From: abucci@cs.brandeis.edu   
      
   > It's not very lucrative right now, nor are there many job openings.   
   > You missed the great times in the '80s!   
      
   I diagree.  At least in the US, there's a relative lack of any   
   computer-related job.  But there are plenty of opportunities for AI   
   people, as far as I am able to tell.  No one from my lab has had any   
   trouble getting employed after graduation.   
      
   The 80's were a dot-com style hypefest.  Fine, things were easy then.   
   Now they're more realistic, and you might actually need talent and   
   education to get a job.  That doesn't mean things are "not very   
   lucrative."  It means there's a realistic level of competition which you   
   should prepare for.  It's still infinitely easier to get a job in AI than   
   to get a job as a violinist in an orchestra, for example.   
      
   > Especially if you're going to look at AI history, and you want to   
   > experiment a lot, you should almost certainly spend some time with Lisp.   
   > Many, many AI systems were (and continue to be) built in Lisp.   
      
   True enough, but LISP is nearly dead.  Many schools have replaced it with   
   more modern languages.  Brandeis teaches its intro AI courses in Scheme,   
   but they are debating whether to switch to another language (like Java).   
   I think the only thing stopping a change like that is inertia: many   
   professors don't know Java and don't want to teach in it.  The   
   upper-level AI courses are usually in the professor's favorite language,   
   which can range from ML to Python to Java.   
      
   It's clearly worth learning and understanding LISP, but I personally   
   wouldn't write anything in it.  I tend to think it's something you'll pick   
   up when you need it.  It's much more important to be a quick study and be   
   able to pick up a new language rapidly.   
      
   > You might also want to check out Prolog, but more to understand automated   
   > deduction than to program computation in.   
      
   It's a great mind-expanding exercise to learn how Prolog really works   
   under the hood.  In one of my grad courses the midterm was to write a   
   Prolog solver, and I'm very glad I did.   
      
   Anthony   
      
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