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Top 10 Machine Learning Algorithms Examples

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Machine learning is a huge, huge market within Artificial Intelligence. Its so successful and so ever-growing that
a recent study actually reported that 25 percent of jobs are going to be replaced with machine learning
algorithms within the next 10 years. According to Forbes, popular machine learning algorithms may replace a
wealth of jobs in fields like manufacturing, transportation (hello, self-driving cars), architecture and healthcare.

Of course, we dont live in a futuristic world where AIs like C3PO can walk around, be our best friends and
perform all the same tasks as a human but with more precision. We still need humans, if only to create artificial
intelligence that actually works (unlike Microsofts racist chatbot). There are plenty of different types of machine
learning algorithms that deeply enhance the world we live in. In fact, you probably use them every day.

What Is a Machine Learning Algorithm?

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Machine Learning algorithms are used in a variety of applications including:

Spam filtering
Image tagging
Self-driving cars
Optical Character Recognition
Predictions
Anomaly detection
Association rules and more

We already know that machine learning is a subfield of Artificial Intelligence. This subfield teaches computers to
perform certain tasks from a set of data without being explicitly programmed to do so. This is where the algorithm
comes in. Machine learning uses an algorithm to translate sets of data into a certain task or answer. This could
be anything from talking to an online chatbot or finding your way in Google Maps.

Some machine learning algorithms are more popular than others. The following are the top 10 machine learning
algorithms based on popularity and real-world usage.

Artificial Neural Networks

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Artificial Neural Networks are named so because theyre based on the structure and functions of real biological
neural networks. Information flows through the network and in response, the neural network changes based on
the input and output. This machine learning algorithm is used in a number of ways:

Character recognition (understanding human handwriting and converting it to text)


Image compression
Stock market prediction
Loan applications

One of the most common uses for Artificial Neural Networks is speech recognition. If youve ever used Siri,
youve probably used an ANN. These types of machine learning algorithms get better with more information
theyre constantly growing. Lets be real: speech recognition has grown leaps and bounds in accuracy over the
last five years.

Nave Bayes Classifier Algorithm

The Nave Bayes Classifier Algorithm is a classification machine learning algorithm that works off of the popular
Bayes Theorem of Probability. Its one of the most popular learning algorithms that groups similarities, and is
usually used in the following ways:

Disease prediction
Document classification

The Nave Bayes Classifier may sound unfamiliar, but youve probably encountered it before. The most popular
examples are your email spam filter and RSS feeds that filter news into specific categories (Politics,
Entertainment, Sports, etc.). This algorithm is particularly useful if you have a moderate or large dataset, if the
data has several attributes that can help classify it and if the attributes that describe a certain classification are
conditionally independent.

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Support Vector Machine Learning Algorithm

Support Vector Machine is one of the many examples of machine learning algorithms catered to classification.
This is used for either classification or regression in instances where the set of data teaches the algorithm about
specific classes so it can classify newly added data. SVM is constantly growing and evolving.

SVM is commonly used in:

Stock Market forecasting


Risk assessment

Most commonly, SVM is used to compare the performance of a stock with other stocks in the same sector. This
helps companies make decisions about where they want to invest.

K-Means Clustering Algorithm

The K-Means Clustering Algorithm is one of the most popular machine learning examples. It is commonly used
in the following applications:
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Search engines like Yahoo and Bing (to identify relevant results)
Data libraries
Google image search

K-Means Clustering is a simple machine learning algorithm used for clustering, meaning it helps group together
similar data sets. This could be anything from images and videos to text documents and web pages. For
example, youre searching Wikipedia for the word Apple. This could bring up results for both Apple, the
technology company, and apple, the fruit. K-Means Clustering would group together results about the technology
company apart from results about the fruit, so you can get meaningful results on the actual topic you want to
read about.

K-Nearest Neighbors Algorithm

Like K-Means Clustering, K-Nearest Neighbors is another classification and regression machine learning
algorithm. Its most commonly used in:

Pattern recognition (like to predict how cancer may spread)


Statistical estimation (like to predict if someone may default on a loan)

K-Nearest Neighbors makes predictions by searching through the whole dataset to find the most similar
instances (the neighbors) and summarizing the output variable for those instances. Objects are classified by
majority votes and assigned the class most common to its neighbors.

Decision Tree Machine Learning Algorithm

Decision Trees are graphical representations that show all possible outcomes of a decision based on certain
conditions. Its typically used for two things to classify or to predict and remains one of the best machine
learning algorithms for classification. It has been used in the following ways:

To help banks classify loan applicants and their probability of defaulting payments
To help Gerber Products decide whether or not to use PVC in their baby products
Identify at-risk patients and disease trends with Guardian, a tool developed by Rush University Medical
Centre

The decision tree algorithm falls into either Classification Trees or Regression Trees. Classification trees are the
default and used to split data into different classes based on the response variable. Regression Trees are used
when the target variable is continuous or numerical. This is typically used in a predictive nature. Because of the
nature of the algorithm, if your data has errors, so will your decision tree. Its best suited towards extensive,
meticulously correct data.

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Apriori Machine Learning Algorithm

Apriori algorithm is a data-mining machine learning algorithm that generates association rules for a given set of
data. It has been used in everything from a college elective system that helps students choose classes to a
database that discovers the social status of diabetic people. Its most popular applications include:

Google auto-complete
Amazon shopping recommendations
Detecting adverse drug reactions

Apriori works by using association rules from a given data set. These rules imply that if A occurs, B also occurs.
For example, Wal-Mart actually used the Apriori algorithm to increase sales of beer. Wal-Mart studied their data
to find that American males who bought diapers on Friday afternoons also frequently bought beer. They moved
the beer next to the diapers, and sales increased.

Apriori is beneficial in more than a couple ways. It also happens to be one of the easiest machine learning
algorithms to implement.

Linear Regression Machine Learning Algorithm

Linear Regression is one of the most interpretable machine learning algorithms. Its easy to explain to others and
requires minimal tuning. This is perhaps why its one of the most popular algorithms. It can be used to:

Estimate Sales
Assess Risk

Linear regression works by showing a relationship between two variables and how the change of one variable
affects the other. This is why its so great in risk assessment and business. For example, health insurance
brokers often use this algorithm to analyze the number of claims per customer against their age. If insurance
companies find that older customers tended to make more claims, they increase rates for older customers. If
they found that older customers didnt have more accidents, they could lower the rates.

Random Forest Machine Learning Algorithm

Random Forests or Random Decision Forests are a machine learning method of classification and regression.

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Youve probably seen them used in the following ways:

To help banks predict high-risk loan applicants


To predict failure or breakdown of a mechanical part
To predict if a patient is likely to develop a chronic disease
To predict the average number of social media shares on a post

Its versatility is what gives this algorithm its popularity. Instead of using a single decision tree, Random Forest
uses a multitude of decision trees to come up with a solid classification or prediction. This ensures more
accurate classification because each decision tree is given slightly different data. These variables are very
effective because they help preserve accuracy when data is missing. Its also fairly resistant to outliers (majority
always rules) and easily implemented in a couple lines of code.

Logistic Regression

No, Logistic Regression isnt for regression problems. Its actually for classification tasks. The algorithm applies
a logistic function to a combination of features which predicts the outcome of a dependent variable. Of course, it
wouldnt be true to the name if the variable wasnt based on already predicted variables. Its split up into three
categories:

Binary Logistic Regression


Multi-nominal Logistic Regression
Ordinal Logistic Regression

Binary Logistic Regression is most commonly used when there are two possible outcomes (yes or no; pass or
fail). This can help in ways such as predicting if a student is likely to pass or fail a course or predicting if a tumor
is cancerous or not. Multi-nominal Logistic Regression has three or more outcomes with no order, and Ordinal
Logistic Regression has three or more outcomes with a natural ordering.

Conclusion

This list of machine learning algorithms is only the very tip of the iceberg. If youre looking to implement artificial
intelligence and machine learning into your business, DevTeamSpace can put you in touch with the developers
who can make it happen. Just .

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