Unit 1
Well-Posed Learning Problems
Well Posed Learning Problem - Definition
• Well Posed Learning Problem – A computer program is said to
learn from experience E in context to some task T and some
performance measure P, if its performance on T, as was
measured by P, upgrades with experience E.
• Any problem can be segregated as well-posed learning
problem if it has three traits –
• Task
• Performance Measure
• Experience
Certain examples that efficiently defines the
well-posed learning problem are:
1. To better filter emails as spam or not
• Task – Classifying emails as spam or not
• Performance Measure – The fraction of emails accurately classified as spam
or not spam
• Experience – Observing you label emails as spam or not spam
2. A checkers learning problem
• Task – Playing checkers game
• Performance Measure – percent of games won against opponent
• Experience – playing implementation games against itself
3. Handwriting Recognition Problem
• Task – Acknowledging handwritten words within portrayal
• Performance Measure – percent of words accurately classified
• Experience – a directory of handwritten words with given classifications
4. A Robot Driving Problem
• Task – driving on public four-lane highways using sight scanners
• Performance Measure – average distance progressed before a fallacy
• Experience – order of images and steering instructions noted down
while observing a human driver
5. Fruit Prediction Problem
• Task – forecasting different fruits for recognition
• Performance Measure – able to predict maximum variety of fruits
• Experience – training machine with the largest datasets of fruits images.
6. Face Recognition Problem
• Task – predicting different types of faces
• Performance Measure – able to predict maximum types of faces
• Experience – training machine with maximum amount of datasets of different face
images.
7. Automatic Translation of documents
• Task – translating one type of language used in a document to other language
• Performance Measure – able to convert one language to other efficiently
• Experience – training machine with a large dataset of different types of languages
Perspectives and Issues in Machine Learning
Key concepts of a ML algorithm
• Combinatorial optimization: It is a subset of Mathematical
optimization that consists of finding an optimal object from a finite
set of elements.
• Convex optimization: Studies the problem of minimizing convex
functions over convex sets.
• Convex set is a collection of points in which the line AB connecting
any two points A,B in the set lies completely within the set.
• Constrained optimization : the process of optimizing an objective
function with respect to some variables in the presence of constraints
on those variables
Issues in Machine Learning
1. Which algorithms perform best for which types of problems and
representations? What algorithms exist for learning general target
functions from specific training examples? In what settings will
particular algorithms converge to the desired function, given sufficient
training data?
2. How much training data is sufficient? What general bounds can be
found to relate the confidence in learned hypotheses to the amount of
training experience and the character of the learner’s hypothesis
space?
Issues in Machine Learning
3. When and how can prior knowledge held by the learner guide the process
of generalizing from examples? Can prior knowledge be helpful even when it
is only approximately correct?
4. What is the best strategy for choosing a useful next training experience,
and how does the choice of this strategy alter the complexity of the learning
problem?
5. What is the best way to reduce the learning task to one or more function
approximation problems? Put another way, what specific functions should
the system attempt to learn? Can this process itself be automated?
6. How can the learner automatically alter its representation to improve its
ability to represent and learn the target function?
