# Schedule (Subject to Change)
Principles of knowledge-based search techniques, automatic deduction, knowledge representation using predicate logic, machine learning, probabilistic reasoning. Applications in tasks such as problem solving, data mining, game playing, natural language understanding, computer vision, speech recognition, and robotics.
| Week |
Date |
Topics |
Notes |
| 1 |
Jan 19, Jan 21 |
Introduction, Perceptron, Logistic Regression |
Link |
| 2 |
Jan 26, Jan 28 |
Neural Network, Gradient Descent, Genetic Algorithm |
Link |
| 3 |
Feb 2, Feb 4 |
Support Vector Machines, Decision Trees, K-Nearest Neighbors |
Link |
| 4 |
Feb 9, Feb 11 |
Computer Vision, Convolutional Neural Network |
Link |
| 5 |
Feb 16, Feb 18 |
Natural Language Processing, Naive Bayes |
Link |
| 6 |
Feb 23, Feb 25 |
Recurrent Neural Network, Large Language Models, Graph Neural Network |
Link |
| 7 |
Mar 2, Mar 4 |
Principal Component Analysis, T-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding |
Link |
| 8 |
Mar 9, Mar 11 |
Hierarchical Clustering, K Means Clustering, Spectral Clustering |
Link |
| 9 |
Mar 16, Mar 18 |
Iterative Deepening Search, Dijkstra's Algorithm |
Link |
| 10 |
Mar 23, Mar 25 |
Greedy Search, A* Search, Local Search |
Link |
| 11 |
Mar 30, Apr 1 |
Game Theory, Minimax and Alpha-Beta Pruning |
Link |
| 12 |
Apr 6, Apr 8 |
Generative Adversarial Network, Diffusion Models |
Link |
| 13 |
Apr 13, Apr 15 |
Markov Decision Process, Reinforcement Learning |
Link |
| 14 |
Apr 20, Apr 22 |
Deep Reinforcement Learning, Multi-Agent System |
Link |
| 15 |
Apr 27, Apr 29 |
Ethics and Trust in AI, Adversarial Machine Learning |
Link |
📗 The lectures will be in-person and recorded on Zoom, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 to 5:15 in 1570 Morgridge Hall.
📗 Textbook: Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig
Link.
# Grading Scheme
See Section 1 Grading Scheme.
# CBEF Testing Information
This course will use the Computer-Based Evaluation Facility (CBEF) for quizzes and exams. Throughout the semester, you will receive detailed instructions for scheduling your assessment time.
Please note that final examinations will not be administered through the CBEF. Final exams will follow the university's official final examination schedule and applicable policies.
# Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
In alignment with UW-Madison's practices, faculty and students share responsibility in the accommodation process. Students are expected to inform faculty of their need for instructional accommodations during the beginning of the semester, or as soon as possible after being approved for accommodations. Faculty will work with the student to provide reasonable instructional and course-related accommodations.
# Course Websites and Forms
📗 This webpage (for lecture notes and in-class quizzes).
📗 Canvas (for grades):
Link.
📗 Piazza (for discussion):
Link.
📗 Math and Statistics Review:
➩ Professor Jerry Zhu's "math crib sheet" (all the math you need to know for the course):
Link.
➩ Calculus (for references only):
Link.
➩ Linear Algebra (for references only):
Link.
➩ Probability and Statistics (for references only):
Link.
📗 Python Crash Course:
PPTX # (Old Grading Scheme)
| Component |
Frequency |
Number |
Points Each |
Total |
| (Q) Quizzes |
Weekly |
10 |
6 |
60 |
| (X) Exams |
Two |
2 |
20 |
40 |
OR
| Component |
Frequency |
Number |
Points Each |
Total |
| (G) Competitions |
Weekly |
10 |
6 |
60 |
| (X) Exams |
Two |
2 |
20 |
40 |
📗 The weekly quizzes can be scheduled with CBEF testing center and will contain questions similar to the in-class quiz questions.
➩ If you do not take the CBEF quiz, you can submit the in-class quizzes during the lectures to get 3 out of 6 points.
📗 The competition files must be submitted at least one day before the lectures, and can be used to replace the quiz for that week. Your competition scores will be converted to points based on ranking: 6 if top 20%; 5 if next 20%; 4 if next 20%; 3 if next 20%; 2 if bottom 20%; 0 if no submission.
📗 Exams will be taken in person on paper scheduled by the department (not CBEF) and will contain new questions.
| From |
To |
Letter Grade |
| 91 |
100 |
A |
| 86 |
90 |
AB |
| 81 |
85 |
B |
| 76 |
80 |
BC |
| 71 |
75 |
C |
| 61 |
70 |
D |
📗 There will be no curves or adjustments to the final grades.
Last Updated: November 15, 2026 at 12:57 AM