Framing

a Learning Problem

40
 Designing a Learning System
• Choose the training experience
• Choose exactly what is to be learned
– i.e. the target function
• Choose how to represent the target function
• Choose a learning algorithm to infer the target
function from the experience

Training data Learner

Environment/
Experience Knowledge

Testing data
Performance
Element 41
Based on slide by Ray Mooney
 Training vs. Test Distribution
• We generally assume that the training and
test examples are independently drawn from
the same overall distribution of data
– We call this “i.i.d” which stands for “independent
and identically distributed”

• If examples are not independent, requires

collective classification
• If test distribution is different, requires
transfer learning
42
Slide credit: Ray Mooney
 ML in a Nutshell
• Tens of thousands of machine learning
algorithms
– Hundreds new every year

• Every ML algorithm has three components:

– Representation
– Optimization
– Evaluation

43
Slide credit: Pedro Domingos
 Various Function Representations
• Numerical functions
– Linear regression
– Neural networks
– Support vector machines
• Symbolic functions
– Decision trees
– Rules in propositional logic
– Rules in first-order predicate logic
• Instance-based functions
– Nearest-neighbor
– Case-based
• Probabilistic Graphical Models
– Naïve Bayes
– Bayesian networks
– Hidden-Markov Models (HMMs)
– Probabilistic Context Free Grammars (PCFGs)
– Markov networks

44
Slide credit: Ray Mooney
 Various Search/Optimization
Algorithms
• Gradient descent
– Perceptron
– Backpropagation
• Dynamic Programming
– HMM Learning
– PCFG Learning
• Divide and Conquer
– Decision tree induction
– Rule learning
• Evolutionary Computation
– Genetic Algorithms (GAs)
– Genetic Programming (GP)
– Neuro-evolution

45
Slide credit: Ray Mooney
 Evaluation
• Accuracy
• Precision and recall
• Squared error
• Likelihood
• Posterior probability
• Cost / Utility
• Margin
• Entropy
• K-L divergence
• etc.

47
Slide credit: Pedro Domingos
 ML in Practice
• Understand domain, prior knowledge, and goals
• Data integration, selection, cleaning, pre-processing, etc.
Loop • Learn models
• Interpret results
• Consolidate and deploy discovered knowledge

48
Based on a slide by Pedro Domingos
 Lessons Learned about Learning
• Learning can be viewed as using direct or indirect
experience to approximate a chosen target function.

• Function approximation can be viewed as a search

through a space of hypotheses (representations of
functions) for one that best fits a set of training data.

• Different learning methods assume different

hypothesis spaces (representation languages) and/or
employ different search techniques.

49
Slide credit: Ray Mooney
A Brief History of
Machine Learning

50
 History of Machine Learning
• 1950s
– Samuel’s checker player
– Selfridge’s Pandemonium
• 1960s:
– Neural networks: Perceptron
– Pattern recognition
– Learning in the limit theory
– Minsky and Papert prove limitations of Perceptron
• 1970s:
– Symbolic concept induction
– Winston’s arch learner
– Expert systems and the knowledge acquisition bottleneck
– Quinlan’s ID3
– Michalski’s AQ and soybean diagnosis
– Scientific discovery with BACON
– Mathematical discovery with AM

51
Slide credit: Ray Mooney
 History of Machine Learning (cont.)
• 1980s:
– Advanced decision tree and rule learning
– Explanation-based Learning (EBL)
– Learning and planning and problem solving
– Utility problem
– Analogy
– Cognitive architectures
– Resurgence of neural networks (connectionism, backpropagation)
– Valiant’s PAC Learning Theory
– Focus on experimental methodology
• 1990s
– Data mining
– Adaptive software agents and web applications
– Text learning
– Reinforcement learning (RL)
– Inductive Logic Programming (ILP)
– Ensembles: Bagging, Boosting, and Stacking
– Bayes Net learning
52
Slide credit: Ray Mooney
 History of Machine Learning (cont.)
• 2000s
– Support vector machines & kernel methods
– Graphical models
– Statistical relational learning
– Transfer learning
– Sequence labeling
– Collective classification and structured outputs
– Computer Systems Applications (Compilers, Debugging, Graphics, Security)
– E-mail management
– Personalized assistants that learn
– Learning in robotics and vision
• 2010s
– Deep learning systems
– Learning for big data
– Bayesian methods
– Multi-task & lifelong learning
– Applications to vision, speech, social networks, learning to read, etc.
– ???
53
Based on slide by Ray Mooney
 What We’ll Cover in this Course
• Supervised learning • Unsupervised learning
– Decision tree induction – Clustering
– Linear regression – Dimensionality reduction
– Logistic regression • Reinforcement learning
– Support vector machines – Temporal difference
& kernel methods learning
– Model ensembles – Q learning
– Bayesian learning • Evaluation
– Neural networks & deep
learning • Applications
– Learning theory

Our focus will be on applying machine learning to real applications

54