Machine Learning Tutorial

Machine Learning tutorial provides basic and advanced concepts of machine learning.
Our machine learning tutorial is designed for students and working professionals.

Machine learning is a growing technology which enables computers to learn

automatically from past data. Machine learning uses various algorithms for building
mathematical models and making predictions using historical data or
information. Currently, it is being used for various tasks such as image
recognition, speech recognition, email filtering, Facebook auto-
tagging, recommender system, and many more.

This machine learning tutorial gives you an introduction to machine learning along
with the wide range of machine learning techniques such
as Supervised, Unsupervised, and Reinforcement learning. You will learn about
regression and classification models, clustering methods, hidden Markov models, and
various sequential models.

What is Machine Learning

In the real world, we are surrounded by humans who can learn everything from their
experiences with their learning capability, and we have computers or machines which
work on our instructions. But can a machine also learn from experiences or past data
like a human does? So here comes the role of Machine Learning.
Machine Learning is said as a subset of artificial intelligence that is mainly concerned
with the development of algorithms which allow a computer to learn from the data
and past experiences on their own. The term machine learning was first introduced
by Arthur Samuel in 1959. We can define it in a summarized way as:

Machine learning enables a machine to automatically learn from data, improve

performance from experiences, and predict things without being explicitly programmed.

With the help of sample historical data, which is known as training data, machine
learning algorithms build a mathematical model that helps in making predictions or
decisions without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning brings computer
science and statistics together for creating predictive models. Machine learning
constructs or uses the algorithms that learn from historical data. The more we will
provide the information, the higher will be the performance.

A machine has the ability to learn if it can improve its performance by gaining
more data.

How does Machine Learning work

A Machine Learning system learns from historical data, builds the prediction
models, and whenever it receives new data, predicts the output for it. The
accuracy of predicted output depends upon the amount of data, as the huge amount
of data helps to build a better model which predicts the output more accurately.
Suppose we have a complex problem, where we need to perform some predictions, so
instead of writing a code for it, we just need to feed the data to generic algorithms,
and with the help of these algorithms, machine builds the logic as per the data and
predict the output. Machine learning has changed our way of thinking about the
problem. The below block diagram explains the working of Machine Learning
algorithm:

Features of Machine Learning:

o Machine learning uses data to detect various patterns in a given dataset.
o It can learn from past data and improve automatically.
o It is a data-driven technology.
o Machine learning is much similar to data mining as it also deals with the huge
amount of the data.

Need for Machine Learning

The need for machine learning is increasing day by day. The reason behind the need
for machine learning is that it is capable of doing tasks that are too complex for a
person to implement directly. As a human, we have some limitations as we cannot
access the huge amount of data manually, so for this, we need some computer systems
and here comes the machine learning to make things easy for us.

We can train machine learning algorithms by providing them the huge amount of data
and let them explore the data, construct the models, and predict the required output
automatically. The performance of the machine learning algorithm depends on the
amount of data, and it can be determined by the cost function. With the help of
machine learning, we can save both time and money.

The importance of machine learning can be easily understood by its uses cases,
Currently, machine learning is used in self-driving cars, cyber fraud detection, face
recognition, and friend suggestion by Facebook, etc. Various top companies such
as Netflix and Amazon have build machine learning models that are using a vast
amount of data to analyze the user interest and recommend product accordingly.
Following are some key points which show the importance of Machine Learning:

o Rapid increment in the production of data

o Solving complex problems, which are difficult for a human
o Decision making in various sector including finance
o Finding hidden patterns and extracting useful information from data.

Types of Machine Learning

Machine learning is a subset of AI, which enables the machine to automatically
learn from data, improve performance from past experiences, and make
predictions. Machine learning contains a set of algorithms that work on a huge
amount of data. Data is fed to these algorithms to train them, and on the basis of
training, they build the model & perform a specific task.

These ML algorithms help to solve different business problems like Regression,

Classification, Forecasting, Clustering, and Associations, etc.

Based on the methods and way of learning, machine learning is divided into mainly
four types, which are:

1. Supervised Machine Learning

2. Unsupervised Machine Learning
3. Semi-Supervised Machine Learning
4. Reinforcement Learning
In this topic, we will provide a detailed description of the types of Machine Learning
along with their respective algorithms:

Classification of Machine Learning

At a broad level, machine learning can be classified into three types:

1. Supervised learning
2. Unsupervised learning
3. Reinforcement learning
1) Supervised Learning
Supervised learning is a type of machine learning method in which we provide sample
labeled data to the machine learning system in order to train it, and on that basis, it
predicts the output.

The system creates a model using labeled data to understand the datasets and learn
about each data, once the training and processing are done then we test the model
by providing a sample data to check whether it is predicting the exact output or not.

The goal of supervised learning is to map input data with the output data. The
supervised learning is based on supervision, and it is the same as when a student learns
things in the supervision of the teacher. The example of supervised learning is spam
filtering.

Supervised learning can be grouped further in two categories of algorithms:

o Classification
o Regression

Supervised Machine Learning

Supervised learning is the types of machine learning in which machines are trained
using well "labelled" training data, and on basis of that data, machines predict the
output. The labelled data means some input data is already tagged with the correct
output.

In supervised learning, the training data provided to the machines work as the
supervisor that teaches the machines to predict the output correctly. It applies the
same concept as a student learns in the supervision of the teacher.

Supervised learning is a process of providing input data as well as correct output data
to the machine learning model. The aim of a supervised learning algorithm is to find
a mapping function to map the input variable(x) with the output variable(y).

In the real-world, supervised learning can be used for Risk Assessment, Image
classification, Fraud Detection, spam filtering, etc.

How Supervised Learning Works?

In supervised learning, models are trained using labelled dataset, where the model
learns about each type of data. Once the training process is completed, the model is
tested on the basis of test data (a subset of the training set), and then it predicts the
output.

The working of Supervised learning can be easily understood by the below example
and diagram:

Suppose we have a dataset of different types of shapes which includes square,

rectangle, triangle, and Polygon. Now the first step is that we need to train the model
for each shape.

o If the given shape has four sides, and all the sides are equal, then it will be
labelled as a Square.
o If the given shape has three sides, then it will be labelled as a triangle.
o If the given shape has six equal sides then it will be labelled as hexagon.

Now, after training, we test our model using the test set, and the task of the model is
to identify the shape.

The machine is already trained on all types of shapes, and when it finds a new shape,
it classifies the shape on the bases of a number of sides, and predicts the output.

Steps Involved in Supervised Learning:

o First Determine the type of training dataset
o Collect/Gather the labelled training data.
o Split the training dataset into training dataset, test dataset, and validation
dataset.
 o Determine the input features of the training dataset, which should have enough
knowledge so that the model can accurately predict the output.
o Determine the suitable algorithm for the model, such as support vector
machine, decision tree, etc.
o Execute the algorithm on the training dataset. Sometimes we need validation
sets as the control parameters, which are the subset of training datasets.
o Evaluate the accuracy of the model by providing the test set. If the model
predicts the correct output, which means our model is accurate.

Types of supervised Machine learning Algorithms:

Supervised learning can be further divided into two types of problems:

1. Regression

Regression algorithms are used if there is a relationship between the input variable
and the output variable. It is used for the prediction of continuous variables, such as
Weather forecasting, Market Trends, etc. Below are some popular Regression
algorithms which come under supervised learning:

o Linear Regression
o Regression Trees
o Non-Linear Regression
o Bayesian Linear Regression
o Polynomial Regression

2. Classification

Classification algorithms are used when the output variable is categorical, which means
there are two classes such as Yes-No, Male-Female, True-false, etc.
Spam Filtering,

o Random Forest
o Decision Trees
o Logistic Regression
o Support vector Machines

Advantages of Supervised learning:

o With the help of supervised learning, the model can predict the output on the
basis of prior experiences.
o In supervised learning, we can have an exact idea about the classes of objects.
o Supervised learning model helps us to solve various real-world problems such
as fraud detection, spam filtering, etc.

Disadvantages of supervised learning:

o Supervised learning models are not suitable for handling the complex tasks.
o Supervised learning cannot predict the correct output if the test data is different
from the training dataset.
o Training required lots of computation times.
o In supervised learning, we need enough knowledge about the classes of object.

2) Unsupervised Learning
Unsupervised learning is a learning method in which a machine learns without any
supervision.

The training is provided to the machine with the set of data that has not been labeled,
classified, or categorized, and the algorithm needs to act on that data without any
supervision. The goal of unsupervised learning is to restructure the input data into new
features or a group of objects with similar patterns.

In unsupervised learning, we don't have a predetermined result. The machine tries to

find useful insights from the huge amount of data. It can be further classifieds into two
categories of algorithms:
 o Clustering
o Association

Unsupervised Machine Learning

In the previous topic, we learned supervised machine learning in which models are
trained using labeled data under the supervision of training data. But there may be
many cases in which we do not have labeled data and need to find the hidden patterns
from the given dataset. So, to solve such types of cases in machine learning, we need
unsupervised learning techniques.

What is Unsupervised Learning?

As the name suggests, unsupervised learning is a machine learning technique in which
models are not supervised using training dataset. Instead, models itself find the hidden
patterns and insights from the given data. It can be compared to learning which takes
place in the human brain while learning new things. It can be defined as:

Unsupervised learning is a type of machine learning in which models are trained using
unlabeled dataset and are allowed to act on that data without any supervision.

Unsupervised learning cannot be directly applied to a regression or classification

problem because unlike supervised learning, we have the input data but no
corresponding output data. The goal of unsupervised learning is to find the
underlying structure of dataset, group that data according to similarities, and
represent that dataset in a compressed format.

Example: Suppose the unsupervised learning algorithm is given an input dataset

containing images of different types of cats and dogs. The algorithm is never trained
upon the given dataset, which means it does not have any idea about the features of
the dataset. The task of the unsupervised learning algorithm is to identify the image
features on their own. Unsupervised learning algorithm will perform this task by
clustering the image dataset into the groups according to similarities between images.
Why use Unsupervised Learning?
Below are some main reasons which describe the importance of Unsupervised
Learning:

o Unsupervised learning is helpful for finding useful insights from the data.
o Unsupervised learning is much similar as a human learns to think by their own
experiences, which makes it closer to the real AI.
o Unsupervised learning works on unlabeled and uncategorized data which make
unsupervised learning more important.
o In real-world, we do not always have input data with the corresponding output
so to solve such cases, we need unsupervised learning.

Working of Unsupervised Learning

Working of unsupervised learning can be understood by the below diagram:
Here, we have taken an unlabeled input data, which means it is not categorized and
corresponding outputs are also not given. Now, this unlabeled input data is fed to the
machine learning model in order to train it. Firstly, it will interpret the raw data to find
the hidden patterns from the data and then will apply suitable algorithms such as k-
means clustering, Decision tree, etc.

Once it applies the suitable algorithm, the algorithm divides the data objects into
groups according to the similarities and difference between the objects.

Types of Unsupervised Learning Algorithm:

The unsupervised learning algorithm can be further categorized into two types of
problems:
 o Clustering: Clustering is a method of grouping the objects into clusters such
that objects with most similarities remains into a group and has less or no
similarities with the objects of another group. Cluster analysis finds the
commonalities between the data objects and categorizes them as per the
presence and absence of those commonalities.
o Association: An association rule is an unsupervised learning method which is
used for finding the relationships between variables in the large database. It
determines the set of items that occurs together in the dataset. Association rule
makes marketing strategy more effective. Such as people who buy X item
(suppose a bread) are also tend to purchase Y (Butter/Jam) item. A typical
example of Association rule is Market Basket Analysis.

Note: We will learn these algorithms in later chapters.

Unsupervised Learning algorithms:

Below is the list of some popular unsupervised learning algorithms:

o K-means clustering
o KNN (k-nearest neighbors)
o Hierarchal clustering
o Anomaly detection
o Neural Networks
o Principle Component Analysis
o Independent Component Analysis
o Apriori algorithm
o Singular value decomposition

Advantages of Unsupervised Learning

o Unsupervised learning is used for more complex tasks as compared to
supervised learning because, in unsupervised learning, we don't have labeled
input data.
o Unsupervised learning is preferable as it is easy to get unlabeled data in
comparison to labeled data.

Disadvantages of Unsupervised Learning

 o Unsupervised learning is intrinsically more difficult than supervised learning as
it does not have corresponding output.
o The result of the unsupervised learning algorithm might be less accurate as
input data is not labeled, and algorithms do not know the exact output in
advance.

The main differences between Supervised and Unsupervised learning are given below:

Supervised Learning Unsupervised Learning

Supervised learning algorithms are trained using Unsupervised learning algorithms are trained
labeled data. using unlabeled data.

Supervised learning model takes direct feedback to Unsupervised learning model does not take any
check if it is predicting correct output or not. feedback.

Supervised learning model predicts the output. Unsupervised learning model finds the hidden
patterns in data.

In supervised learning, input data is provided to the In unsupervised learning, only input data is
model along with the output. provided to the model.

The goal of supervised learning is to train the model The goal of unsupervised learning is to find the
so that it can predict the output when it is given new hidden patterns and useful insights from the
data. unknown dataset.
Supervised learning needs supervision to train the Unsupervised learning does not need any
model. supervision to train the model.

Supervised learning can be categorized Unsupervised Learning can be classified

in Classification and Regression problems. in Clustering and Associations problems.

Supervised learning can be used for those cases Unsupervised learning can be used for those
where we know the input as well as corresponding cases where we have only input data and no
outputs. corresponding output data.

Supervised learning model produces an accurate Unsupervised learning model may give less
result. accurate result as compared to supervised
learning.

Supervised learning is not close to true Artificial Unsupervised learning is more close to the true
intelligence as in this, we first train the model for Artificial Intelligence as it learns similarly as a
each data, and then only it can predict the correct child learns daily routine things by his
output. experiences.

It includes various algorithms such as Linear It includes various algorithms such as Clustering,
Regression, Logistic Regression, Support Vector KNN, and Apriori algorithm.
Machine, Multi-class Classification, Decision tree,
Bayesian Logic, etc.

3) Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement learning is a feedback-based learning method, in which a learning
agent gets a reward for each right action and gets a penalty for each wrong action.
The agent learns automatically with these feedbacks and improves its performance. In
reinforcement learning, the agent interacts with the environment and explores it. The
goal of an agent is to get the most reward points, and hence, it improves its
performance.

The robotic dog, which automatically learns the movement of his arms, is an example
of Reinforcement learning.

What is Reinforcement Learning?

o Reinforcement Learning is a feedback-based Machine learning technique in which an
agent learns to behave in an environment by performing the actions and seeing the
results of actions. For each good action, the agent gets positive feedback, and for each
bad action, the agent gets negative feedback or penalty.
o In Reinforcement Learning, the agent learns automatically using feedbacks without any
labeled data, unlike supervised learning.
o Since there is no labeled data, so the agent is bound to learn by its experience only.
o RL solves a specific type of problem where decision making is sequential, and the goal
is long-term, such as game-playing, robotics, etc.
o The agent interacts with the environment and explores it by itself. The primary goal of
an agent in reinforcement learning is to improve the performance by getting the
maximum positive rewards.
o The agent learns with the process of hit and trial, and based on the experience, it learns
to perform the task in a better way. Hence, we can say that "Reinforcement learning
is a type of machine learning method where an intelligent agent (computer
program) interacts with the environment and learns to act within that." How a
Robotic dog learns the movement of his arms is an example of Reinforcement learning.
o It is a core part of Artificial intelligence, and all AI agent works on the concept of
reinforcement learning. Here we do not need to pre-program the agent, as it learns
from its own experience without any human intervention.
o Example: Suppose there is an AI agent present within a maze environment, and his
goal is to find the diamond. The agent interacts with the environment by performing
some actions, and based on those actions, the state of the agent gets changed, and it
also receives a reward or penalty as feedback.
o The agent continues doing these three things (take action, change state/remain in
the same state, and get feedback), and by doing these actions, he learns and explores
the environment.
o The agent learns that what actions lead to positive feedback or rewards and what
actions lead to negative feedback penalty. As a positive reward, the agent gets a
positive point, and as a penalty, it gets a negative point.
Terms used in Reinforcement Learning
o Agent(): An entity that can perceive/explore the environment and act upon it.
o Environment(): A situation in which an agent is present or surrounded by. In RL, we
assume the stochastic environment, which means it is random in nature.
o Action(): Actions are the moves taken by an agent within the environment.
o State(): State is a situation returned by the environment after each action taken by the
agent.
o Reward(): A feedback returned to the agent from the environment to evaluate the
action of the agent.
o Policy(): Policy is a strategy applied by the agent for the next action based on the
current state.
o Value(): It is expected long-term retuned with the discount factor and opposite to the
short-term reward.
o Q-value(): It is mostly similar to the value, but it takes one additional parameter as a
current action (a).
Key Features of Reinforcement Learning
o In RL, the agent is not instructed about the environment and what actions need to be
taken.
o It is based on the hit and trial process.
o The agent takes the next action and changes states according to the feedback of the
previous action.
o The agent may get a delayed reward.
o The environment is stochastic, and the agent needs to explore it to reach to get the
maximum positive rewards.

Approaches to implement Reinforcement Learning

There are mainly three ways to implement reinforcement-learning in ML, which are:

1. Value-based:
The value-based approach is about to find the optimal value function, which is the
maximum value at a state under any policy. Therefore, the agent expects the long-term
return at any state(s) under policy π.
2. Policy-based:
Policy-based approach is to find the optimal policy for the maximum future rewards
without using the value function. In this approach, the agent tries to apply such a policy
that the action performed in each step helps to maximize the future reward.
The policy-based approach has mainly two types of policy:
o Deterministic: The same action is produced by the policy (π) at any state.
o Stochastic: In this policy, probability determines the produced action.
3. Model-based: In the model-based approach, a virtual model is created for the
environment, and the agent explores that environment to learn it. There is no particular
solution or algorithm for this approach because the model representation is different
for each environment.

Categories of Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning is categorized mainly into two types of methods/algorithms:
 o Positive Reinforcement Learning: Positive reinforcement learning specifies
increasing the tendency that the required behaviour would occur again by
adding something. It enhances the strength of the behaviour of the agent and
positively impacts it.
o Negative Reinforcement Learning: Negative reinforcement learning works
exactly opposite to the positive RL. It increases the tendency that the specific
behaviour would occur again by avoiding the negative condition.

Real-world Use cases of Reinforcement Learning

o VideoGames:
RL algorithms are much popular in gaming applications. It is used to gain super-
human performance. Some popular games that use RL algorithms
are AlphaGO and AlphaGO Zero.
o ResourceManagement:
The "Resource Management with Deep Reinforcement Learning" paper showed
that how to use RL in computer to automatically learn and schedule resources
to wait for different jobs in order to minimize average job slowdown.
o Robotics:
RL is widely being used in Robotics applications. Robots are used in the
industrial and manufacturing area, and these robots are made more powerful
with reinforcement learning. There are different industries that have their vision
of building intelligent robots using AI and Machine learning technology.
o TextMining
Text-mining, one of the great applications of NLP, is now being implemented
with the help of Reinforcement Learning by Salesforce company.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Reinforcement Learning

Advantages

o It helps in solving complex real-world problems which are difficult to be solved

by general techniques.
o The learning model of RL is similar to the learning of human beings; hence most
accurate results can be found.
o Helps in achieving long term results.

Disadvantage
 o RL algorithms are not preferred for simple problems.
o RL algorithms require huge data and computations.
o Too much reinforcement learning can lead to an overload of states which can
weaken the results.

The curse of dimensionality limits reinforcement learning for real physical systems.

History of Machine Learning

Before some years (about 40-50 years), machine learning was science fiction, but today
it is the part of our daily life. Machine learning is making our day to day life easy
from self-driving cars to Amazon virtual assistant "Alexa". However, the idea
behind machine learning is so old and has a long history. Below some milestones are
given which have occurred in the history of machine learning:

The early history of Machine Learning (Pre-1940):

 o 1834: In 1834, Charles Babbage, the father of the computer, conceived a device
that could be programmed with punch cards. However, the machine was never
built, but all modern computers rely on its logical structure.
o 1936: In 1936, Alan Turing gave a theory that how a machine can determine
and execute a set of instructions.

The era of stored program computers:

o 1940: In 1940, the first manually operated computer, "ENIAC" was invented,
which was the first electronic general-purpose computer. After that stored
program computer such as EDSAC in 1949 and EDVAC in 1951 were invented.
o 1943: In 1943, a human neural network was modeled with an electrical circuit.
In 1950, the scientists started applying their idea to work and analyzed how
human neurons might work.

Computer machinery and intelligence:

o 1950: In 1950, Alan Turing published a seminal paper, "Computer Machinery

and Intelligence," on the topic of artificial intelligence. In his paper, he asked,
"Can machines think?"

Machine intelligence in Games:

o 1952: Arthur Samuel, who was the pioneer of machine learning, created a
program that helped an IBM computer to play a checkers game. It performed
better more it played.
o 1959: In 1959, the term "Machine Learning" was first coined by Arthur Samuel.

The first "AI" winter:

o The duration of 1974 to 1980 was the tough time for AI and ML researchers,
and this duration was called as AI winter.
o In this duration, failure of machine translation occurred, and people had
reduced their interest from AI, which led to reduced funding by the government
to the researches.

Machine Learning from theory to reality

 o 1959: In 1959, the first neural network was applied to a real-world problem to
remove echoes over phone lines using an adaptive filter.
o 1985: In 1985, Terry Sejnowski and Charles Rosenberg invented a neural
network NETtalk, which was able to teach itself how to correctly pronounce
20,000 words in one week.
o 1997: The IBM's Deep blue intelligent computer won the chess game against
the chess expert Garry Kasparov, and it became the first computer which had
beaten a human chess expert.

Machine Learning at 21st century

o 2006: In the year 2006, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton has given a new
name to neural net research as "deep learning," and nowadays, it has become
one of the most trending technologies.
o 2012: In 2012, Google created a deep neural network which learned to
recognize the image of humans and cats in YouTube videos.
o 2014: In 2014, the Chabot "Eugen Goostman" cleared the Turing Test. It was
the first Chabot who convinced the 33% of human judges that it was not a
machine.
o 2014: DeepFace was a deep neural network created by Facebook, and they
claimed that it could recognize a person with the same precision as a human
can do.
o 2016: AlphaGo beat the world's number second player Lee sedol at Go game.
In 2017 it beat the number one player of this game Ke Jie.
o 2017: In 2017, the Alphabet's Jigsaw team built an intelligent system that was
able to learn the online trolling. It used to read millions of comments of
different websites to learn to stop online trolling.

Machine Learning at present:

Now machine learning has got a great advancement in its research, and it is present
everywhere around us, such as self-driving cars, Amazon
Alexa, Catboats, recommender system, and many more. It
includes Supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning with
clustering, classification, decision tree, SVM algorithms, etc.

Modern machine learning models can be used for making various predictions,
including weather prediction, disease prediction, stock market analysis, etc.