Machine learning

Machine learning is an area of artificial intelligence involving developing
techniques to allow computers to "learn". More specifically, machine
learning is a method for creating computer programs by the analysis of data
sets, rather than the intuition of engineers.

Machine learning algorithms are organized into a taxonomy, based on the
desired outcome of the algorithm. Common algorithm types include:

   * supervised learning --- where the algorithm generates a function that
     maps inputs to desired outputs.
   * unsupervised learning --- where the algorithm generates a model for a
     set of inputs.
   * reinforcement learning --- where the algorithm learns a policy of how
     to act given an observation of the world.
   * learning to learn --- where the algorithm learns its own inductive bias
     based on previous experience.

The analysis of machine learning algorithms is a branch of statistics known
as learning theory.