CSCI 364: Reflective Journal

Purpose

Occassionally, throughout the semester, we will reflect on our own thinking and learning to help us better understand artificial intelligence. This might give us inspiration for developing decision-making algorithms, help us find new areas of interest that we would like to explore further, or reinforce our understanding gained through class material. Such reflection will take the form of short entries in a semester-long Reflective Journal, stored in an individual Google Doc per student provided by the professor.

Expectations

Each entry in your reflective journal will follow a given set of prompts or questions. Your responses to each prompt or question does not need to be long -- often, 3 sentences will suffice, although you are welcome to elaborate to complete your thoughts. Write as much as you need to sufficiently describe your reflection.

Each entry is due within one week of the assignment of a prompt or question organized below. Some reflection will take place during in-class activities (e.g., after working through a handout). I will periodically read through everyone's journals and offer feedback as appropriate (through comments in your Google Doc).

Because your reflective thoughts are subjective, there is not a single "correct" answer or thought process that I am looking for when I read your journals. The goal is to practice metacognition -- thinking about thinking -- and document your own thoughts as something you can refer back to after you've finshed the class. Grading of your entries will primarily be based on participation -- did you answer the prompt and was your reflection in earnest (e.g., not simply a single sentence lacking detail) -- and timeliness. If you do not complete an entry with the assigned deadline, you can still complete it anytime before the end of the semester for partial credit.

Prompts and Questions

Entry #1: Search Worksheets (Oct 11, Assigned Oct 22, Due Oct 31)

  1. From Search Worksheet 1: what strategies did you try using to solve the River Crossing Puzzle?
  2. From Search Worksheet 2: what strategies did you try using to solve the maze? How would you explain your throught process to a friend?
  3. From Search Worksheet 2: if you wanted to ask a computer to solve the maze for you, what type of data structure might you use to represent the maze itself?

Entry #2: Search Reflections (Oct 22, Due Oct 31)

  1. Now that we've learned about search algorithms (including informed search like A*), how did your strategies for completing the maze in Search Worksheet 2 compare to the algorithms we learned about?
  2. What thoughts do you have about potential weaknesses of the A* Search algorithm and how we could improve it?
  3. What have you learned so far this semester in our class?
  4. What would you like to know more about?
  5. What connections can you make between our topic of search problems and algorithms with your life and interests?

Entry #3: Constraint Satisfaction Worksheet (Oct 27, Due Nov 3)

  1. From the Constraint Satisfaction Worksheet: what strategies did you use to solve the Sudoku puzzle? How would you explain your strategy to a friend?
  2. From the Constraint Satisfaction Worksheet: what similarities do you see between the Sudoku puzzle and the Final Exam Scheduling problem?

Entry #4: Constraint Satisfaction Reflections (Nov 10, Due Nov 17)

  1. Now that we've learned about constraint satisfaction algorithms (including arc consistency AC3 and backtracking search), how did your strategies for completing the Sudoku puzzle in the Constraint Satisfaction Worksheet compare to the algorithms we learned about?
  2. Aside from the examples we discussed in class, identify one example of a constraint satisfaction problem you encounter in your daily life.

Entry #5: Ethical Dilemmas Discussion Reflections (Nov 10, Due Nov 17)

  1. What was your reaction to the two readings from our first discussion day on ethical dilemmas in AI?
  2. From your perspective, what is difficult about relying on AI to make ethical decisions?
  3. What should be done (technical or otherwise) to encourage ethical decision making in AI?

Entry #6: Markov Decision Process Worksheet(Nov 12, Assigned Dec 3, Due Dec 10)

  1. From the Markov Decision Process Worksheet: What strategies did you use to make your decisions? How would you explain your strategy to a friend?
  2. From the Markov Decision Process Worksheet: If you increased the prize amount in each round, would it change your decisions? What if you only changed the prize amount in some rounds?
  3. From the Markov Decision Process Worksheet: If you changed the probabilities of knowing the correct answer in each round, how would that affect your decisions?

Entry #7: Markov Decision Process Reflections (Dec 3, Due Dec 10)

  1. Now that we've learned about Markov Decision Processes, how did your strategies for playing the game show in the Markov Decision Process Worksheet compare to the model and algorithm that we learned about?
  2. Do you think an agent that plans its actions by solving an MDP is intelligent? Why or why not?

Entry #8: Augmented Reality Discussion Reflections (Dec 13, Due Dec 22)

  1. What was your reaction to the four readings from our second discussion day on AI's use towards augmented (or virtual) reality?
  2. From your perspective, what is difficult about balancing AI's potential contributions to creativity and entertainment vs. its use for misinformation and other nefarious purposes?
  3. What should be done (technical or otherwise) about the use of AI to create content that augments or defines our perception of reality?

Entry #9: Semester Reflection (Jan 5, Due Jan 15, Ext. Jan 19)

The goal of our final journal entry is to provide you with an opportunity to review and synthesize the content of this course and think about its connection to your personal interests and studies. For this entry, please write a short essay (500-1,000 words) reflecting on the class over the course of the semester. In particular, you should think and write about:

  1. What did you learn this semester? How have your thoughts about and knowledge of artificial intelligence changed over the semester?
  2. How do you see what you learned in class being useful to you in the future (e.g., in the remainder of your studies and career)?
  3. Did you gain the knowledge and skills you were wanting to gain when you started the class? What did we do that was most useful to your learning? What do you wish we had covered or done that we did not?