ML & Bias Explorer

What is Machine Learning?

Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence where computers learn patterns from data and improve at tasks without being explicitly programmed for each specific case.

Instead of writing rules like "if the email contains 'free money,' mark as spam," a machine learning system looks at thousands of emails labeled "spam" and "not spam" and figures out the patterns on its own.

Traditional Programming

Human writes specific rules. Computer follows the rules exactly. Every case must be anticipated.

Machine Learning

Human provides examples (data). Computer discovers the rules. Can handle new cases it has never seen.

ML is everywhere in your daily life:

  • Netflix and YouTube recommendations
  • Spam email filters
  • Voice assistants (Siri, Alexa)
  • Autocorrect and predictive text
  • Photo filters and face detection