Machine Learning: What It Is

We live amid a digital age where there are many surprising new technologies imposed daily to carry out daily tasks, from cloud computing, through the internet of things, to the use of smartphones or artificial intelligence technologies.

Automated learning or machine learning is one of the technologies that has evolved the most in recent years, gaining great prominence at the business level thanks to its use with big data to ensure that companies obtain helpful knowledge from the large amount of data they handle.

Next, we will talk about machine learning and its basic concepts, seeing the main benefits that this technology brings to companies.

What is machine learning?

Machine learning is a part of artificial intelligence technology that focuses its efforts on enabling systems to learn autonomously; that is, they improve and learn without human intervention.

Machine learning has the literal meaning of “learning machines” and refers to advanced algorithms to identify patterns and make predictions by computer equipment or computers. With machine learning, these teams can perform tasks autonomously, without the need to program them.

In machine learning, the concept of machine learning is applied to pattern recognition to convert data into knowledge; for this reason, many companies apply it to obtain valuable information to improve their products and services and thus make their customers more satisfied (as is the case of Netflix with its recommendations, or the intelligent responses of applications such as Apple’s Siri).

What are the benefits of machine learning for the company

The main advantages of implementing machine learning in an enterprise environment are the following:

• Improve the products and services offered to the customer (personalized offers according to their tastes and needs).
• Reduce costs by making optimal use of available resources.
• Automate everyday processes and tasks.
• It increases security and helps in fraud detection.

Machine learning basics

When talking about machine learning, reference is made to specific concepts essential for this technology.

Algorithms

Algorithms are the basis of machine learning and consist of processes to solve particular problems by performing specific steps. An algorithm seeks to find the optimal solution to a given problem, investing the shortest time possible.

Supervised learning

It is the use of data and tests to establish the performance and functioning of the learning algorithm. The algorithm learns using logic within this supervised learning environment, not just memorizing.

Unsupervised learning

Algorithms can decide by themselves to perform actions without the need to be specifically programmed for it.

Reinforcement Learning

It is a type of supervised training that aims to promote or reward successful behavior (common in video game intelligence or games of chance).

After discussing machine learning, we can conclude that this technology applied to the company brings excellent benefits. Analyzing and extracting helpful information for a business from all the data it handles is a complex process that requires technologies such as machine learning to predict changes and trends in the market.