Where Does Machine Learning Fit In?

Last Updated on August 16, 2020

Machine Learning is a multidisciplinary field and it can be very confusing when you are getting started to differentiate machine learning from the closely related fields of Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining.

In this post you will learn about those fields that are related to machine learning. Specifically, you will learn about the boundaries of the field by learning how machine learning builds on fields of mathematics and artificial intelligence and is used within fields such as data mining and data science.

Foundations

Machine Learning is built on the field of Mathematics and Computer Science. Specifically, machine learning methods are best described using linear and matrix algebra and their behaviours are best understood using the tools of probability and statistics. The fields of Statistics, Probability and Artificial Intelligence that represent the foundational subjects for machine learning.

Probability

The field of probability theory is the study of characterising the likelihood of random events. Probability theory is a branch of mathematics and provides the basis for the field of statistics.