Foundations of AI and Machine Learning
Welcome to CS410/1411! This course offers broad coverage of core topics in artificial intelligence (AI) as a prelude to students taking more in-depth AI courses later on. Throughout the course, you will study key AI models, reinforcement learning, and both supervised and unsupervised machine learning to build socially responsible AI.
Instructor: Prof. Serena Booth
Assignments
Assignments release at 2:00 PM EST and are due at 11:59 PM EST.
| Assignment | Out | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Homework 1: Uninformed Search | 1/21 | 2/2 |
| Homework 2: Informed Search | 1/28 | 2/2 |
| Homework 3: Adversarial Search | 2/4 | 2/9 |
| Homework 4: SAT | 2/11 | 2/17 |
| Homework 5: KRR | 2/18 | 2/24 |
| Homework 6: Constrained Optimization | 2/25 | 3/9 |
| Midterm | 3/13 | 3/13 |
| Homework 7: Linear Regression and Bias-Variance Tradeoff | 3/13 | 3/30 |
| Homework 8: Neural Networks | 3/20 | 4/6 |
| Homework 9: MDPs and Reinforcement Learning | 4/6 | 4/13 |
| Homework 10: LLMs + PDDL | 4/13 | 4/20 |
| Final Project Part 1 (NO LATE DAYS ALLOWED) | 4/20 | 4/29 |
| Final Project Part 2 (NO LATE DAYS ALLOWED) | 4/20 | 5/4 |
Lectures
| Lecture | Date | Readings | Notes | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to AI | Jan 21 | R&N Chapter 1 | - | |
| Search Problems: Blind Search (BFS, DFS), Iterative Deepening | Jan 23 | R&N 3.0-3.4 | - | Uninformed Search |
| Heuristic Search (Best-g, Best-h) | Jan 26 | R&N 3.4-3.5.1 | - | Informed Search |
| Optimal Search: A* | Jan 28 | R&N 3.5.2-3.7 | - | Informed Search |
| Adversarial search (minimax + alpha-beta pruning) | Jan 30 | R&N 5.0-5.3 | - | Adversarial Search |
| Discrete Optimization: Local Search | Feb 2 | R&N 4.1 | - | Local Search |
| Propositional Logic, SAT and NP-Completeness | Feb 4 | R&N 7.6.2-7.6.3 | - | |
| CSPs: GSAT, WALKSAT, N-Queens | Feb 6 | - | - | |
| First Order Logic | Feb 9 | R&N 8 | - | |
| PDDL (+ a solver) | Feb 11 | R&N 10 | - | |
| (Bayesian) Probability Review | Feb 13 | R&N 12 | - | |
| No Class | Feb 16 | - | - | |
| Bayesian Networks (modeling) | Feb 18 | R&N 14 | - | |
| Linear Algebra Review | Feb 20 | - | - | |
| Continuous Optimization | Feb 23 | - | - | |
| Convexity + more LA | Feb 25 | - | - | |
| Constrained Optimization (modeling) | Feb 27 | - | - | |
| Constrained Optimization Solving | March 2 | - | - | |
| Intro to Supervised Learning (k-NN) | March 4 | - | - | |
| Linear Regression | March 6 | - | - | |
| Bias and Variance Tradeoff | March 9 | - | - | |
| Logistic Regression and Entropy | March 11 | - | - | |
| MIDTERM | March 13 | - | - | |
| Perceptrons | March 16 | - | - | |
| MLPs and Backpropagation | March 18 | - | - | |
| Deep Learning | March 20 | - | - | |
| No Class | March 23 | - | - | |
| No Class | March 25 | - | - | |
| No Class | March 27 | - | - | |
| Markov Reward Processes | March 30 | - | - | |
| MDPs, Policy Evaluation | April 1 | - | - | |
| Value Iteration | April 3 | - | - | |
| Q-Learning | April 6 | - | - | |
| Probabilistic GEN AI: Naive Bayes | April 8 | - | - | |
| PCA + Linear Algebra Review | April 10 | - | - | |
| K-Means + Facility Location | April 13 | - | - | |
| GMMs + Probability review | April 15 | - | - | |
| Final Project: Go + MCTS | April 17 | - | - | |
| AlphaGo: MCTS + Learning | April 20 | - | - | |
| Iterative Deepening Review | April 22 | - | - | |
| No Class | April 24 | - | - | |
| No Class | April 27 | - | - | |
| No Class | April 29 | - | - | |
| No Class | May 1 | - | - | |
| No Class | May 4 | - | - |
Course Calendar
Professor
Serena Booth
she/her/hers
Serena a (new) Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Brown University. At Brown, she leads the GIRAFFE Lab, where she and her students work on questions specification, governance, and interaction for AI systems and robots. After finishing her PhD at MIT in 2023, Serena worked in the U.S. Senate as an AI policy advisor to advance U.S. AI regulation in high-risk applications like housing and banking. Serena spends her leisure time playing fetch with her dog, riding a tandem bicycle with her partner, skiing, or running.
Hometown: Cambridge, UK & Memphis, TN
Dog TAs
Ducki
Howdy! I'm Ducki. I was raised in NYC, but when the city overwhelmed me, my original human gave me up to Prof. Booth. She feeds me and takes me to the beach and hiking which is cool but not as much as I'd like. She says she's 'busy' teaching or something ridiculous.
Hometown: Manhattan
HTAs
Mehdi
he/him
Hi! I’m Mehdi, a junior double majoring in CS and Apma–Econ. When I’m not in the SciLi, you’ll most likely find me in the CIT. In my free time, I enjoy playing poker and building in Minecraft!
Hometown: Casablanca, Morocco
Salman
he/him
Hey! I'm Salman, and I'm a junior from Syria studying CS and APMA. In my free time, I love to play Minecraft, watch a sitcom (currently looking for one to watch next), or hike! Super excited to meet you all :)
Hometown: Latakia, Syria
Sarah
she/her
Hi! It's super nice to meet you all! I'm a junior studying CS, but you're more likely to find me in TFG 205 than the CIT.
Hometown: Solon, Ohio
Joint STA/UTA
Avery
he/him
Hello! I’m a junior studying Computer Science from NJ. Outside of classes, I’m heavily involved in student theater, and am the co-chair of Musical Forum. I also currently work as a Bruno Fellow and a Tour Guide! In my free time, I love to sing, play games, get food with friends, and watch Survivor!
Hometown: East Hanover, New Jersey
UTAs
Alex
he/him
Hi! I'm Alex, and I'm a sophomore studying APMA and CS. In my free time I like to be active outside, listen to music, and watch sports. Excited to meet y'all!
Hometown: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Gun
he/him
Hi everyone! I'm Gun, a sophomore studying Computer Science and Economics from Thailand. In my free time, I enjoy scrolling on reels, playing golf, and hanging out with friends. Super excited to meet you all!
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
John
he/him
Hi! I'm a junior studying applied math and computer science. I like to swim, play piano, play video games, and listen to music.
Hometown: Milford, Pennsylvania
Leanne
she/her
Hi! I'm Leanne, and I'm a junior studying CS and APMA-Econ. I really enjoy exploring new cafes, collecting vinyls, listening to music, and doing ballroom dance! :)
Hometown: Singapore
Maddie
she/her
Hi! I am a sophomore from North Carolina studying APMA-CS. I love watching Arsenal games, snowboarding, hiking, puzzling, and going on side quests. Always feel free to reach out, I love yapping! I can’t wait to meet you!
Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Matias
he/him
Hello! I am a junior from Boise, Idaho! In my free time I play drums in some jazz groups and also I can juggle 😎
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Michael
he/him
Hello! I'm a sophomore studying Applied Math and CS. In my free time, I like to play video games and basketball badly. I also love watching F1, otters and Jayson Tatum.
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
Nico
he/him
Hi, I'm Nico! I'm a current junior studying CS and physics. In my free time, I like to run, surf, hike, and drink strawberry milkshakes. I'm super excited to meet you all!
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Riley
he/him
Hi, I'm Riley, a junior from New Jersey studying computer science. Outside of the classroom, I enjoy running, watching movies, and writing. Hope to see you all at office hours!
Hometown: East Windsor, New Jersey
Stephanie
she/her
Hi everyone! I'm a junior studying Computer Science and Cognitive Science. Outside of class, you'll find me dancing with Fusion Dance Company, baking desserts, and trying new coffee shops with friends.
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
Tyrone
he/him
Hi! I’m a sophomore studying Computer Science and Economics. I like card tricks, climbing, and cookies. I’m really excited to meet you all!!
Hometown: San Juan, Philippines
