The Nature of Code Part 2 (Spring 2017)

Syllabus for Part 2 of Nature of Code: "Intelligence and Learning" at ITP Spring 2017

This syllabus is very much in progress. I'm drawing inspiration from this Coding Train community list of resources.

Class Info

• Daniel Shiffman: daniel.shiffman@nyu.edu
• Section 1: Tuesdays, 9:00-11:30am
• Section 2: Wednesdays, 9:00-11:30am
• Office Hours
• Sign up for Mailing List
• Resources and References

Prerequisites?

• Basic familiary with p5.js and Processing.
• Fundamentals of computer programming, equivalent to ICM
• While taking Nature of Code Part 1 is not required, I recommend you familiarize yourself with the following chapters before the first day of class.
  • Chapter 1: Vectors
  • Chapter 2: Forces
  • Chapter 3: Oscillation and Trig
  • Chapter 6: Steering Behaviors
• I assume no knowledge whatsoever about AI, machine learning, deep learning and the accompanying math required for the algorithms listed below. After all, I barely know this stuff myself.

Week 1 - Introduction (March 21/22)

• Week 1 Notes
• Week 1 Homework
• Class Intro / Overview
• Algorithms
  • Big O notation
  • Graphs
    • Binary Tree
    • Breadth-first Search
    • Dijktra's Algorithm
    • A* search
    • Traveling Salesperson
    • plus steering agents!

Week 2 - Genetic Algorithms (March 28/29)

• Search
• Evolutionary Design
• Evolutionary Ecosystem

Week 3 - Classification and Prediction (April 4/5)

• KNN
• Linear Regression

Week 4 - Neural Networks (April 11/12)

• Perceptron
• MultiLayered Feedfoward
• Backpropogation
• Tools: Tensorflow

Week 5 - Convolution Networks, Recurrent Networks (April 18/19)

• Stuff with images
• Stuff with text

Week 6 - Reinforcement Learning (April 25/26)

• Steering agents

Week 7 - Project Presentations (May 2/3)

Policies

• Submit assignments by the evening before class to the extent possible.
• Come prepared with questions.
• Put away screens during others' presentations.
• Participate!
• Document!
• Grading:
  • 40% Class Participation
  • 40% Quality of assignments
  • 20% Final project
• For a 2-point class, 2 or more unexcused absences is grounds for failure.