Successful Machine Learning: Part 1 (Questions and Baselining)
Monday, May 17th, 2021
In this series of posts, I’m delving into the limitations of machine learning and AI, hamstrung by current techniques, while considering technologies and practices to transform business intelligence efforts beyond the status quo.
Question of Intelligence
What is intelligence? What underlies intelligence? What aspects of intelligence do we want machine learning to demonstrate? What is artificial intelligence as opposed to intelligence? What capabilities does a computer need to achieve intelligence? Can programs be written to derive intelligence within a modern computer?
Questions delving into intelligent systems go on and on. I’m going to spend a few blog entries exploring machine learning and our quest to create and benefit from intelligent computer systems. Through this discussion, I’ll explore these questions.
Framing the Discussion
Note that my focus is business automation, what are organizations seeking to gain from machine learning and intelligent systems. I am purposefully avoiding a philosophical discussion of intelligence. To that end, a primary assumption is that we are interested in applying human-style intelligence to advance business or operational success. Put another way, animals and plants demonstrate intelligence of differing types; however, mimicking these is not an organization’s goal when employing machine learning.
Key Terms
To begin, I need working definitions for learning and intelligence. These will serve as touchstones for exploring computer-based learning and intelligence. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary provides helpful initial entries for each. The definition for “learn” is “to gain knowledge or understanding of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience.” While “Intelligence” is defined in two parts, “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations” and “the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (such as tests).”
The terms knowledge and understanding appear in both definitions and are vital to successful machine learning applications. Knowledge and understanding are based on information.