Intelligent agents and science fiction

Mission: Intelligent agents, which include autonomous software programs as well as robots, is a growing and exciting field of study. This course will introduce fundamental concepts of intelligent agents and multiagent systems (where multiple such agents and/or humans may interact) using science fiction as our vehicle to motivate key concepts. Specific examples of science fiction of interest in this course includes Isaac Asimov's short stories, or episodes of "Star Trek", and they will not only motivate key concepts, but help us understand the difference between science fact vs science fiction at least as it pertains to agents, and help us understand the broader context and (social or cultural) implications of agents technology.

(c) Three Seven Design, 2006