Episode 7 — Search and Problem Solving in AI

Episode 7 — Search and Problem Solving in AI

Author: Jason Edwards September 10, 2025 Duration: 25:20

Before machine learning took center stage, AI was already grappling with how to solve problems systematically. This episode dives into search and problem solving, two of the earliest and still fundamental approaches to intelligence. You’ll learn how problems are represented as states and transitions, and how uninformed search strategies like breadth-first and depth-first explore possibilities blindly. We’ll then move to informed searches, where heuristics act as shortcuts, guiding algorithms like A* to efficient solutions.

Beyond simple puzzles, we show how these methods apply in real-world settings. Constraint satisfaction problems, optimization tasks, and adversarial search in games demonstrate the versatility of these approaches. We also look at evolutionary algorithms and local search strategies that mimic biological or incremental processes. Applications in robotics, operations research, and planning illustrate why search remains central even in today’s AI. By the end, you’ll recognize search not as a relic, but as a foundation underpinning many techniques you’ll see throughout this course. Produced by BareMetalCyber.com, where you’ll find more cyber prepcasts, books, and information to strengthen your certification path.


Jason Edwards hosts Certified-Introduction to AI Audio Course, an educational series crafted for anyone curious about how artificial intelligence actually works. This isn't a collection of abstract lectures or speculative futurism; it's a structured, audio-first curriculum that builds a practical foundation. You'll find a clear path through the core concepts that make machines learn, reason, and make decisions, moving from fundamental principles to their tangible effects in the world. The approach is deliberate and cumulative-every episode connects to the next, ensuring that whether you're a student, a working professional, or considering a new career direction, you're never left behind. The content demystifies the terminology and the technology, focusing on comprehension over hype. By engaging with this podcast, you participate in a logical progression designed to build genuine competency. The discussions prioritize clarity and real-world context, exploring both the potential and the current limitations of AI systems. It’s a focused auditory learning experience for those who prefer to learn by listening and who want a substantive, organized introduction to a defining technology of our time. The entire series serves as a comprehensive audio guide, meeting you at your current level of knowledge and systematically expanding it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 49

Certified - Introduction to AI Audio Course
Podcast Episodes
Episode 19 — Training, Validation, and Testing Models [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:32
Once data is prepared, models must be built and evaluated with rigor. This episode covers the three pillars of evaluation: training, validation, and testing. Training introduces the algorithm to data, refining weights an…
Episode 18 — Data Collection and Preparation for AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:04
Data is not just fuel for AI; it must be carefully gathered, cleaned, and prepared to produce reliable results. This episode breaks down the full lifecycle of data preparation, from collection through preprocessing. You’…
Episode 17 — Robotics — AI in the Physical World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:39
While much of AI lives in code and data, robotics brings intelligence into the physical world. This episode examines how robots integrate sensing, reasoning, and action. We begin with perception technologies such as came…
Episode 16 — Speech Recognition and Generation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:27
Speech is one of the most natural ways humans communicate, and AI systems are increasingly able to listen and respond. This episode covers speech recognition, the conversion of audio into text, and speech generation, the…
Episode 15 — Computer Vision — Teaching Machines to See [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:29
The ability to process visual information has been a defining achievement for AI. In this episode, we explore how computer vision allows machines to interpret and analyze images and video. We start with early techniques…
Episode 13 — Deep Learning — Modern Architectures [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:56
Deep learning represents the cutting edge of neural networks, pushing performance far beyond earlier methods. In this episode, we define deep learning as networks with many layers capable of learning hierarchical feature…
Episode 12 — Neural Networks — From Neurons to Layers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:35
Artificial neural networks are inspired by the structure of the human brain but simplified into mathematical models that drive today’s most powerful AI systems. In this episode, we begin with the perceptron, an early mod…
Episode 10 — Probability and Decision Making Under Uncertainty [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:11
Real-world decisions are rarely black and white, and AI systems must navigate uncertainty just as humans do. This episode explores how probability theory underpins reasoning when outcomes are incomplete, noisy, or ambigu…