Looks like a good way to sell more copies of AIMA[1]. (Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan, with my own signed copy--but not necessarily enough of a fan to "upgrade" to the third edition.)
Either that or there is a shortage of available AI engineers, so they are using this to identify and cull potentially good people that for one reason or another cannot or have not attended a Stanford caliber school.
Makes me think what would happen if someone excels in this course but is primarily from a college in third world country. Would they be tempted to call him/her to stanford? That would be very exciting if that happens.
Ah, my bad. I totally see I needed to scroll down >.<
In case anyone is wondering, the page says "Access to a copy of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach is also suggested."
[1] http://aima.cs.berkeley.edu/