
Free online version of Stanford's Fall 2011 Intro to AI course - finin
http://www.ai-class.com/
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webspiderus
I took a version of this class (also taught by Norvig and Thrun) last year,
and I definitely found it very enjoyable. I ended up taking it after CS 229
(which covers the mathematical underpinnings of machine learning with some
rigor), so I unfortunately couldn't evaluate how good of an introductory
course to AI it would be (having covered a lot of the concepts prior), but
even still it was a class I enjoyed. Of particular interest was hearing the
instructors draw parallels to their work (particularly with Google and the
DARPA challenge), which made a lot of the theoretical concepts much more
tangible and helped me recognize their practical applications.

you can also see a prior version of the class here:
<http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs221/>

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pilgrim689
How necessary did you find the textbook, AIMA?

~~~
webspiderus
Not very much - most of the lectures stood on their own as far as explaining
the concepts, although the book was sometimes useful to consult with regard to
the details of an algorithm, for example. Much of that information can be
found elsewhere though, so I imagine that you could still get a lot out of
this course without AIMA.

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law
This reminds me of CS229, of which there's an online version:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzxYlbK2c7E>

It's considerable more focused in scope, presenting the mathematics behind
some of the more popular algorithms extensively used in machine learning,
which is a subset of artificial intelligence. The course starts off pretty
slow, but quickly gains speed and momentum. By the end, you should be fairly
comfortable with clustering and classification/regression, among other topics.
The lecture notes are also fantastic.

~~~
ExxonValdeez
Stanford CS majors who take the AI track are required to take both CS 229 and
this course, CS 221, so it definitely presents useful materials and concepts.

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asknemo
Could anyone explain to me why the HN community seems to have a particular
interest in AI compared to other more "academic" areas? I have seen quite some
amount of AI resources here, but at the same time for most startups discussed
here they aren't particularly related to AI. Just curious.

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gojomo
One possible explanation is in the syllabus:

 _AI has emerged as one of the most impactful disciplines in science and
technology. Google, for example, is massively run on AI._

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esrauch
Google is massively run on databases, but that topic isn't as popular in media
(or on HN). I think a big part is that it is such a highly visible topic that
is also very romanticized, partially because its a field where serious inroads
have been made (at least compared to expectations and last generations science
fiction)

~~~
sliverstorm
Databases are very "old world". Very much part of modern enterprise. Case in
point, Oracle. As a result, it's not very exciting to people.

I expect that when there is an Oracle of AI, it too will lose its lustre.

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henry_flower
The course has the requirement: "A solid understanding of probability and
linear algebra will be required."

Can anybody advise some books or online resources that one can use for 2 month
to prepare himself for the course? Thanks.

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soitgoes
These lectures on linear algebra by Prof. Gilbert Strang are an excellent
resource: [http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-
algebra-...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-
spring-2010/)

~~~
A-K
Absolutely some of the best lectures I've ever seen, on the internet or
otherwise. Can't recommend Prof. Strang enough.

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drewda
Looks like a good way to sell more copies of AIMA[1]. (Don't get me wrong, I'm
a fan, with my own signed copy--but not necessarily enough of a fan to
"upgrade" to the third edition.)

[1] <http://aima.cs.berkeley.edu/>

~~~
ecounysis
Either that or there is a shortage of available AI engineers, so they are
using this to identify and cull potentially good people that for one reason or
another cannot or have not attended a Stanford caliber school.

~~~
makesmethink
Makes me think what would happen if someone excels in this course but is
primarily from a college in third world country. Would they be tempted to call
him/her to stanford? That would be very exciting if that happens.

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sliverstorm
This could be risky for Stanford. What happens when all the online students
ace the class (demonstrating the curve was very easy), or get consistently
better grades than the students enrolled at Stanford?

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SkyMarshal
Chalk it up to self-selection bias, then optionally recruit them. Not a
problem.

~~~
BrentRitterbeck
Personally, I would love to be recruited by Stanford to study CS. I have a
Master's of Science in Financial Engineering, but I have always felt that I
probably should have picked up a more solid CS background on my way to that
degree. Also, it would be nice to meet some people face-to-face that have an
interest in launching a start-up in the risk management arena. There is simply
no interest for anything like that in the Cleveland area.

EDIT: I work in an interest rate risk management group for a major US bank. I
can attest that there is definitely more room for good software in this space.

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scratch
I may be straying a little off topic but it's worth noting that many of the
mentioned course material and much more from a wide variety of subjects can be
found at <http://www.academicearth.org/>.

This place is filled with awesome. Maybe you know?

~~~
blazenomad
Thanks for sharing. Very useful.

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nchlswu
I find this approach interesting compared something like OpenCourseware. If I
understand correctly, this is a very similar approach, with a graded portion
not typically offered at something like Khan or Open Courseware?

I'm curious about any enrolment caps and what's next for this approach.

EDIT: missing word.

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dzuc
Could someone describe what sort of prerequisite knowledge is required for
following along a course like this?

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dill_day
The syllabus says "A solid understanding of probability and linear algebra
will be required." -- I imagine programming experience and knowledge of basic
algorithms and data structures would be helpful as well.

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turing
Very cool. I'll be taking the intro AI course at my school this semester, so
it will be fun to compare. Definitely excited to hear what Thrun and Norvig
have to say. I met a colleague of Thrun's in Tokyo earlier this summer. By far
the most interesting conversation of the entire trip.

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redthrowaway
That is really cool. I've forwarded the link to a couple instructors in the CS
dept at my school. It seems like a great chance for some of us in the frozen
northern wastelands of Vancouver to see how we stack up against the best and
brightest in the US.

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jamesbrewer
I decided to sign up for the course (I don't think I can officially sign up
until later this Summer) but I'm not sure that I'll have the time or that I
can afford the text. I'm also a Sophomore CS student, so the work would be
very challenging for me.

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matmann2001
I wish they had a version of a class like this that was meant to fit more
easily into spare time. I'll be taking 18 hours at my own university, and I
don't think I'll be able to set aside enough time to put a serious effort into
this class.

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canistr
You should definitely have more than enough time if you are interested in it.
I have about 35 hours worth of class including labs in the Fall and I still
plan to find time for this course.

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jrubinovitz
I'm considering trying to take this and get my university to give me credit
for it (it's Stanford, from one of the guys that wrote the textbook and I am
getting a grade). However, I'm thinking whatever this class costs may hold me
back.

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AdamTReineke
That's awesome. I wonder if I can convince my college to count it for credit.

