This course introduces students to the basic knowledge representation, problem solving, and learning methods of artificial intelligence. Upon completion of 6.034, students should be able to develop intelligent systems by assembling solutions to concrete computational problems, understand the role of knowledge representation, problem solving, and learning in intelligent-system engineering, and appreciate the role of problem solving, vision, and language in understanding human intelligence from a computational perspective.

Introduces the theory and application of modern, computationally-based methods for exploring and drawing inferences from data. Covers re-sampling methods, non-parametric regression, prediction, and dimension reduction and clustering. Specific topics include Monte Carlo simulation, bootstrap cross-validation, splines, local weighted regression, CART, random forests, neural networks, support vector machines, and hierarchical clustering. De-emphasizes proofs and replaces them with extended discussion of interpretation of results and simulation and data analysis for illustration.

Principles, techniques, and algorithms in machine learning from the point of view of statistical inference; representation, generalization, and model selection; and methods such as linear/additive models, active learning, boosting, support vector machines, hidden Markov models, and Bayesian networks.

The course focuses on the problem of supervised learning within the framework of Statistical Learning Theory. It starts with a review of classical statistical techniques, including Regularization Theory in RKHS for multivariate function approximation from sparse data. Next, VC theory is discussed in detail and used to justify classification and regression techniques such as Regularization Networks and Support Vector Machines. Selected topics such as boosting, feature selection and multiclass classification will complete the theory part of the course. During the course we will examine applications of several learning techniques in areas such as computer vision, computer graphics, database search and time-series analysis and prediction. We will briefly discuss implications of learning theories for how the brain may learn from experience, focusing on the neurobiology of object recognition. We plan to emphasize hands-on applications and exercises, paralleling the rapidly increasing practical uses of the techniques described in the subject.

Focuses on the problem of supervised learning from the perspective of modern statistical learning theory starting with the theory of multivariate function approximation from sparse data. Develops basic tools such as Regularization including Support Vector Machines for regression and classification. Derives generalization bounds using both stability and VC theory. Discusses topics such as boosting and feature selection. Examines applications in several areas: computer vision, computer graphics, text classification and bioinformatics. Final projects and hands-on applications and exercises are planned, paralleling the rapidly increasing practical uses of the techniques described in the subject.

This course focuses on the problem of supervised learning from the perspective of modern statistical learning theory starting with the theory of multivariate function approximation from sparse data. It develops basic tools such as Regularization including Support Vector Machines for regression and classification. It derives generalization bounds using both stability and VC theory. It also discusses topics such as boosting and feature selection and examines applications in several areas: Computer Vision, Computer Graphics, Text Classification and Bioinformatics. The final projects and hands-on applications and exercises are planned, paralleling the rapidly increasing practical uses of the techniques described in the subject.

The course is the second module of a three module course entitled "Bioinformatics: from sequence to structure". This course focuses on learning statistical models from biological data. Three problems are covered: gene finding, classification of gene expression data, and inferring regulatory networks from mRNA and proteomic data. The computational techniques covered include: HMMs, support vector machines, and structure learning with Bayesian networks. This course is made possible by a curriculum development grant from the NSF.

Brief explanation of Support Vector Machines (SVM) and the related optimization problem

The main goal of this course is to study the generalization ability of a number of popular machine learning algorithms such as boosting, support vector machines and neural networks. Topics include Vapnik-Chervonenkis theory, concentration inequalities in product spaces, and other elements of empirical process theory.