A gentle introduction to machine learning for beginners
A gentle introduction to machine learning for beginners
Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence concerned with algorithms that let computers learn and then make predictions or decisions from data. Getting to grips with the fundamentals can look daunting, so let's try to lay out the basic principles.
The fundamentals: how does it work?
Machine learning uses data to train models. Those models can then find patterns and trends, which is what lets them make predictions.
- Supervised learning: the computer learns from labelled data and makes predictions.
- Unsupervised learning: the computer learns from unlabelled data and looks for structure or patterns within it.
- Reinforcement learning: the computer learns by taking actions in an environment and receiving feedback in the form of a reward or a penalty.
In practice: where is machine learning used?
Machine learning turns up across a huge range of fields: in medicine, where it can predict the presence of a disease; in finance, where it analyses markets. It is also widely used in marketing to analyse and predict consumer behaviour, and in the automotive industry to build self-driving cars.
First steps: how do you start?
Choosing a programming language is the first and a very important step. Python is an excellent choice for beginners thanks to how readable it is and to the enormous number of libraries built for machine learning, TensorFlow and Scikit-learn among them.
Once you have a language, study the basic machine learning algorithms and some statistics. Online courses, books and tutorials will give you both the knowledge and the practice.
In closing: the road into machine learning
The world of machine learning is full of possibilities and discoveries. Starting out is not always easy, but with the right resources, some persistence and plenty of practice you will pick up the fundamentals quickly and be able to build models of your own. New technologies and methods appear in this field constantly, so the learning never really stops.
Machine learning, then, is not only a tool for solving hard problems but an opportunity to keep developing and learning. Dive into this absorbing world and you will find how much there is waiting for you.
