Wednesday, 20 July 2022

What is ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

What is artificial intelligence (AI)?

Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition and machine vision.

Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition and machine vision.

How does AI work?

As the hype around AI has accelerated, vendors have been scrambling to promote how their products and services use AI. Often what they refer to as AI is simply one component of AI, such as machine learning. AI requires a foundation of specialized hardware and software for writing and training machine learning algorithms. No one programming language is synonymous with AI, but a few, including Python, R and Java, are popular.

In general, AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labeled training data, analyzing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions about future states. In this way, a chatbot that is fed examples of text chats can learn to produce lifelike exchanges with people, or an image recognition tool can learn to identify and describe objects in images by reviewing millions of examples.

AI programming focuses on three cognitive skills: learning, reasoning and self-correction.

Learning processes. This aspect of AI programming focuses on acquiring data and creating rules for how to turn the data into actionable information. The rules, which are called algorithms, provide computing devices with step-by-step instructions for how to complete a specific task.

Reasoning processes. This aspect of AI programming focuses on choosing the right algorithm to reach a desired outcome.

Self-correction processes. This aspect of AI programming is designed to continually fine-tune algorithms and ensure they provide the most accurate results possible.

Why is artificial intelligence important?

AI is important because it can give enterprises insights into their operations that they may not have been aware of previously and because, in some cases, AI can perform tasks better than humans. Particularly when it comes to repetitive, detail-oriented tasks like analyzing large numbers of legal documents to ensure relevant fields are filled in properly, AI tools often complete jobs quickly and with relatively few errors.

This has helped fuel an explosion in efficiency and opened the door to entirely new business opportunities for some larger enterprises. Prior to the current wave of AI, it would have been hard to imagine using computer software to connect riders to taxis, but today Uber has become one of the largest companies in the world by doing just that. It utilizes sophisticated machine learning algorithms to predict when people are likely to need rides in certain areas, which helps proactively get drivers on the road before they're needed. As another example, Google has become one of the largest players for a range of online services by using machine learning to understand how people use their services and then improving them. In 2017, the company's CEO, Sundar Pichai, pronounced that Google would operate as an "AI first" company.

Today's largest and most successful enterprises have used AI to improve their operations and gain advantage on their competitors.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence?

Artificial neural networks and deep learning artificial intelligence technologies are quickly evolving, primarily because AI processes large amounts of data much faster and makes predictions more accurately than humanly possible.

While the huge volume of data being created on a daily basis would bury a human researcher, AI applications that use machine learning can take that data and quickly turn it into actionable information. As of this writing, the primary disadvantage of using AI is that it is expensive to process the large amounts of data that AI programming requires.

Advantages

Good at detail-oriented jobs;
Reduced time for data-heavy tasks;
Delivers consistent results; and
AI-powered virtual agents are always available.

Disadvantages

Expensive;
Requires deep technical expertise;
Limited supply of qualified workers to build AI tools;
Only knows what it's been shown; and
Lack of ability to generalize from one task to another.

Strong AI vs. weak AI

AI can be categorized as either weak or strong.

Weak AI, also known as narrow AI, is an AI system that is designed and trained to complete a specific task. Industrial robots and virtual personal assistants, such as Apple's Siri, use weak AI.
Strong AI, also known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), describes programming that can replicate the cognitive abilities of the human brain. When presented with an unfamiliar task, a strong AI system can use fuzzy logic to apply knowledge from one domain to another and find a solution autonomously. In theory, a strong AI program should be able to pass both a Turing Test and the Chinese room test.
What are the 4 types of artificial intelligence?
Arend Hintze, an assistant professor of integrative biology and computer science and engineering at Michigan State University, explained in a 2016 article that AI can be categorized into four types, beginning with the task-specific intelligent systems in wide use today and progressing to sentient systems, which do not yet exist. The categories are as follows:
- Type 1: Reactive machines. These AI systems have no memory and are task specific. An example is Deep Blue, the IBM chess program that beat Garry Kasparov in the 1990s. Deep Blue can identify pieces on the chessboard and make predictions, but because it has no memory, it cannot use past experiences to inform future ones.
- Type 2: Limited memory. These AI systems have memory, so they can use past experiences to inform future decisions. Some of the decision-making functions in self-driving cars are designed this way.
- Type 3: Theory of mind. Theory of mind is a psychology term. When applied to AI, it means that the system would have the social intelligence to understand emotions. This type of AI will be able to infer human intentions and predict behavior, a necessary skill for AI systems to become integral members of human teams.
- Type 4: Self-awareness. In this category, AI systems have a sense of self, which gives them consciousness. Machines with self-awareness understand their own current state. This type of AI does not yet exist.
What are examples of AI technology and how is it used today?
AI is incorporated into a variety of different types of technology. Here are six examples:
- Automation. When paired with AI technologies, automation tools can expand the volume and types of tasks performed. An example is robotic process automation (RPA), a type of software that automates repetitive, rules-based data processing tasks traditionally done by humans. When combined with machine learning and emerging AI tools, RPA can automate bigger portions of enterprise jobs, enabling RPA's tactical bots to pass along intelligence from AI and respond to process changes.
- Machine learning. This is the science of getting a computer to act without programming. Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that, in very simple terms, can be thought of as the automation of predictive analytics. There are three types of machine learning algorithms:
  - Supervised learning. Data sets are labeled so that patterns can be detected and used to label new data sets.
  - Unsupervised learning. Data sets aren't labeled and are sorted according to similarities or differences.
  - Reinforcement learning. Data sets aren't labeled but, after performing an action or several actions, the AI system is given feedback.
- Machine vision. This technology gives a machine the ability to see. Machine vision captures and analyzes visual information using a camera, analog-to-digital conversion and digital signal processing. It is often compared to human eyesight, but machine vision isn't bound by biology and can be programmed to see through walls, for example. It is used in a range of applications from signature identification to medical image analysis. Computer vision, which is focused on machine-based image processing, is often conflated with machine vision.
- Natural language processing (NLP). This is the processing of human language by a computer program. One of the older and best-known examples of NLP is spam detection, which looks at the subject line and text of an email and decides if it's junk. Current approaches to NLP are based on machine learning. NLP tasks include text translation, sentiment analysis and speech recognition.
- Robotics. This field of engineering focuses on the design and manufacturing of robots. Robots are often used to perform tasks that are difficult for humans to perform or perform consistently. For example, robots are used in assembly lines for car production or by NASA to move large objects in space. Researchers are also using machine learning to build robots that can interact in social settings.
- Self-driving cars. Autonomous vehicles use a combination of computer vision, image recognition and deep learning to build automated skill at piloting a vehicle while staying in a given lane and avoiding unexpected obstructions, such as pedestrians.

WHAT is DEEP LEARNING? HOW ITS WORKS

Deep learning

Deep learning is a type of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) that imitates the way humans gain certain types of knowledge.

What is deep learning?

Deep learning is a type of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) that imitates the way humans gain certain types of knowledge. Deep learning is an important element of data science, which includes statistics and predictive modeling. It is extremely beneficial to data scientists who are tasked with collecting, analyzing and interpreting large amounts of data; deep learning makes this process faster and easier.

At its simplest, deep learning can be thought of as a way to automate predictive analytics. While traditional machine learning algorithms are linear, deep learning algorithms are stacked in a hierarchy of increasing complexity and abstraction.

To understand deep learning, imagine a toddler whose first word is dog. The toddler learns what a dog is -- and is not -- by pointing to objects and saying the word dog. The parent says, "Yes, that is a dog," or, "No, that is not a dog." As the toddler continues to point to objects, he becomes more aware of the features that all dogs possess. What the toddler does, without knowing it, is clarify a complex abstraction -- the concept of dog -- by building a hierarchy in which each level of abstraction is created with knowledge that was gained from the preceding layer of the hierarchy.

How deep learning works

Computer programs that use deep learning go through much the same process as the toddler learning to identify the dog. Each algorithm in the hierarchy applies a nonlinear transformation to its input and uses what it learns to create a statistical model as output. Iterations continue until the output has reached an acceptable level of accuracy. The number of processing layers through which data must pass is what inspired the label deep.

In traditional machine learning, the learning process is supervised, and the programmer has to be extremely specific when telling the computer what types of things it should be looking for to decide if an image contains a dog or does not contain a dog. This is a laborious process called feature extraction, and the computer's success rate depends entirely upon the programmer's ability to accurately define a feature set for dog. The advantage of deep learning is the program builds the feature set by itself without supervision. Unsupervised learning is not only faster, but it is usually more accurate.

Initially, the computer program might be provided with training data -- a set of images for which a human has labeled each image dog or not dog with metatags. The program uses the information it receives from the training data to create a feature set for dog and build a predictive model. In this case, the model the computer first creates might predict that anything in an image that has four legs and a tail should be labeled dog. Of course, the program is not aware of the labels four legs or tail. It will simply look for patterns of pixels in the digital data. With each iteration, the predictive model becomes more complex and more accurate.

Unlike the toddler, who will take weeks or even months to understand the concept of dog, a computer program that uses deep learning algorithms can be shown a training set and sort through millions of images, accurately identifying which images have dogs in them within a few minutes.

To achieve an acceptable level of accuracy, deep learning programs require access to immense amounts of training data and processing power, neither of which were easily available to programmers until the era of big data and cloud computing. Because deep learning programming can create complex statistical models directly from its own iterative output, it is able to create accurate predictive models from large quantities of unlabeled, unstructured data. This is important as the internet of things (IoT) continues to become more pervasive because most of the data humans and machines create is unstructured and is not labeled.

Deep learning methods

Various methods can be used to create strong deep learning models. These techniques include learning rate decay, transfer learning, training from scratch and dropout.

Learning rate decay. The learning rate is a hyperparameter -- a factor that defines the system or set conditions for its operation prior to the learning process -- that controls how much change the model experiences in response to the estimated error every time the model weights are altered. Learning rates that are too high may result in unstable training processes or the learning of a suboptimal set of weights. Learning rates that are too small may produce a lengthy training process that has the potential to get stuck.

The learning rate decay method -- also called learning rate annealing or adaptive learning rates -- is the process of adapting the learning rate to increase performance and reduce training time. The easiest and most common adaptations of learning rate during training include techniques to reduce the learning rate over time.

Transfer learning. This process involves perfecting a previously trained model; it requires an interface to the internals of a preexisting network. First, users feed the existing network new data containing previously unknown classifications. Once adjustments are made to the network, new tasks can be performed with more specific categorizing abilities. This method has the advantage of requiring much less data than others, thus reducing computation time to minutes or hours.

Training from scratch. This method requires a developer to collect a large labeled data set and configure a network architecture that can learn the features and model. This technique is especially useful for new applications, as well as applications with a large number of output categories. However, overall, it is a less common approach, as it requires inordinate amounts of data, causing training to take days or weeks.

Dropout. This method attempts to solve the problem of overfitting in networks with large amounts of parameters by randomly dropping units and their connections from the neural network during training. It has been proven that the dropout method can improve the performance of neural networks on supervised learning tasks in areas such as speech recognition, document classification and computational biology.

Deep learning neural networks?

A type of advanced machine learning algorithm, known as an artificial neural network, underpins most deep learning models. As a result, deep learning may sometimes be referred to as deep neural learning or deep neural networking.

Neural networks come in several different forms, including recurrent neural networks, convolutional neural networks, artificial neural networks and feedforward neural networks, and each has benefits for specific use cases. However, they all function in somewhat similar ways -- by feeding data in and letting the model figure out for itself whether it has made the right interpretation or decision about a given data element.

Neural networks involve a trial-and-error process, so they need massive amounts of data on which to train. It's no coincidence neural networks became popular only after most enterprises embraced big data analytics and accumulated large stores of data. Because the model's first few iterations involve somewhat educated guesses on the contents of an image or parts of speech, the data used during the training stage must be labeled so the model can see if its guess was accurate. This means, though many enterprises that use big data have large amounts of data, unstructured data is less helpful. Unstructured data can only be analyzed by a deep learning model once it has been trained and reaches an acceptable level of accuracy, but deep learning models can't train on unstructured data.

Deep learning examples

Because deep learning models process information in ways similar to the human brain, they can be applied to many tasks people do. Deep learning is currently used in most common image recognition tools, natural language processing (NLP) and speech recognition software. These tools are starting to appear in applications as diverse as self-driving cars and language translation services.

Use cases today for deep learning include all types of big data analytics applications, especially those focused on NLP, language translation, medical diagnosis, stock market trading signals, network security and image recognition.

Specific fields in which deep learning is currently being used include the following:

Customer experience (CX). Deep learning models are already being used for chatbots. And, as it continues to mature, deep learning is expected to be implemented in various businesses to improve CX and increase customer satisfaction.
Text generation. Machines are being taught the grammar and style of a piece of text and are then using this model to automatically create a completely new text matching the proper spelling, grammar and style of the original text.
Aerospace and military. Deep learning is being used to detect objects from satellites that identify areas of interest, as well as safe or unsafe zones for troops.
Industrial automation. Deep learning is improving worker safety in environments like factories and warehouses by providing services that automatically detect when a worker or object is getting too close to a machine.
Adding color. Color can be added to black-and-white photos and videos using deep learning models. In the past, this was an extremely time-consuming, manual process.
Medical research. Cancer researchers have started implementing deep learning into their practice as a way to automatically detect cancer cells.
Computer vision. Deep learning has greatly enhanced computer vision, providing computers with extreme accuracy for object detection and image classification, restoration and segmentation.

Limitations and challenges

The biggest limitation of deep learning models is they learn through observations. This means they only know what was in the data on which they trained. If a user has a small amount of data or it comes from one specific source that is not necessarily representative of the broader functional area, the models will not learn in a way that is generalizable.

The issue of biases is also a major problem for deep learning models. If a model trains on data that contains biases, the model will reproduce those biases in its predictions. This has been a vexing problem for deep learning programmers because models learn to differentiate based on subtle variations in data elements. Often, the factors it determines are important are not made explicitly clear to the programmer. This means, for example, a facial recognition model might make determinations about people's characteristics based on things like race or gender without the programmer being aware.

The learning rate can also become a major challenge to deep learning models. If the rate is too high, then the model will converge too quickly, producing a less-than-optimal solution. If the rate is too low, then the process may get stuck, and it will be even harder to reach a solution.

The hardware requirements for deep learning models can also create limitations. Multicore high-performing graphics processing units (GPUs) and other similar processing units are required to ensure improved efficiency and decreased time consumption. However, these units are expensive and use large amounts of energy. Other hardware requirements include random access memory and a hard disk drive (HDD) or RAM-based solid-state drive (SSD).

Other limitations and challenges include the following:

Deep learning requires large amounts of data. Furthermore, the more powerful and accurate models will need more parameters, which, in turn, require more data.
Once trained, deep learning models become inflexible and cannot handle multitasking. They can deliver efficient and accurate solutions but only to one specific problem. Even solving a similar problem would require retraining the system.
Any application that requires reasoning -- such as programming or applying the scientific method -- long-term planning and algorithmlike data manipulation is completely beyond what current deep learning techniques can do, even with large data.

Deep learning vs. machine learning

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that differentiates itself through the way it solves problems. Machine learning requires a domain expert to identify most applied features. On the other hand, deep learning understands features incrementally, thus eliminating the need for domain expertise. This makes deep learning algorithms take much longer to train than machine learning algorithms, which only need a few seconds to a few hours. However, the reverse is true during testing. Deep learning algorithms take much less time to run tests than machine learning algorithms, whose test time increases along with the size of the data.

Furthermore, machine learning does not require the same costly, high-end machines and high-performing GPUs that deep learning does.

In the end, many data scientists choose traditional machine learning over deep learning due to its superior interpretability, or the ability to make sense of the solutions. Machine learning algorithms are also preferred when the data is small.

Instances where deep learning becomes preferable include situations where there is a large amount of data, a lack of domain understanding for feature introspection, or complex problems, such as speech recognition and NLP.

Tuesday, 19 July 2022

WHAT is MACHINE LEARNING? INTRODUCTION of MACHINE LEARNING

machine learning

Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that allows software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning algorithms use historical data as input to predict new output values.

What is machine learning?

Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that allows software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning algorithms use historical data as input to predict new output values.

Recommendation engines are a common use case for machine learning. Other popular uses include fraud detection, spam filtering, malware threat detection, business process automation (BPA) and Predictive maintenance.

Why is machine learning important?

Machine learning is important because it gives enterprises a view of trends in customer behavior and business operational patterns, as well as supports the development of new products. Many of today's leading companies, such as Facebook, Google and Uber, make machine learning a central part of their operations. Machine learning has become a significant competitive differentiator for many companies.

What are the different types of machine learning?

Classical machine learning is often categorized by how an algorithm learns to become more accurate in its predictions. There are four basic approaches:supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning and reinforcement learning. The type of algorithm data scientists choose to use depends on what type of data they want to predict.

Supervised learning: In this type of machine learning, data scientists supply algorithms with labeled training data and define the variables they want the algorithm to assess for correlations. Both the input and the output of the algorithm is specified.
Unsupervised learning: This type of machine learning involves algorithms that train on unlabeled data. The algorithm scans through data sets looking for any meaningful connection. The data that algorithms train on as well as the predictions or recommendations they output are predetermined.
Semi-supervised learning: This approach to machine learning involves a mix of the two preceding types. Data scientists may feed an algorithm mostly labeled training data, but the model is free to explore the data on its own and develop its own understanding of the data set.
Reinforcement learning: Data scientists typically use reinforcement learning to teach a machine to complete a multi-step process for which there are clearly defined rules. Data scientists program an algorithm to complete a task and give it positive or negative cues as it works out how to complete a task. But for the most part, the algorithm decides on its own what steps to take along the way.

How does supervised machine learning work?

Supervised machine learning requires the data scientist to train the algorithm with both labeled inputs and desired outputs. Supervised learning algorithms are good for the following tasks:

Binary classification: Dividing data into two categories.
Multi-class classification: Choosing between more than two types of answers.
Regression modeling: Predicting continuous values.
Ensembling: Combining the predictions of multiple machine learning models to produce an accurate prediction.

How does unsupervised machine learning work?

Unsupervised machine learning algorithms do not require data to be labeled. They sift through unlabeled data to look for patterns that can be used to group data points into subsets. Most types of deep learning, including neural networks, are unsupervised algorithms. Unsupervised learning algorithms are good for the following tasks:

Clustering: Splitting the dataset into groups based on similarity.
Anomaly detection: Identifying unusual data points in a data set.
Association mining: Identifying sets of items in a data set that frequently occur together.
Dimensionality reduction: Reducing the number of variables in a data set.
How does semi-supervised learning work?
Semi-supervised learning works by data scientists feeding a small amount of labeled training data to an algorithm. From this, the algorithm learns the dimensions of the data set, which it can then apply to new, unlabeled data. The performance of algorithms typically improves when they train on labeled data sets. But labeling data can be time consuming and expensive. Semi-supervised learning strikes a middle ground between the performance of supervised learning and the efficiency of unsupervised learning. Some areas where semi-supervised learning is used include:
- Machine translation: Teaching algorithms to translate language based on less than a full dictionary of words.
- Fraud detection: Identifying cases of fraud when you only have a few positive examples.
- Labelling data: Algorithms trained on small data sets can learn to apply data labels to larger sets automatically.
How does reinforcement learning work?
Reinforcement learning works by programming an algorithm with a distinct goal and a prescribed set of rules for accomplishing that goal. Data scientists also program the algorithm to seek positive rewards -- which it receives when it performs an action that is beneficial toward the ultimate goal -- and avoid punishments -- which it receives when it performs an action that gets it farther away from its ultimate goal. Reinforcement learning is often used in areas such as:
- Robotics: Robots can learn to perform tasks the physical world using this technique.
- Video gameplay: Reinforcement learning has been used to teach bots to play a number of video games.
- Resource management: Given finite resources and a defined goal, reinforcement learning can help enterprises plan out how to allocate resources.
Machine learning is like statistics on steroids.
Who's using machine learning and what's it used for?
Today, machine learning is used in a wide range of applications. Perhaps one of the most well-known examples of machine learning in action is the recommendation engine that powers Facebook's news feed.
Facebook uses machine learning to personalize how each member's feed is delivered. If a member frequently stops to read a particular group's posts, the recommendation engine will start to show more of that group's activity earlier in the feed.
Behind the scenes, the engine is attempting to reinforce known patterns in the member's online behavior. Should the member change patterns and fail to read posts from that group in the coming weeks, the news feed will adjust accordingly.
In addition to recommendation engines, other uses for machine learning include the following:
- Customer relationship management. CRM software can use machine learning models to analyze email and prompt sales team members to respond to the most important messages first. More advanced systems can even recommend potentially effective responses.
- Business intelligence. BI and analytics vendors use machine learning in their
- software to identify potentially important data points, patterns of data points and anomalies.
- Human resource information systems. HRIS systems can use machine learning models to filter through applications and identify the best candidates for an open position.
- Self-driving cars. Machine learning algorithms can even make it possible for a semi-autonomous car to recognize a partially visible object and alert the driver.
- Virtual assistants. Smart assistants typically combine supervised and unsupervised machine learning models to interpret natural speech and supply context.

Wednesday, 20 July 2022