Machine learning (“ML” for short) is a type of artificial intelligence that tries to automate all sorts of tasks. What makes ML different from “classical” AI is that a machine learning algorithm doesn’t have all of its rules written out for it: the algorithm (also called a model) has a pre-set list of rules that it attempts to apply. The model then learns from feedback we give to it, improving over time.
There are lots of types of machine learning, and many of the devices and services we use on a daily basis are powered by ML in one way or another. Here are some common examples of ML applications:
Speech recognition - This is how your smartphone’s AI assistant understands what you’re saying! By giving an ML model lots of examples of different words in different languages, the model can hear those words from anyone and learn to interpret them.
Recommendation engine - Ever wonder how online stores always seem to know what items would interest you? When you view or purchase a product online, that provides another piece of data to teach an ML model to learn your shopping preferences.
Computer vision - If you’ve used a filter to add funny ears or eyes to your selfie, then you’ve experienced a computer vision model hard at work! This type of ML is the bread and butter of what we do in the Digital and AI department at Saab, Inc., so we have an entire article devoted to it.