Machine Learning: A Brief Introduction
Machine Learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence that enables computers to learn and
make decisions from data without being explicitly programmed for every specific task. Instead of
writing detailed instructions, we provide algorithms with data and let them discover patterns and
relationships automatically.
Traditional Programming vs Machine Learning
Traditional Programming:
Input: Data + Program → Output
Programmers write explicit rules and logic
Works well for problems with clear, definable rules
Example: A calculator where you code exact mathematical operations
Machine Learning:
Input: Data + Desired Output → Program (Model)
The algorithm learns patterns from examples
Handles complex problems where rules are hard to define
Example: Email spam detection learns from thousands of email examples rather than trying
to code every possible spam rule
The key difference is that traditional programming requires humans to understand and code the
solution, while ML discovers the solution from data.
Types of Machine Learning
Supervised Learning: Uses labeled training data to learn mapping between inputs and outputs.
Like learning with a teacher who provides correct answers.
Examples: Email classification, medical diagnosis, price prediction
Unsupervised Learning: Finds hidden patterns in data without labeled examples. Like exploring
data to discover natural groupings.
Examples: Customer segmentation, anomaly detection, data compression
Reinforcement Learning: Learns through trial and error by receiving rewards or penalties for
actions. Like learning to play a game by practising.
Examples: Game playing (chess, Go), autonomous driving, recommendation systems
Significance of the Comparison
This shift from traditional to ML programming is revolutionary because it allows us to solve
problems that were previously impossible or impractical to code manually. Tasks like recognizing
faces, understanding speech, or predicting market trends involve too many variables and subtle
patterns for humans to explicitly program. ML excels where traditional programming struggles: in
handling uncertainty, complexity, and massive amounts of data.
