Why Learn Machine Learning

This lesson will highlight the importance and evolution of machine learning.

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Importance of Machine Learning?

Machine learning did not develop overnight, and the path to the present day has been anything but smooth sailing.

While it’s intriguing to see trends rise quickly, it’s important to also understand the long periods of resilience before the curve. For those pursuing a career in machine learning, it’s reassuring to know this field of study predates not only the Internet and the moon landing, but also most readers of this course.

Evolution of Machine Learning

  • Conceptual theories emerged in the 1950s, but computational constraints and limited data stalled progress. This resulted in a logjam of research and good intentions until powerful processing chips and large datasets emerged in the 1990s.
  • Renewed interest helped to breach the gap between theory and capability during this decade, but still wasn’t enough to push field-altering breakthroughs in the space of deep learning.
  • That breakthrough came in 2009 when Adjunct Professor Andrew Ng and his team at Stanford University experimented with tethering gaming chips—better known for image rendering—to solve complex data problems. Combining inexpensive GPU chips and compute-intensive algorithms pushed the lead domino to develop deep learning.
  • This crucial breakthrough coincided with other developments in reinforcement learning to spark a surge in interest, an oversupply of newspaper analogies and Hollywood movies, and an international hunt for AI talent.
  • In 2016, media interest climbed to a new high at the glitzy Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul. TV cameras locked lenses on an 18-by-18 Go board with the world champion on one side and an AI program on the other.
  • The game of Go consists of billions of permutations and commentators described the world champion, Lee Sodol, as having a sixth sense for interpreting the state of play. His opponent was AlphaGo, a sophisticated deep learning model designed to outperform any opponent, either mortal or synthetic. AlphaGo lived up to its design and was able to defeat the champion, becoming the first computer program to beat a professional human player.