Machine Learning (ML)

Machine Learning (ML) is an approach to artificial intelligence that combines statistics and data science to develop and apply algorithms that improve their output through experience without being explicitly programmed to do so; in other words, algorithms that can "learn" to detect patterns, make decisions, and predict outcomes.

In it's simplest form, machine learning consists of several inputs, called features, a model, and an output that represents some sort of prediction.

graph LR In1[Feature 1] -->Model[[Model]] In2[Feature 2] -->Model In3[Feature 3] -->Model Model --> Output(("Output
(prediction)"))

An example of this is a spam filter: It takes inputs of an email's headers, subject, and body and determines whether the message is spam or not. A machine learning approach to spam detection will automatically learn new patterns with new data, making it difficult for spammers to defeat the filter except in the short-term. This is more efficient than traditional programming in which each rule would have to be developed by hand in response to new patterns as they emerge, allowing for longer periods between the emergence of a new pattern and a solution to detect it.

What are features?

Inputs to a machine learning model are called features and consist of statistical data types. Types of features include:

  • Numerical features, sometimes called quantitative features are numbers. The n umbers may be either discrete (e.g. the number of votes in an election) or continuous (e.g. the volume of water in a glass).
  • Categorical features, also known as qualitative features, consists of descriptive data that does not have a mathematical meaning. For example: Gender, color, and favorite food are all types of categorical data. Qualitative/categorical features are input into models using one-hot encoding.
  • Ordinal features are a mix of categorical and numerical data, where the data fall into numerical categories. For example: a 5-points scale for product reviews.

Machine Learning Terminology

WordDefinition
Data samplingSystematic creation of smaller representative samples of larger data sets
FeatureA variable with high relevancy to the outcome variable
Feature selectionAutomatic detection of variables most relevant to the outcome variable
ImputationCorrection of corrupt and missing values through inference
Integer encodingAssignment of an integer value to a categorical value, e.g. values "red", "green", and "blue" could be assigned integer values of 1, 2, and 3 respectively
One-hot encodingAssignment of a bit-mapped binary value to a set of categorical values, e.g. a "color" category with potential values of "red", "green", and "blue" could be mapped to three bits of 100, 010, and 001, respectively
Outcome variableThe value to be predicted by a Machine Learning Model
OutlierA observation significantly different from other observations of the same data
OverfittingWhen a model performs well on training data but does not generalize well when the model encounters new data
RegularizationSimplification of a model to avoid overfitting
UnderfittingWhen a model performs poorly because it is too simple. The reverse of overfitting.

Additional terminology can be found on types of machine learning.

The Machine Learning Process

graph TD subgraph 1. Source the Data DB1[(Data)] --> Gather DB2[(Data)] --> Gather DB3[(Data)] --> Gather --> Raw[(Raw Data)] end subgraph 2. Wrangle the Data Raw --> Understand Understand -->|Work with SMEs| Summarize Understand --> Visualize Summarize --> Cleanse Visualize --> Cleanse -->|Imputation, Outlier Detection...| Cleansed[(Cleansed Data)] Cleansed --> Select -.->|Gather identified missing data| Gather Select --> Sample[Data Sampling] Select --> Features[Feature Selection] Sample --> Prepare Features --> Prepare Prepare --> Encode[Encode Categorical Data] Prepare --> Normalize Encode --> Data[(Prepared Data)] Normalize --> Data end subgraph 3. Model the Data Data --> Model end subgraph 4. Use the Model Model --> Use[Use the Model] end

Machine learning resources

Deeper Knowledge on Machine Learning (ML)

Machine Learning Project Outline

Machine Learning Project Outline

An outline and checklist to guide typical machine learning projects

Types of Machine Learning

Types of Machine Learning

An overview of the types of machine learning

SMOTE: Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique

SMOTE: Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique

Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique: An approach to compensating for severe class imbalance in machine learning

Python Open-Source Machine Learning Libraries

Python Open-Source Machine Learning Libraries

Python libraries used for machine learning

Data Mining

Data Mining

A guide to finding patterns and relationships in data

Data Wrangling

Data Wrangling

Transforming "raw" data into a more easily analyzed form through normalization and format standardization

Broader Topics Related to Machine Learning (ML)

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The mimicking of human cognitive functions and behaviors by machines

Data Science

Data Science

The scientific method applied to data analysis

Machine Learning (ML) Knowledge Graph