Machine Learning Quickies

ML and AI: Benefits The first question that comes to mind whenever starting to learn something new is " Why ?". It is no different for Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Why should you learn ML and AI? What are the benefits of learning ML and AI ? Is there any use to learning ML and AI? What do ML and AI offer that make them so special? Here I will try to answer these questions regarding the benefits of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Feel free to skip to the summary at the end if you need direct points. So, why should you learn ML and AI? Is it simply because they are popular and everybody's doing them, so you should also do them?  No.  So, what is the reason? Explanation ML is a subset of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the whole point is that you are trying to give computers human-like intelligence. Why do you want to do this? One reason could be curiosity and another is reducing human effort. Just think about it. If computers could ...

 Starting on the journey of Machine Learning and Data Science, one of the most common thoughts that come to the mind is the difference between machine learning algorithms and conventional/traditional algorithms.  Are ML algorithms any different to the traditional ones we use? If so, how are ML algorithms different from the conventional ones? The answer is rather simple. Yes, ML algorithms are indeed different from the traditional algorithms. Traditional algorithms like searching, sorting, etc., follow a similar format. They typically take an input, follow some steps as per the algorithm and then give an output. The output is rather deterministic meaning that for a single unique input you will get the same output every time. For example, if you input a sequence to some sorting algorithm, it will return the same sorted output sequence no matter how many times you run it. On the other hand, ML algorithms don't follow this traditional format. They generally require to be fed both ...

Machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) seem to be the latest buzzwords in the market today. Everybody wants to advertise their enterprise as an AI enterprise and everybody gets impressed if it is actually so. So what is it that has made these terms so popular? Following are a few reasons that I believe to be the reasons for this fame: Access to technology:  In modern times, the access to technology and internet is unbelievable. More people have access to computer systems and internet than ever before. As such, it becomes natural for coding related domains (including ML and AI) to flourish. Availability of online resources to learn:  I mean, this comes as an obvious point. Presently, all kinds of courses are available on platforms like YouTube free of cost for anyone willing to learn. Also there are MOOC's offered by various universities online which has democratized education in an unbelievable way. Availability of data (or Big Data):  Data is available ra...

For the last few years, researchers have been trying to make machines more "intelligent". Keeping this is mind, it is only natural that they would want to replicate the human brain which is the source of human intelligence and capabilities into a machine. This attempt to replicate the capabilities of the brain finds form in what is called an "Artificial Neural Network" (abbreviated to ANN). Simply put, ANN is an imitation of a BNN (Biological Neural Network). Brain: Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash What is Biological Neural Network or BNN? In simple terms, BNN refers to the complex interconnected network of billions of neurons that make up any human's nervous system (including the brain). In fact, the human brain contains some 86 billion neurons, which communicate through electric impulses. ANN is humanity's attempt to mathematically model what goes around in the human brain. Presently, there are multiple ANN architectures and processes deployed that ...

  AI explained in simple language: Remember, when you were a child and you saw some animal with paws. You did not know what it was and the adults told you it was a dog. Then, you saw some other animal and you called it a "dog" but the adults corrected you as it was a "cat". From then on, you started to differentiate between dogs and cats. This is what we call human intelligence i.e., the ability to learn over time from your environment.  Now, what if I told you a computer could also do what you did. Just like adults taught you, you could  teach a computer to differentiate between a dog and a cat. Would you call the computer "intelligent"? This is precisely what Artificial Intelligence (in short AI) is. It is giving computers human-like intelligence so that they could do the tasks traditionally reserved for humans. But why do we need AI? Because they are computers and can perform much more than a human could without getting tired. In fact, you are already u...