CS 4710

This course had potential but fell rather flat. Professor Kuo knows her stuff but is not a very dynamic lecturer. I found it hard to stay engaged throughout the whole time, particularly since sometimes it felt like the lecture began with super easy content and ended with stuff over my head. There was an attendance policy where she would take attendance on random days and you had to be there for at least five of the days she took attendance (this was annoying, hopefully it will change in future semesters). The five homeworks were a mix of written questions and coding. They weren't too difficult but took some time because of the so-so lecture quality. The take-home midterm exam was pretty hard, mainly because our homeworks had not been graded and we had no other practice problems. Thankfully there was not a final exam. The final project was a group project where you had to do something related to AI, code, and social good. It was pretty easy, especially if you're group doesn't wait til the last minute. The course content was a good survey of classic AI methods, modern ML/NN/LLM stuff, AI applications, and AI ethics. I'd probably recommend taking AI with a different professor but I would also say it's worth going to a few lectures because Professor Kuo could improve as she continues to teach. #tCFS24

Lecture wise, she's pretty good in some ways, pretty bad in others. Clearly knowledgeable and very happy to help students, but not the most engaging. You can also watch lectures live on zoom. Slides are pretty good, she definitely tries to make the content interesting and understandable. The one midterm was brutal for a lot of the students if I remember correctly. I'm pretty sure it was all fair game though, just that a lot of the people didn't have real solid understandings of the topics. After the midterm, there was a massive drop in lecture attendance because you're never tested on the remaining content, all you really need to do is the final project.
Chat is pretty capable of most of the coding assignments, but awful at the weekly quizzes.
You'll do fine on the quizzes if you just review the slides for like 15 minutes.
Overall solid course, would recommend if you're interested in AI!
Wish there was a slightly stronger emphasis on the importance of AI safety and maybe even a mention of current policy and governance. Granted, it is more of an introductory AI course.