LEARNING

1. Introduction

1.1 What Is Machine Learning?

Machine learning is programming computers to optimize a performance criterion using example

data or past experience. We have a model defined up to some parameters, and learning is the

execution of a computer program to optimize the parameters of the model using the training data
or

past experience. The model may be predictive to make predictions in the future, or descriptive to
gain

knowledge from data, or both.

Arthur Samuel, an early American leader in the field of computer gaming and artificial intelli-
gence,

coined the term “Machine Learning” in 1959 while at IBM. He defined machine learning as “the
field of

study that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed.” However,
there is

no universally accepted definition for machine learning. Different authors define the term differ-
ently.

Definition of learning

A computer program is said to learn from experience E with respect to some class of tasks T and
performance measure P, if its performance at tasks T, as measured by P, improves with experi-
ence E.

Examples

i) Handwriting recognition learning problem

• Task T: Recognising and classifying handwritten words within images

• Performance P: Percent of words correctly classified

• Training experience E: A dataset of handwritten words with given classifications

ii) A robot driving learning problem

• Task T: Driving on highways using vision sensors

• Performance measure P: Average distance traveled before an error

• training experience: A sequence of images and steering commands recorded while observing a
human driver

iii) A chess learning problem

• Task T: Playing chess

• Performance measure P: Percent of games won against opponents

• Training experience E: Playing practice games against itself

A computer program which learns from experience is called a machine learning program or sim-
ply a learning program. Such a program is sometimes also referred to as a learner.

1.2 Components of Learning

1. Data storage

Facilities for storing and retrieving huge amounts of data are an important component of the
learning process. Humans and computers alike utilize data storage as a foundation for advanced
reasoning.

• In a human being, the data is stored in the brain and data is retrieved using electrochemical sig-
nals.

• Computers use hard disk drives, flash memory, random access memory and similar devices to
store data and use cables and other technology to retrieve data.

2. Abstraction

The second component of the learning process is known as abstraction.Abstraction is the process
of extracting knowledge about stored data. This involves creating general concepts about the data
as a whole. The creation of knowledge involves application of known model sand creation of
new models.The process of fitting a model to a dataset is known as training. When the model has
been trained, the data is transformed into an abstract form that summarizes the original informa-
tion.

3. Generalization

The third component of the learning process is known as generalisation.The term generalization
describes the process of turning the knowledge about stored data into a form that can be utilized
for future action. These actions are to be carried out on tasks that are similar, but not identical, to
those what have been seen before. In generalization, the goal is to discover those properties of
the data that will be most relevant to future tasks.

4. Evaluation

Evaluation is the last component of the learning process.It is the process of giving feedback to
the user to measure the utility of the learned knowledge. Thisfeedback is then utilised to effect
improvements in the whole learning process

1. Supervised Machine Learning

As its name suggests, Supervised machine learning is based on supervision. It means in the su-
pervised learning technique, we train the machines using the "labelled" dataset, and based on the
training, the machine predicts the output. Here, the labelled data specifies that some of the inputs
are already mapped to the output. More preciously, we can say; first, we train the machine with
the input and corresponding output, and then we ask the machine to predict the output using the
test dataset.

Let's understand supervised learning with an example. Suppose we have an input dataset of cats
and dog images. So, first, we will provide the training to the machine to understand the images,
such as the shape & size of the tail of cat and dog, Shape of eyes, colour,
height (dogs are taller, cats are smaller), etc. After completion of training, we
input the picture of a cat and ask the machine to identify the object and predict the output. Now,
the machine is well trained, so it will check all the features of the object, such as height, shape,
colour, eyes, ears, tail, etc., and find that it's a cat. So, it will put it in the Cat category. This is the
process of how the machine identifies the objects in Supervised Learning.

The main goal of the supervised learning technique is to map the input
variable(x) with the output variable(y). Some real-world applications of supervised
learning are Risk Assessment, Fraud Detection, Spam filtering, etc.

Categories of Supervised Machine

Learning
Supervised machine learning can be classified into two types of problems, which are given be-
low
 ◦ Classification
◦ Regression
a) Classification
Classification algorithms are used to solve the classification problems in which the output vari-
able is categorical, such as "Yes" or No, Male or Female, Red or Blue, etc. The
classification algorithms predict the categories present in the dataset. Some real-world examples
of classification algorithms are Spam Detection, Email filtering, etc.

◦ Random Forest Algorithm

◦ Decision Tree Algorithm
◦ Logistic Regression Algorithm
◦ Support Vector Machine Algorithm
b) Regression
Regression algorithms are used to solve regression problems in which there is a linear relation-
ship between input and output variables. These are used to predict continuous output variables,
such as market trends, weather prediction, etc.

Some popular Regression algorithms are given below:

◦ Simple Linear Regression Algorithm

◦ Multivariate Regression Algorithm
◦ Decision Tree Algorithm
◦ Lasso Regression
Advantages and Disadvantages of Su-
pervised Learning
Advantages:

◦ Since supervised learning work with the labelled

dataset so we can have an exact idea about the
classes of objects.
 ◦ These algorithms are helpful in predicting the
output on the basis of prior experience.
Disadvantages:

◦ These algorithms are not able to solve complex

tasks.
◦ It may predict the wrong output if the test data
is different from the training data.
◦ It requires lots of computational time to train the
algorithm.
Applications of Supervised Learning
Some common applications of Supervised Learning are given below:

◦ Image Segmentation:
Supervised Learning algorithms are used in im-
age segmentation. In this process, image classi-
fication is performed on different image data
with pre-defined labels.
◦ Medical Diagnosis:
Supervised algorithms are also used in the medi-
cal field for diagnosis purposes. It is done by us-
ing medical images and past labelled data with
labels for disease conditions. With such a
process, the machine can identify a disease for
the new patients.
◦ Fraud Detection - Supervised Learning classifica-
tion algorithms are used for identifying fraud
transactions, fraud customers, etc. It is done by
using historic data to identify the patterns that
can lead to possible fraud.
 ◦ Spam detection - In spam detection & filtering,
classification algorithms are used. These algo-
rithms classify an email as spam or not spam.
The spam emails are sent to the spam folder.
◦ Speech Recognition - Supervised learning algo-
rithms are also used in speech recognition. The
algorithm is trained with voice data, and various
identifications can be done using the same, such
as voice-activated passwords, voice commands,
etc.
2. Unsupervised Machine Learn-
ing
Unsupervised learning is different from the Supervised learning technique; as its name suggests,
there is no need for supervision. It means, in unsupervised machine learning, the machine is
trained using the unlabeled dataset, and the machine predicts the output without any supervision.

In unsupervised learning, the models are trained with the data that is neither classified nor la-
belled, and the model acts on that data without any supervision.

The main aim of the unsupervised learning algorithm is to group or cat-

egories the unsorted dataset according to the similarities, patterns,
and differences. Machines are instructed to find the hidden patterns from the input dataset.

Let's take an example to understand it more preciously; suppose there is a basket of fruit images,
and we input it into the machine learning model. The images are totally unknown to the model,
and the task of the machine is to find the patterns and categories of the objects.

So, now the machine will discover its patterns and differences, such as colour difference, shape
difference, and predict the output when it is tested with the test dataset.

Categories of Unsupervised Machine

Learning
Unsupervised Learning can be further classified into two types, which are given below:
 ◦ Clustering
◦ Association
1) Clustering
The clustering technique is used when we want to find the inherent groups from the data. It is a
way to group the objects into a cluster such that the objects with the most similarities remain in
one group and have fewer or no similarities with the objects of other groups. An example of the
clustering algorithm is grouping the customers by their purchasing behaviour.

Some of the popular clustering algorithms are given below:

◦ K-Means Clustering algorithm

◦ Mean-shift algorithm
◦ DBSCAN Algorithm
◦ Principal Component Analysis
◦ Independent Component Analysis
2) Association
Association rule learning is an unsupervised learning technique, which finds interesting relations
among variables within a large dataset. The main aim of this learning algorithm is to find the de-
pendency of one data item on another data item and map those variables accordingly so that it
can generate maximum profit. This algorithm is mainly applied in Market Basket analy-
sis, Web usage mining, continuous production, etc.

Some popular algorithms of Association rule learning are Apriori Algorithm, Eclat, FP-
growth algorithm.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Unsu-

pervised Learning Algorithm
Advantages:

◦ These algorithms can be used for complicated

tasks compared to the supervised ones because
these algorithms work on the unlabeled dataset.
 ◦ Unsupervised algorithms are preferable for vari-
ous tasks as getting the unlabeled dataset is
easier as compared to the labelled dataset.
Disadvantages:

◦ The output of an unsupervised algorithm can be

less accurate as the dataset is not labelled, and
algorithms are not trained with the exact output
in prior.
◦ Working with Unsupervised learning is more diffi-
cult as it works with the unlabelled dataset that
does not map with the output.
Applications of Unsupervised Learning

◦ Network Analysis: Unsupervised learning is used

for identifying plagiarism and copyright in docu-
ment network analysis of text data for scholarly
articles.
◦ Recommendation Systems: Recommendation
systems widely use unsupervised learning tech-
niques for building recommendation applications
for different web applications and e-commerce
websites.
◦ Anomaly Detection: Anomaly detection is a popu-
lar application of unsupervised learning, which
can identify unusual data points within the
dataset. It is used to discover fraudulent trans-
actions.
◦ Singular Value Decomposition: Singular Value
Decomposition or SVD is used to extract particu-
 lar information from the database. For example,
extracting information of each user located at a
particular location.

3. Semi-Supervised Learning
Semi-Supervised learning is a type of Machine Learning algorithm that
lies between Supervised and Unsupervised machine learning. It represents
the intermediate ground between Supervised (With Labelled training data) and Unsupervised
learning (with no labelled training data) algorithms and uses the combination of labelled and un-
labeled datasets during the training period.

Although Semi-supervised learning is the middle ground between supervised and unsupervised
learning and operates on the data that consists of a few labels, it mostly consists of unlabeled
data. As labels are costly, but for corporate purposes, they may have few labels. It is completely
different from supervised and unsupervised learning as they are based on the presence & absence
of labels.

To overcome the drawbacks of supervised learning and unsupervised

learning algorithms, the concept of Semi-supervised learning is intro-
duced. The main aim of semi-supervised learning is to effectively use all the available data,
rather than only labelled data like in supervised learning. Initially, similar data is clustered along
with an unsupervised learning algorithm, and further, it helps to label the unlabeled data into la-
belled data. It is because labelled data is a comparatively more expensive acquisition than unla-
beled data.

We can imagine these algorithms with an example. Supervised learning is where a student is un-
der the supervision of an instructor at home and college. Further, if that student is self-analysing
the same concept without any help from the instructor, it comes under unsupervised learning.
Under semi-supervised learning, the student has to revise himself after analyzing the same con-
cept under the guidance of an instructor at college.

Advantages and disadvantages of Semi-

supervised Learning
Advantages:
 ◦ It is simple and easy to understand the algo-
rithm.
◦ It is highly efficient.
◦ It is used to solve drawbacks of Supervised and
Unsupervised Learning algorithms.
Disadvantages:

◦ Iterations results may not be stable.

◦ We cannot apply these algorithms to network-
level data.
◦ Accuracy is low.

4. Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement learning works on a feedback-based process, in which
an AI agent (A software component) automatically explore its sur-
rounding by hitting & trail, taking action, learning from experiences,
and improving its performance. Agent gets rewarded for each good action and get
punished for each bad action; hence the goal of reinforcement learning agent is to maximize the
rewards.

In reinforcement learning, there is no labelled data like supervised learning, and agents learn
from their experiences only.

The reinforcement learning process is similar to a human being; for example, a child learns vari-
ous things by experiences in his day-to-day life. An example of reinforcement learning is to play
a game, where the Game is the environment, moves of an agent at each step define states, and the
goal of the agent is to get a high score. Agent receives feedback in terms of punishment and re-
wards.

Due to its way of working, reinforcement learning is employed in different fields such as Game
theory, Operation Research, Information theory, multi-agent systems.

A reinforcement learning problem can be formalized using Markov Decision

Process(MDP). In MDP, the agent constantly interacts with the environment and performs
actions; at each action, the environment responds and generates a new state.
Categories of Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement learning is categorized mainly into two types of methods/algorithms:

◦ Positive Reinforcement Learning: Positive rein-

forcement learning specifies increasing the ten-
dency that the required behaviour would occur
again by adding something. It enhances the
strength of the behaviour of the agent and posi-
tively impacts it.
◦ Negative Reinforcement Learning: Negative rein-
forcement learning works exactly opposite to
the positive RL. It increases the tendency that
the specific behaviour would occur again by
avoiding the negative condition.
Real-world Use cases of Reinforcement
Learning

◦ Video Games:
RL algorithms are much popular in gaming appli-
cations. It is used to gain super-human perfor-
mance. Some popular games that use RL algo-
rithms are AlphaGO and AlphaGO Zero.
◦ Resource Management:
The "Resource Management with Deep Rein-
forcement Learning" paper showed that how to
use RL in computer to automatically learn and
schedule resources to wait for different jobs in
order to minimize average job slowdown.
 ◦ Robotics:
RL is widely being used in Robotics applications.
Robots are used in the industrial and manufac-
turing area, and these robots are made more
powerful with reinforcement learning. There are
different industries that have their vision of
building intelligent robots using AI and Machine
learning technology.
◦ Text Mining
Text-mining, one of the great applications of
NLP, is now being implemented with the help of
Reinforcement Learning by Salesforce company.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Rein-
forcement Learning
Advantages

◦ It helps in solving complex real-world problems

which are difficult to be solved by general tech-
niques.
◦ The learning model of RL is similar to the learn-
ing of human beings; hence most accurate re-
sults can be found.
◦ Helps in achieving long term results.
Disadvantage

◦ RL algorithms are not preferred for simple prob-

lems.
◦ RL algorithms require huge data and computa-
tions.
 ◦ Too much reinforcement learning can lead to an
overload of states which can weaken the results.
The curse of dimensionality limits reinforcement learning for real physical systems.