Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning focuses on the development of computer programs that can access data and use it to learn for themselves.
The process of learning begins with observations or data, such as examples, direct experience, or instruction, to look for patterns in data and make better decisions in the future based on the examples that we provide. The primary aim is to allow the computers to learn automatically without human intervention or assistance and adjust actions accordingly.
Machine learning algorithms find natural patterns in data that generate insight and help you make better decisions and predictions. They are used every day to make critical decisions in medical diagnosis, stock trading, energy load forecasting, and more.
With the rise in big data, machine learning has become a key technique for solving problems in areas, such as:
- Computational finance, for credit scoring and algorithmic trading
- Image processing and computer vision, for face recognition motion detection, and object detection
- Computational biology, for tumor detection, drug discovery, and DNA sequencing
- Energy production, for price and load forecasting
- Automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing, for predictive maintenance
- Natural language processing, for voice recognition applications