CSE2AIF: Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals

One programming assignment equiv to 1500 words - 30%

This is a programming assignment. The assignment has four independent questions. Typically, you will write a program in LISP that revolves around state-space search and representation. Other questions will be about implementing heuristics in LISP, and writing an expert system in PROLOG.

One 3-hour examination - 70%

Very similar to the past exams. If you have taken MAT1DM (Discrete Mathematics), the situation is the exact same. Refer to past exams early and often.

CSE2AIF is an extremely challenging unit but also very rewarding. The lecturer is absolutely brilliant. Andrew explains concepts clearly and always with examples. The class size is fairly small so there's plenty of time for discussion in lectures (which is incredibly useful for the assignment).

If you can pass the assignment, you have cleared the biggest hurdle in this subject. The assignment is notorious - it will keep you up at night and it will give you a headache. BUT the marking scheme is fair and it's possible to do quite well on it.

The exam is only tough if you have not had adequate preparation. The format is very similar to the previous years. I strongly recommend completing at least 3 past exams in your own time.

Out of the two programming languages covered in AIF, LISP is mostly used. PROLOG is relatively easy to pick up due to its declarative nature. Most students found the expert system question in the assignment to be the easiest of the 4. To understand what you need to know for the exam, I recommend referring to past exams to get an idea of the level of depth of LISP knowledge you'll require.

Not many IT students take AIF due to its difficulty. But I personally believe this subject is essential since artificial intelligence is becoming more prevalent in all aspects of computing these days (e.g. data mining). Furthermore, AIF is intellectually stimulating as nearly every topic is new to most students.

This subject is a core in the computer science degree but available as IT elective in the IT degree. Strongly recommended.

Topics:

* Introduction to AI

* LISP Programming

* State Space Search

* Informed search (heuristics)

* Game playing / Minimax search

* Predicate calculus

* Logic representation and inferencing

* PROLOG

* Expert systems

* Knowledge representation

* Machine learning (decision trees and neural networks)

No.

Dr Andrew Skabar (excellent)

Yes, many are available in the La Trobe library. No solutions provided.

5/5

CSE2DBF (Database Fundamentals)
CSE1IS (Information Systems)
CSE2DES (System Design Engineering)

Not essential, but the recommended text is listed below:

Artificial intelligence: structures and strategies for complex problem solving.Luger, G.6th edn., Addison Wesley

2 X 1hr lectures per week
1 X 2hr lab per week

Semester 2, 2013

92 (A)