Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving (4th Edition) [Hardcover]

George F. Luger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0201648660 | ISBN-13: 978-0201648669 | Edition: 4

Artificial intelligence (AI) began as the quest to create machines that could think for themselves and (perhaps) out-think humans: the holy grail of computing! Over the years, while still exploring the mechanisms that enable thought, AI has evolved into a more pragmatic discipline. AI uses different strategies to solve the complex practical problems that present themselves wherever computing technology is applied. And intelligence itself is now known to be too complex to be described by any single theory - instead, a constellation of theories characterize the subject from different levels of abstraction. At the lowest levels, neural networks, genetic algorithms and other forms of computation aid understanding of adaptation, perception, embodiment, and interaction with the physical world. On a more abstract level, designers of expert systems, intelligent agents, stochastic models, and natural language understanding programs reflect the role of knowledge and social processes in creating, transmitting and sustaining knowledge. Further, logicians propose deduction, abduction, induction, truth-maintenance, and other models and modes for reasoning. In this fourth edition, George Luger touches on all these levels of structures and strategies for complex problem solving, as well as conveying excitement for the study of intelligence itself. He shows how to use many different software tools and techniques for addressing the complex problems that challenge the modern computer scientist.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Shelving category: Artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence
Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving
Fourth Edition

George Luger

Artificial intelligence (AI) began as the quest to create machines that could think for themselves and (perhaps) out-think humans: the holy grail of computing! Over the years, while still exploring the mechanisms that enable thought, AI has evolved into a more pragmatic discipline. AI uses different strategies to solve the complex practical problems that present themselves wherever computing technology is applied. And intelligence itself is now known to be too complex to be described by any single theory - instead, a constellation of theories characterize the subject from different levels of abstraction. At the lowest levels, neural networks, genetic algorithms and other forms of computation aid understanding of adaptation, perception, embodiment, and interaction with the physical world. On a more abstract level, designers of expert systems, intelligent agents, stochastic models, and natural language understanding programs reflect the role of knowledge and social processes in creating, transmitting and sustaining knowledge. Further, logicians propose deduction, abduction, induction, truth-maintenance, and other models and modes for reasoning.

In this fourth edition, George Luger touches on all these levels of structures and strategies for complex problem solving, as well as conveying excitement for the study of intelligence itself. He shows how to use many different software tools and techniques for addressing the complex problems that challenge the modern computer scientist.

The trademark features of this best-selling text are:
· a thorough and balanced treatment of the foundations of AI;
· the combination of theoretical foundations of intelligent problem solving with the data structures and algorithms needed for implementation;
· example programs written in LISP and PROLOG;
· putting practical applications of AI into context; and
· a unique discussion of the social and philosophical issues of AI.

In addition, this thoroughly updated fourth edition includes:
· the incorporation of more "agent-based" problem solving;
· new material on reinforcement learning;
· improved chapters on Bayesian based inference techniques, including belief networks;
· model-based reasoning and planning examples from the NASA space program;
· updated material on Natural Language Processing; and
· comments on the AI endeavor from the perspectives of philosophy, psychology and neuro-physiology.

Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving is ideal for a one or two semester university course on AI, as well as an invaluable reference for researchers in the field or practitioners wishing to understand and employ the power of current AI techniques in their work.

George Luger received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. He spent the next five years as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Artificial Intelligence of the University of Edinburgh. He is currently a Professor of Computer Science, Linguistics, and Psychology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His research interests, courses information, and current papers may be found at: http://www.cs.unm.edu/~luger/

About the Author

George Luger is currently a Professor of Computer Science, Linguistics, and Psychology at the University of New Mexico. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and spent five years researching and teaching at the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 880 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 4 edition (July 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201648660
• ISBN-13: 978-0201648669
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,048,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for an intro to AI, January 17, 2001

By 

Todd Ebert (Long Beach California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving (Hardcover)

This book is actually a follow up to Luger and Stubblefield's older book "AI and the Design of Expert Systems". Being somewhat dated in both title and content, this book serves as its resurrection. Both books are excellent in providing a basic introduction to AI. They contain a number of problems and provide just enough infromation on each topic to give the reader the general idea and a sense of having learned something substantial (this is always the danger when writing a book that surveys a variety of interrelated fields). Another strength of the book is its ability to make connections between the different areas of AI. For example, when discussing knowledge representation, they make sure to draw connections with it and logic as well as natural language processing.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good For Beginners in AI, December 4, 2002

By 

Gautam Renjen "ZOOMIN" (New Delhi, India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving (4th Edition) (Hardcover)

This is a very good book for anyone wanting to get an insight. Good for the first college course in AI too. It introduces the different areas of AI quite well, and develops logic before doing that. Prolog and LISP are also introduced.

The only reason I wouldn't give this book 5 stars is because
1) The Prolog and LISP features aren't all that great. They could have done better than just explaining what they did.

2) There was very little or almost no depth in the material covered. I wanted to go on reading more about the advanced features, but that never happened. So, I had to go to the library and look for something there.

But a great book for a college course. I wouldn't recommend this for a Grad course in CS...A grad student should be knowing beyond what this book covers.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a good book for the beginners., March 27, 2000

By 

Amit Konar - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving (Hardcover)

The book presents many aspects like predicate logic, state space search,knowledge representation, natural language understanding, machine learning and specially programming in both LISP and PROLOG.I specially liked the chapters on learning, natural language understanding and the programming techniques.The book is unique for its presentation style, simplicity and illustrations. It must be on the desk of anyone interested to join the disciplines of AI.