Their discussion ranges from the history of the field's intellectual foundations to the most recent developments and applications.Reinforcement learning, one of the most active research areas in artificial intelligence, is a computational approach to learning whereby an agent tries to maximize the total amount of reward it receives when interacting with a complex, uncertain environment. In Reinforcement Learning, Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto provide a clear and simple account of the key ideas and algorithms of reinforcement learning. Their discussion ranges from the history of the field's intellectual foundations to the most recent developments and applications. The only necessary mathematical background is familiarity with elementary concepts of probability.The book is divided into three parts. Part I defines the reinforcement learning problem in terms of Markov decision processes. Part II provides basic solution methods: dynamic programming, Monte Carlo methods, and temporal-difference learning. Part III presents a unified view of the solution methods and incorporates artificial neural networks, eligibility traces, and planning; the two final chapters present case studies and consider the future of reinforcement learning.

    Zot! is Scott McCloud's critically acclaimed take on superhero comics, and was one of the greatest cult comics of the '80s.Volume 2 collects issues 11-15 and 17-18, the beginnings of the black-and-white relaunch of the series.

    But even though Moravec predicts the end of the domination by human beings, his is not a bleak vision. Far from railing against a future in which machines rule the world, Moravec embraces it, taking the startling view that intelligent robots will actually be our evolutionary heirs. Intelligent machines, which will grow from us, learn our skills, and share our goals and values, can be viewed as children of our minds. And since they are our children, we will want them to outdistance us. In fact, in a bid for immortality, many of our descendants will choose to transform into ex humans, as they upload themselves into advanced computers.This provocative new book, the highly anticipated follow-up to his bestselling volume Mind Children, charts the trajectory of robotics in breathtaking detail. A must read for artificial intelligence, technology, and computer enthusiasts, Moravec's freewheeling but informed speculations present a future far different than we ever dared imagine.

    This is a thorough, up-to-date introduction to optimizing detection algorithms for implementation on digital computers. It focuses extensively on real-world signal processing applications, including state-of-the-art speech and communications technology as well as traditional sonar/radar systems. Start with a quick review of the fundamental issues associated with mathematical detection, as well as the most important probability density functions and their properties. Next, review Gaussian, Chi-Squared, F, Rayleigh, and Rician PDFs, quadratic forms of Gaussian random variables, asymptotic Gaussian PDFs, and Monte Carlo Performance Evaluations. Three chapters introduce the basics of detection based on simple hypothesis testing, including the Neyman-Pearson Theorem, handling irrelevant data, Bayes Risk, multiple hypothesis testing, and both deterministic and random signals. The author then presents exceptionally detailed coverage of composite hypothesis testing to accommodate unknown signal and noise parameters. These chapters will be especially useful for those building detectors that must work with real, physical data. Other topics covered include:Detection in nonGaussian noise, including nonGaussian noise characteristics, known deterministic signals, and deterministic signals with unknown parametersDetection of model changes, including maneuver detection and time-varying PSD detectionComplex extensions, vector generalization, and array processing The book makes extensive use of MATLAB, and program listings are included wherever appropriate. Designed for practicing electrical engineers, researchers, and advanced students, it is an ideal complement to Steven M. Kay's Fundamentals of Statistical Signal Processing, Vol. 1: Estimation Theory (Prentice Hall PTR, 1993, ISBN: 0-13-345711-7).

    The first half of the book concentrates on the theoretical base of expert systems, and offers a broad overview of Artificial Intelligence and its relation to expert systems. The second half of the text focuses on application, with the introduction of the CLIPS expert systems tool, and its new object-oriented language, COOL. All chapters end with an extensive problem set designed to reinforce knowledge.

    Many of the early workers in this field of neural networks came from cybernetics; others came from neuroscience, physics, electrical engineering, mathematics, psychology, even economics. In this collection of interviews, those who helped to shape the field share their childhood memories, their influences, how they became interested in neural networks, and what they see as its future.The subjects tell stories that have been told, referred to, whispered about, and imagined throughout the history of the field. Together, the interviews form a Rashomon-like web of reality. Some of the mythic people responsible for the foundations of modern brain theory and cybernetics, such as Norbert Wiener, Warren McCulloch, and Frank Rosenblatt, appear prominently in the recollections. The interviewees agree about some things and disagree about more. Together, they tell the story of how science is actually done, including the false starts, and the Darwinian struggle for jobs, resources, and reputation. Although some of the interviews contain technical material, there is no actual mathematics in the book.ContributorsJames A. Anderson, Michael Arbib, Gail Carpenter, Leon Cooper, Jack Cowan, Walter Freeman, Stephen Grossberg, Robert Hecht-Neilsen, Geoffrey Hinton, Teuvo Kohonen, Bart Kosko, Jerome Lettvin, Carver Mead, David Rumelhart, Terry Sejnowski, Paul Werbos, Bernard Widrow