Written By: Saniya Kalamkar
What is machine learning? Machine learning is an important part of engineering. In formal terms, machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence, or AI, that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed.
Essentially, machine learning allows computer programs to access data and then to learn and improve from past historical data. This happens by finding patterns in data and then making better decisions in the future based on the examples that the computer programmer provides. The goal of machine learning is to allow computers to learn automatically without human instruction and adjust based on what is needed.
Examples of machine learning are everywhere. Search engines, like Google, rely on machine learning in order to change and improve search results. Siri and Alexa, and social media, such as Instagram and Netflix, all use machine learning to tailor information and content to the consumer.
To work in the machine learning field, a knowledge of math and computer science is needed since data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are all interlinked. Hard math skills like linear algebra, probability and statistics, and calculus are needed. In addition, computer science fundamentals and a working knowledge of programming are necessary as well. While it is important to know other programming languages like Java and C, the most important language is Python in machine learning. There are components to Python like NumPy and Jupyter Notebook that make it an ideal language for machine learning.
Machine learning is a fast-growing field that is instrumental to today’s society. Feel free to leave any questions in the comment below, and we will do our best to answer!