machine learning

noun

1

: a computational method that is a subfield of artificial intelligence and that enables a computer to learn to perform tasks by analyzing a large dataset without being explicitly programmed

The company is curating the overall topics manually, but Twitter will be relying on machine learning to intelligently populate the topics themselves so that the tweets can stay up to date.

—Lucas Matney

Unsupervised learning, also known as unsupervised machine learning, uses machine learning algorithms to analyze and cluster unlabeled datasets. These algorithms discover hidden patterns or data groupings without the need for human intervention.

—IBM

Supervised machine learning requires labeled data to adjust the parameters of the model during training. … But without quality training data, supervised learning models will end up making poor inferences.

—Ben Dickson

Reinforcement machine learning trains machines through trial and error to take the best action by establishing a reward system. Reinforcement learning can train models to play games or train autonomous vehicles to drive by telling the machine when it made the right decisions, which helps it learn over time what actions it should take.

—Sara Brown

2

: the branch of computer science that employs machine learning

An entire subspecialty known as machine learning is devoted to building algorithms that allow computers to develop new behaviors based on experience.

—Adam Piore

While many scholars in the developing field of machine learning were focused on improving algorithms, [Cynthia] Rudin instead wanted to use AI's power to help society.

—Duke University

—abbreviation ML

Examples of machine learning in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In December, Apple’s machine learning research team released MLX, a machine learning framework that can make AI models run efficiently on Apple silicon. —Emilia David, The Verge, 9 May 2024

While some enterprises had already developed traditional AI systems (pre-generative AI), principally relying on machine learning predictions fueled by structured data, many are now navigating uncharted AI territory and the possibilities are endless. —Byjeffrey Saviano, Fortune, 8 May 2024

The research team made these discoveries with the help of a machine learning algorithm called Tracklet-less Heliocentric Orbit Recovery, or THOR. —Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2024

Unlike many of its fellow tech giants, Meta has a history of investing in open-source projects, from the machine learning library PyTorch to the JavaScript library React to the data query language GraphQL, among others. —Angela Yang, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024

Since the electron neutrino’s direction is very hard to discern by eye, IceCube physicists applied machine learning techniques to point back to where the electron neutrinos might have been created. —Doug Cowen, Discover Magazine, 27 Apr. 2024

In February, the project’s organizers announced that a team successfully translated 2,000 characters within a scroll through a combination of machine learning software and computer vision programming. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2024

Jenkins said the company hires associates who take some video clips and label them so they can be used to train the machine learning system. —Haleluya Hadero, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2024

Bloom is still very much in his R&D era, but his creation represents one of the many ways that game companies are looking to integrate machine learning into their offerings. —Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1