CSCI 108

Artificial Intelligence: Image and Reality

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Professor:Andrea Danyluk
email:andrea "at" cs "dot" williams "dot" edu
phone: x2178
Office:TCL 305
Office Hours:M 8:00-10:00 PM, T 1:00-3:00 PM, W 10:00-11:00 AM, and by appointment
Lectures:MWF 9:00-9:50, TCL 206
Labs:Thurs 1:00-2:30, TCL 312B
TA:Bill Jannen
TA Hours:Sun 8:00-10:00 PM (CS Lounge or TCL 312), W 5:30-8:30 PM (TCL 217 or 217A)
Review Sessions:Mon 1:00 PM and Tues 1:00 PM (meet in my office).
Sample Final Exam:Available here.

Course Description

Computer Science 108 is an introduction to the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Artificial Intelligence is a concept that has been pondered by many, from computer scientists to philosophers to novelists and film-makers. "AI" has made its way into our vocabulary and brings to mind images of walking, talking, and thinking robots. Great strides have been made in the field, but promises have also been broken in the 50 years since this area of research was officially named.

In this course, we will explore the field of Artificial Intelligence, considering the state of the art as well as the ways in which the field is depicted in literature and film.

We will also consider the practical issues involved in building AI systems. We will explore game-playing systems, systems that learn from their environments, and systems that create plans for complex tasks. In weekly lab sessions, held on Thursdays, you will work in groups to build small, mobile robots and to program them to perform a variety of tasks such as obstacle avoidance and light seeking.