CS 421/820 – Artificial Intelligence

Winter - 2024

 

Course Instructor:      Malek Mouhoub       

                                    mouhoubm@uregina.ca                                                                  

 

Lectures: Wednesday 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM via Zoom (the link is available on UR Courses)

 

Office hours: Wednesday 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM via Zoom

 

Course description (CS 421): Advanced Artificial Intelligence approaches to approximate reasoning and machine learning. Decision trees and other selected data-based knowledge models. Topics may include logic programming and PROLOG, LISP, Artificial Intelligence in games, data mining, natural language processing, pattern recognition, and planning.  

 

Prerequisites (CS 421): CS 310, 320, and 340.  

 

Course description (CS 820): Logics; natural language processing; knowledge representation; uncertainty reasoning; machine learning; expert systems; neutral networks. Prior to registering for this course, students should have a background in artificial intelligence comparable to the senior undergraduate level.

 

Prerequisites (CS 820): Advanced programming, algorithms, and data structures skills are required for this course. These include algorithm analysis, recursion, searching and sorting, ADTs Lists, Stacks, Queues, Priority Queues, Trees, and Graphs.  

 

Recommended Textbooks    

Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig

Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving by Luger and Stubblefield

 

Grading

Assignments (CS 421)/Project (CS 820)                      15%

Midterm exam                                                            35%

Final exam                                                                   50%

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Total                                                                           100%

 

 

Tentative Schedule: Students are required to watch the video related to each chapter before its scheduled time.

 

 

Topics

I. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

II. Knowledge Representation

(2) Logic and Automated Reasoning

(3) Rule-Based Systems and Structured Representations

III. Search

(4) State Space Search

(5) Constraint-Based Reasoning

(6) Combinatorial Optimization

IV. Advanced Topics in AI (as time permits)

(7) Metaheuristics

(8) Preference Reasoning

(9) Temporal and Spatial Reasoning

(10) Intelligent Agents

 

 

Policies

Course and Contact Information: Class material (including recorded lectures) is available online through UR Courses. News and announcements are posted on UR Courses, including UR Courses Email. It is the responsibility of students to regularly check their emails. Students should turn on their UR Courses Email notifications. Students should use UR Courses Email to contact the instructor and the marker. 

 

Attendance policy: Attendance is mandatory in Zoom scheduled lectures. Little time is available to assist those who have missed these scheduled classes. UR Courses should be used for synchronous Zoom-based lectures/discussions/office hours, asynchronous video lectures, and other class material. Essential computer equipment is required for remote learning. Students will need a computer or laptop, microphone, speakers or headset. Using a smartphone for UR Courses is possible but not recommended. Please visit the technical resource page for more details on technology requirements.  

 

Assignments policy: All assignments are available online on UR Courses and must be submitted electronically on UR Courses. It is the responsibility of students to make sure that the submitted material has been successfully uploaded to UR Courses before the assignment's due date. Submission status can be checked by viewing the uploaded files. Email and Hardcopy submissions are not accepted. Partially completed assignments are acceptable but LATE assignments are not accepted for any reason and will receive 0 points, except for extensions granted to the entire class. If you are unable to complete and submit an assignment in time due to health problems, a self-declaration of illness is required (this applies to other unusual cases).  In this situation, the grade you get in the final exam will be assigned to your missed assignment grade. All your programming assignments must compile and run on Hercules/Titan with C++, Java, Prolog, or Python.

 

Marking will also be done on UR Courses.   If a student does not agree with the marking, the marker must be notified within one week after the assignment grade is posted. Any request made more than one week after the grade posted date will not be considered.

 

Turnitin is used for project material submission (proposal, report, and slides).

 

Midterm exam policy: The midterm exam is closed book and will be given online via UR Courses during the regular lecture meeting time and using the Proctortrack platform. If you missed the midterm exam (due to health problems or any other unusual cases), you must provide sufficient evidence justifying why you missed the midterm exam. In this situation, the grade you get in the final exam will be assigned to your midterm exam grade.

 

Final exam policy: The final exam is cumulative and closed book. It will be conducted online via UR Courses using the Proctortrack platform. Deferred final examinations can only be granted by the Associate Dean (Academic) (for Faculty of Science students), or by the Deans (and/or Associate/Assistant Deans) of other Faculties or Federated Colleges. Deferred final examinations cannot be granted by the course instructor.

 

 

Academic integrity: Academic integrity requires students to be honest.  Assignments and exams are to help students learn; grades show how fully this goal is attained.  Thus, all work and grades should result from a student’s own understanding and effort. 

 

Acts of academic misconduct violate academic integrity and are considered serious offenses by the University.  Examples include, but are not limited to, cheating on tests or exams, plagiarizing, copying from others, falsifying lab results, etc.  Instances of academic misconduct will be reported to the Associate Dean Academic for investigation.  Full details are provided in the Undergraduate and the graduate academic calendars. Students are encouraged to understand their obligations as a student, as well as their rights.  

 

Accommodations: The Centre for Student Accessibility upholds the University's commitment to a diverse and inclusive learning environment by providing services and support for students based on disability, religion, family status, and gender identity. Students who require these services are encouraged to contact the Center for Student Accessibility to discuss the possibility of academic accommodations and other supports as early as possible. For further information, please email accessibility@uregina.ca

 

 

Taking your Exam with Proctortrack

 

1.      Proctortrack is a remote proctoring tool that is integrated into UR Courses and provides for student identity verification and the monitoring of students while taking examinations remotely. This remote proctoring option allows University of Regina students to continue with remote learning in the current environment. When using Proctortrack remote proctoring service, your personal information is being collected and will be used for the purposes of creating a student profile account, verifying your identity, and proctoring your exam.

2.      When you sign into Proctortrack, you will be asked to provide your consent, agreement and acknowledgment to allow Proctortrack to collect, create, process and store personal information. This personal information may include: U of R student card, live image captured via a webcam, first and last name, institution name, student number, and real-time audio, video and on-screen activity to prevent unauthorized viewing of content during an exam.

3.      The personal information collected by Proctortrack will be used by the University of Regina for the purposes of identity verification and exam proctoring. Any video records of you created by Proctortrack will be kept by Proctortrack and shared as necessary with the University of Regina for assessment of possible academic integrity infractions. Non-relevant recordings are destroyed after 180 days. All personal information collected and stored by Proctortrack within your student profile account will be permanently deleted if the account has not been used after one year.

4.      For more information, please reference the remote proctoring FAQ document.