Homework 1
Machine Learning
Due: 2 February 2017 at the beginning of class
• Read the syllabus.
• Read chapters 1-3 in Mohri.
• Read RANDOM THOUGHTS - IMPOSTORS EVERYWHERE
• Answer the following questions. Follow the general homework directions.
• Write a 500-1000 word essay on your motivation for taking this course, what you plan to put in to it, what you expect to get out of it, your thoughs on imposters everywhere, and your interpretation of the academic integrity policies.
• Give three computer applications for which machine learning approaches seem appropriate and three for which they seem inappropriate. Pick applications that are not already mentioned in the book, and include a one-sentence justification for each.
• Implemented the following completely independently, you may not use any other code. Implement an algorithm similar to that discussed for the checkers problem, but use the simpler game of tic-tac-toe. Represent the learned function $\hat{V}$ as a linear combination of board features of your choice. To train your program, play it repeatedly against a second copy of the program that uses a fixed evaluation function you create by hand. Plot the percent of games won by your system, versus the number of training games played.