Forbes has a great primer on machine learning, something expected to change all of our lives starting very soon. All the self-driving cars on the road are sending information back to a central program that’s learning from all of their trips. White-collar jobs are facing increased competition from smarter and smarter algorithms.
Here are a few of the applications of machine learning:
- In medicine, machine learning is being applied to genomic data to help doctors understand, and predict, how cancer spreads, meaning more effective treatments can be developed.
- Data from deep space is being collected here on Earth through huge radio telescopes – and after being analyzed with machine learning, is helping us to unlock the secrets of black holes.
- In retail, machine learning matches shoppers with products they want to buy online, and in the bricks ‘n’ mortar world it allows shop assistants to personalize the service they offer their customers.
- In the war against terror and extremism, machine learning is used to predict the behavior of those wanting to harm the innocent.