditional in-person exams.