This course, taught by Caltech Professor Yaser Abu-Mostafa, serves as an introduction to machine learning, covering fundamental theories and practical applications. Key topics include:
The course aims to provide students with the knowledge necessary to understand and apply machine learning techniques across various fields including engineering, science, finance, and commerce.
This module introduces the learning problem, differentiating between supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning. It also outlines the essential components of the learning problem, setting the foundation for understanding machine learning methodologies.
This module covers the essential aspects of error measurement and the impact of noise on learning. It discusses how to choose error measures wisely and explores the effects of noisy targets on model training and performance.
This module highlights the distinction between training and testing phases in machine learning. It explains mathematical terms related to generalization and what makes a learning model capable of performing well on unseen data.
This module delves into the theory of generalization, explaining how infinite models can learn from finite samples. It presents the most significant theoretical results in machine learning, emphasizing the importance of generalization.
The VC dimension is introduced in this module as a measure of a model's capacity to learn. It explores the relationship between VC dimension, the number of parameters, and degrees of freedom in learning models.
This module discusses the bias-variance tradeoff, breaking down learning performance into competing quantities. It presents learning curves and their significance in understanding model performance and error rates.
This module deepens the understanding of linear models, covering logistic regression, maximum likelihood estimation, and gradient descent. It aims to provide practical insights into building effective linear models.
This module introduces neural networks, a biologically inspired learning model. It covers the efficient backpropagation learning algorithm and the role of hidden layers in enhancing the network's learning capabilities.
This module addresses the issue of overfitting, which occurs when a model fits the training data too closely, including noise. It distinguishes between deterministic and stochastic noise and their implications for model training.
Regularization techniques are explored in this module to prevent overfitting. It discusses hard and soft constraints, augmented error, and weight decay, illustrating methods to improve model robustness.
This module focuses on validation techniques, emphasizing the importance of out-of-sample testing. It covers model selection, the risks of data contamination, and methods such as cross-validation to enhance model evaluation.
This module introduces support vector machines (SVM), one of the most successful learning algorithms. It discusses how SVM achieves complex models while maintaining simplicity, making it a powerful tool in machine learning.
This module covers kernel methods, which extend SVM to infinite-dimensional spaces using the kernel trick. It also discusses how to handle non-separable data using soft margins, enhancing model flexibility.
This module focuses on radial basis functions (RBF), an important learning model that connects various machine learning techniques. It explores RBF's advantages and its applicability in different contexts.
This module outlines three essential learning principles that can lead to pitfalls for practitioners. It covers Occam's razor, sampling bias, and data snooping, emphasizing the importance of awareness in machine learning practices.