# AI Class



## blit (Dec 17, 2010)

This intended use of this thread is for group learning and discussing Artificial Intelligence. ai-class.com will be used as the narrative. This means asking and answering questions related to the material (course, book, and beyond) and showing what you have done with this knowledge. _Please don't break the ai-class's honor code._

For more detailed information click the links and read below:

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//*Quick Links*
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
*Index:* link
*Home:* link
*Overview:* link
*FAQ:* link
*Related Material/Prerequisites:* link
*Schedule:* link
*Forums:*  Official  ​  Reddit ​ Aiqus 
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//*Snippets of Info*
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Schedule:


> Date	Content	Homework & Exams
> _Week of Oct 10_ Overview of AI, Search	*Assignment 1 due Oct 16*
> _Week of Oct 17_ Statistics, Uncertainty, and Bayes networks	*Assignment 2 due Oct 23*
> _Week of Oct 24_ Machine Learning *Assignment 3 due Oct 30*
> ...



Overview::


> *Introduction*
> Online Introduction to Artificial Intelligence is based on Stanford CS221, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. This class introduces students to the basics of Artificial Intelligence, which includes machine learning, probabilistic reasoning, robotics, and natural language processing.
> 
> The objective of this class is to teach you modern AI. You learn about the basic techniques and tricks of the trade, at the same level we teach our Stanford students. We also aspire to excite you about the field of AI. Whether you are a seasoned professional, a college student, or a curious high school student - everyone can participate.
> ...


/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//*The code. The honor code.*
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

**Remember to honor the honor code.**
As far as I know the honor code is not explicitly written down anywhere as "THE honor code", so I summed up a few strict guidelines:

Don't offer, give, and/or ask for help for solving HW questions. *These must be completed alone.*
Don't offer, give, and/or ask for help for solving Exam questions AND don't mention the content of the Exams. *These must be completed alone AND within the next 4 hours of start time.*
Use spoilers for information regarding the "in-lecture quizzes." *Although these questions don't count towards the final score, don't ruin the experience for someone who has not watched the lectures and/or answered the questions.*

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//*The code. The code-code.*
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Programming isn't required for simply completing their assignments, but the hands-on experience is irreplaceable. They recommend Python to anyone who is new or inexperienced with programming. If you have Windows, download here. If you have Mac OS X, a version of 2.x is preinstalled. If you have a different *nix, you should know what to do. (I am using C.)

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//*Other resources*
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Stanford's on-campus course
UC Berkeley uses the same book
Khan Academy
Free Online Course Materials | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | MIT OpenCourseWare
UC Berkeley Webcasts | Video and Podcasts: Events by Category
NPTEL's Intro to A.I. Playlist
Top 10 Universities With Free Courses Online
Help:Similar Sites - Rosetta Code


----------



## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

What prevents a sufficiently intelligent A.I. from trying to either take control of mankind or wipe us out?


----------



## blit (Dec 17, 2010)

RobynC said:


> What prevents a sufficiently intelligent A.I. from trying to either take control of mankind or wipe us out?


 We're playing with LEGOS, and you are concerned about a malicious, hidden society surround by impenetrable 100ft walls.

The ultimate technological prevention is the relatively large, slow, and delicate hardware. (I'm going to use large bold caps to be clear.) This thread concerns *SOFTWARE*, not *HARDWARE*. Computer *HARDWARE* requires *non-ambiguous information* to process but are constantly limited to the amount. Humans easily make decisions with *ambiguous information* but are commonly uninterested with too many non-ambiguous and detailed information while a computer would cycle through it by design. A.I., *SOFTWARE* in this case, attempts to create decisions with non-ambiguous and/or ambiguous information, so the discipline could be called "Decision Making with Probably Ambiguous Information" rather than "Artificial Intelligence." A machine is only as fast as its weakest link, the *HARDWARE*.

I think worrying that A.I. robots will single handily _taking-over-the-world_ is silly vs. something more reasonable and real like the humans using A.I. as a tool to _take-over-the-world_. Tools are typically designed to complete a specific task and sometimes need adaptabilities in order to function such as a socket wrench and a helicopter. I'd be far more worried about the ill-intended with *HARDWARE*-and-*SOFTWARE*-capable machines than the machines themselves. 

If you still feel uneasy, feel free to watch the videos and judge for yourself. You might want to try following a few algorithms yourself and see how the unnecessarily intensive algorithms and their simplistic results compares to your natural intuition. You may also notice that there are no programming assignments for the online course. *Why did* the instructors, top A.I. experts, choose to not auto-grade programming assignments? Yes, there's absolutely no programming assignments of any kind. What kind of introductory level course in CS is this? 

---------------------------------------------

Please do not derail this thread. Take any further questions here or here.


----------



## blit (Dec 17, 2010)

@AkiKaza and @R136a1 
How is it going for you so far?


----------

