7.3 Classical ML: What it does (1.1.3)

  • All machine-learning algorithms consist of automatically finding transformations that turn data into more-useful representations for a given task (e.g., coordinate changes or linear projections)
  • ML algorithms aren’t usually creative in finding these transformations; they’re merely searching through a predefined set of operations, called a hypothesis space.
  • So that’s what machine learning is, technically: searching for useful representations of some input data, within a predefined space of possibilities, using guidance from a feedback signal.
  • This simple idea allows for solving a remarkably broad range of intellectual tasks, from speech recognition to autonomous car driving.
  • So what is deep learning? Why is it special?