- Prof. Dancy's Site - Course Site -
Prof. Christopher L. Dancy
Office: Dana 340
Phone: 570.577.1907
Office Hours: M 2-3:30pm, Th 2-3:30pm - My calendar
Tentative Course Schedule - Check here periodically for changes
As a student and citizen of the Bucknell University community:
How can we build artificial minds? What do we need to represent and how do we represent it? How can we make them learn, and perceive in an environment? How can we use the way people think to design these minds? What about the environment, how should it affect an intelligent agent?
In this course, I will give you some tools to provide some answers to these questions. Ultimately, as with most endeavors this difficult, we will come up short. But fear not! You will have an opportunity to explore past answers to these questions and learn from them. Furthermore you will have an opportunity to use the thinking, techniques, and tools you learn in this course and in the future!
This course will not provide full coverage of AI and Cognitive Science for this would almost certainly be impossible given the time! These fields are big with many theories, subfields, and applications. This course will focus on a baalnce between philosophical, historical, cognitive, and methodological aspects of AI. (Though, thankfully no one will create anything close to the Ava in "Ex Machina"!)
Some topics we will cover over the course of this course (in no particular order)
Historical perspectives on AI and CogSci: Who were some of the masterminds behind these areas. What were/are the competing perspectives, and are how do they compete?
AI issues (Haughland article in MD)
History of AI & Turing article (in MD)
Newell & Simon article (in MD)
Minsky article (Frame-based systems)
Searle article (in MD)
Rummelhart article (in MD)
Neural Networks: How do they work? What do they do? What are they good for? LET'S BUILD ONE!
Trees, Searching them, and Using them intelligently: How do they work? What do they do? What are they good for? LET'S BUILD SOMETHING!
Rule-Based Systems: How do they work? What do they do? What are they good for? LET'S USE ONE TO BUILD A SIMPLE MODEL!
Information-processing and the Mind: What is it?
Cognitive Architectures: How do they work? What do they do? Why build one?
There will be a wide variety of readings assigned throughout the semester. Some readings will be from the required text (Mind Design), others will be made available online. You are expected to complete any assigned reading by the specified due date. Be prepared to discuss the reading material in class. You will occasionally be required to complete short answers to questions related to the readings, or offer reflective, critical, short essays related to the topic of interest. The assignment itself will contain instructions on how to submit your answers.
| Category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Midterm Project | 10% |
| Final Project | 30% |
| Assignments | 20% |
| Lecture Notes | 5% |
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Journal | 10% |
| Midterm Exam | 15% |
There will be one midterm project to be completed this semester. The project will have two phases. Each phase is due by 11:55 PM on the due date. Late projects will receive a 10% penalty each day they are overdue. Phase 2 of the project will include a group presentation. This project is meant to give you a mid-semester opportunity to explore the things we've learned and try to implement something you might find interesting. It will also allow you to see what ideas others have come up with and see how you might want to borrow (and CITE!) their ideas for a final project.
There will be one final project during the semester. The project will have three major phases. Each phase is due by 11:55 PM on the due date. Late projects will receive a 10% penalty each day they are overdue. Phase 3 of the project will include a group presentation and a final paper/report at the end of the semester.
This section will incorporate a diverse set of activities both in and out of the classroom. Throughout the semester, we will use in-class group work to enhance the lecture material (for example discussions on the readings). Each student will have 3 late cards to use for late assignments (1 per day late for any assignment), these late cards will be applied automatically to assignments. (As an example, an assignment that is one day late will use one late card)
Levels of collaboration will be specified in class and depend upon the assignment.
Students will complete and submit lecture notes for an assigned period of time. Students will also be responsible for a ~3-5 minute presentation on what we went over for that week on that Friday. To get a good grade here, all you have to do is sign up for a specific week/topic to take notes, post them to the google doc on Google Classroom, and do the short presentation that Friday. I'm not looking for anything ground-breaking here, I'm just interested in seeing the weeks information from your eyes (and I believe the class will benefit from the multiple perspectives.) A signup sheet is posted that will detail eligible weeks for note takers.
The presentation should be on something new that relates to what we've talked about in class. I would prefer you discuss a scholarly article (i.e., peer-reviewed), but if you find a news article that you think fits really well, ask me (it might be good enough, but I need to vet it).
There will be one midterm during the semester that will last the length of one class. In general, I structure my exams so that they emphasize conceptual material, but may still have coding requirements. If necessary, an in-exam study sheet will be provided by me approximately 2 class sessions before the exam.
No make-up midterm examinations will be given without proper documentation justifying your
extenuating circumstances that caused you to miss the exam. If you miss an exam, you must follow
these rules:
Failure to provide adequate documentation in a timely fashion that justifies your extenuating circumstance will result in a zero for the exam. The make-up must be scheduled to occur within a week after you return.
There will be quizzes given at random points throughout the semester. Generally, no announcement will be given related to the quizzes. The quizzes will be will be given in class.
There are no make-ups allowed on missed quizzes. If you miss a quiz, you receive a 0 for that quiz. Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped from your final grade.
You will be required to make a weekly journal entry on Google Classroom. You must create one entry every week, and only one entry. You cannot make up entries if you forget. If you do, they will not be counted toward your journal grade. Use classroom to create a Google Doc & fill the doc out, do not attach any other documents.
Your journal entry should contain the following information:
It is up to you to complete each entry in a timely manner. You will not be reminded. You cannot make up any missed journal entries.
Emergencies happen. If one occurs, please contact your Dean as soon as possible. I am likely to give extensions or excused absences if you contact me before things are due. Please note that you should follow the school's policy for sports trip. If necessary, I can give you an assignment early or send an exam with you on the trip.
If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please feel free to talk to me as well as submit the Disability Accommodation Request Form or contact the Office of Accessibility Resources at OAR@bucknell.edu, 570-577-1188 or in room 107 Carnegie Building so that such accommodations may be arranged. Bucknell University will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Students should notify their instructor as well as submit the Disability Accommodation Request Form or contact the Office of Accessibility Resources at OAR@bucknell.edu, 570-577-1188 or in room 107 Carnegie Building so that such accommodations may be arranged.
I recognize that the college experience can sometimes be overwhelming and stressful trying to balance your academic pursuits with your non-academic life and interests. If you feel that things are getting overwhelming, please seek help. I are happy to talk to you and point you to a resource on campus that can work with you to get the help you need. If you feel comfortable, please reach out to us. If not, I do advise that you do get help. The Division of Student Affairs is the best starting point. You can find more information on their website: https://www.bucknell.edu/StudentAffairs
Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient and nutritious food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes it is affecting their learning, is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, I encourage you to notify me of this as well - I will keep all such information confidential. This will enable me to provide any resources that I may possess and identify other resources in the University.
The instructors promise the best effort in adhering to the above rules but reserve the right to change them if deemed necessary. For instance, slight alterations to the course schedule are possible if the class needs more/less time for a certain topic; additional readings may be assigned during the semester as needed; and so on. Updates will be announced in class and by email, posted on course webpage and on Google Classroom. Check your Bucknell email and Google Classroom at least daily.