Introduction to Machine Learning – ML

Machine Learning – ML

ML is one of the hot buzz word now, let me explain what it is and why it is? In traditional programming, we feed data and program to a computer to get output, but in Machine learning, we feed data and output to a system to generate algorithm or programming for that data to find a pattern. So that we can forecast the results of new set data by applying the pattern which has found on existing data. This is a simple definition to understand ML concept. ML gives computer systems the ability to learn the data, without being programmed explicitly. Day to day growing internet traffic makes human thinking and analysis of data to limited. To do this we need a machine which can analyze the huge data and find a pattern on that data. This is what machine learning does. It is a continuously developing field. Example: Facial recognition technology allows social media platforms to help users tag and share photos of friends. Python if a popular language for ML followed by R programming language. As a field, machine learning is closely related to computational statistics, so having a background knowledge in statistics is useful for understanding and leveraging machine learning algorithms. Concepts like correlation and regression, are commonly used techniques for investigating the relationship among quantitative variables. Most important thing is to which kind of industry we are applying ML and ML programmer/ engineer must get the proper domain knowledge to apply ML on that system or application engineer or core domain people must support to analyze the pattern on the data.  There are different approaches to ML such as k-nearest neighbor, decision tree learning etc.

Machine learning methods:

In machine learning, tasks are generally classified into broad categories. These categories are based on how learning is received or how feedback on the learning is given to the system developed.

Two of the most widely adopted machine learning methods are supervised learning which trains algorithms based on example input and output data that is labeled by humans, and unsupervised learning which provides the algorithm with no labeled data to allow it to find structure within its input data.  As of now, these definitions might look complicated. In later articles I will talk more about on these two methods.

Because machine learning is a field that is continuously being innovated, it is important to keep in mind that algorithms, methods, and approaches will continue to change.