Game playing computers and artificial intelligence.
Dipl.-Inf. Sebastian Bader
and
Dr. Pascal Hitzler
Seminar, SS 2004
For many years, developing a computer chess player capable of competing at the
highest human levels was one of the grand challenges of artificial
intelligence (AI) research, as chess was widely considered to be the ultimate
test of pure intelligence. This challenge was finally achieved when the
program Deep Blue defeated World Champion Garry Kasparow in 1997. Other games,
like Backgammon, have been essentially solved by the straightforward
implementation of learning algorithms or other approaches. Some games do
remain in which the development of skilled playing programs turns out to be
very difficult - for example, Go, where even the best programs reach only the
level of skilled amateurs, despite considerable research efforts.
In this seminar, we will discuss the use and the integration of AI techniques
for developing game playing computer programs. The covered material will
consist of recent high-quality research articles and surveys, and will be of a
very applied nature, with emphasis on the treatment of actual
implementations. Particular attention will be given to the very diverse
knowledge representation techniques employed in these systems.
Prerequisite
Passed exam in ICL or Einführung in die KI.
Task and Assigned Topics
Each student (or team of students working together) will be
assigned a game or group of games. Students can choose from the list below or
propose their own game/topic. We will then give some first literature
references on the topic to the student.
- We expect each student to search for relevant past and present
literature on the game/topic chosen.
- We expect each student to make an appropriate selection from the
literature for presentation and manuscript.
Link to the
International Computer
Gaming Association.
Assessment
Each student is required to ...
- ... give a presentation lasting 45 minutes.
- ... deliver a manuscript before the presentation.
- ... participate frequently and actively in the seminar meeting.
Each student will get a mark based on the presentation (2/3) and the
manuscript (1/3).
Organization
- New schedule: First meeting on Friday, 2nd of July, 6.15pm to 8.15pm
(max), GRU 352. Second meeting on Saturday, 3rd of July, 2pm to
5pm. Room will be announced.
- We are currently reconsidering the schedule. The idea is to skip the
meeting on Friday, 25th of June, and meet on Saturday, 3rd of July,
2pm to 6pm instead. We'll keep you posted.
- First meeting on Friday, 25th of June, 3pm to 8pm (max), with 4
talks, GRU 352. Second meeting on Friday, 2nd of July, 6.15pm to 8.15pm
(max), GRU 352.
- First meeting on April 14th! We will distribute topics and discuss
organizational issues.
- The seminar will probably be scheduled as a compact seminar on some
Friday afternoons.
- We would like to particularly encourage team work, i.e. small groups of
participants can choose to work on the same topic.
Registration
Closed.
Further Information
Enquiries
All questions should be directed to Pascal Hitzler under
