Machine Learning

Machine learning algorithms require the use of various parameters that govern the learning process. These parameters are called hyperparameters, and their optimal values are often unknown a priori. Hyperparameter tuning is the process of selecting the best values of these parameters to improve the performance of a model. In this article, we will explore the basics of hyperparameter tuning and the popular strategies used to accomplish it.  

Understanding hyperparameters 

In machine learning, a model has two types of parameters: Hyperparameters and learned parameters. The learned parameters are updated during the training process, while the hyperparameters are set before the training begins.

Hyperparameters control the model’s behavior, and their values are usually set based on domain knowledge or heuristics. Examples of hyperparameters include learning rate, regularization coefficient, batch size, and the number of hidden layers.

Learn about top 10 machine learning demos in detail 

Why is hyperparameter tuning important? 

The values of hyperparameters significantly affect the performance of a model. Suboptimal values can result in poor performance or overfitting, while optimal values can lead to better generalization and improved accuracy. In summary, hyperparameter tuning is crucial to maximizing the performance of a model. 

Strategies for hyperparameter tuning 

There are different strategies used for hyperparameter tuning, and some of the most popular ones are grid search and randomized search. 

Grid search: This strategy evaluates a range of hyperparameter values by exhaustively searching through all possible combinations of parameter values in a grid. The best combination is selected based on the model’s performance metrics.  

Randomized Search: This strategy evaluates a random set of hyperparameter values within a given range. This approach can be faster than grid search and can still produce good results. 

H3: general hyperparameter tuning strategy 

To effectively tune hyperparameters, it is crucial to follow a general strategy. According to, a general hyperparameter tuning strategy consists of three phases: 

• Preprocessing and feature engineering 
• Initial modeling and hyperparameter selection 
• Refining hyperparameters 

Preprocessing and feature engineering 

The first phase involves preprocessing and feature engineering. This includes data cleaning, data normalization, and feature selection. In this phase, hyperparameters that affect the preprocessing and feature engineering steps are set, such as the number of features to be selected. 

Initial modeling and hyperparameter selection 

The second phase involves initializing the model and selecting a range of hyperparameter values to test. This includes setting the model type and other model-specific hyperparameters, such as the learning rate or the number of hidden layers.  

Refining hyperparameters 

In the final phase, the hyperparameters are fine-tuned by adjusting their values based on the model’s performance metrics. This can be done using gridsearchcv, randomizedsearchcv, or other strategies. 

Most common questions asked about hyperparameters 

Q: Can hyperparameters be learned during training? 

A: No, hyperparameters are set before the training begins and are not updated during the training process.   

Q: Why is it necessary to set the hyperparameters? 

A: Hyperparameters control the learning process of a model, and their values can significantly affect its performance. Setting the hyperparameters helps to improve the model’s accuracy and prevent overfitting. 

Methods for hyperparameter tuning in machine learning

Hyperparameter tuning is an essential step in machine learning to fine-tune models and improve their performance. Several methods are used to tune hyperparameters, including grid search, random search, and bayesian optimization. Here’s a brief overview of each method:  

1. Grid search:

Grid search is a commonly used method for hyperparameter tuning. In this method, a predefined set of hyperparameters is defined, and each combination of hyperparameters is tried to find the best set of values.

Grid search is suitable for small and quick searches of hyperparameter values that are known to perform well generally. However, it may not be an efficient method when the search space is large. 

2. Random search:

Unlike grid search, in a random search, only a part of the parameter values are tried out. In this method, the parameter values are sampled from a given list or specified distribution, and the number of parameter settings that are sampled is given by n_iter.

Random search is appropriate for discovering new hyperparameter values or new combinations of hyperparameters, often resulting in better performance, although it may take more time to complete. 

3. Bayesian optimization:

Bayesian optimization is a method for hyperparameter tuning that aims to find the best set of hyperparameters by building a probabilistic model of the objective function and then searching for the optimal values. This method is suitable when the search space is large and complex.

Bayesian optimization is based on the principle of Bayes’s theorem, which allows the algorithm to update its belief about the objective function as it evaluates more hyperparameters. This method can converge quickly and may result in better performance than grid search and random search.

Choosing the right method for hyperparameter tuning

In conclusion, hyperparameter tuning is essential in machine learning, and several methods can be used to fine-tune models. Grid search is a simple and efficient method for small search spaces, while the random search can be used for discovering new hyperparameter values.

Bayesian optimization is a powerful method for complex and large search spaces that can result in better performance by building a probabilistic model of the objective function. It’s choosing the right method based on the problem at hand is essential. 

Machine Learning (ML) has become an increasingly valuable tool for businesses and organizations to gain insights and make data-driven decisions. However, deploying and maintaining ML models can be a complex and time-consuming process. 

What is MLOps?

MLOps, also known as ML Operations, is a set of practices and tools for streamlining the deployment, maintenance, and management of ML models in a production environment. The goal of MLOps is to ensure that models are reliable, secure, and scalable, while also making it easier for data scientists and engineers to develop, test, and deploy ML models. 

Key components of MLOps 

• Automated Model Building and Deployment: Automated model building and deployment are essential for ensuring that models are accurate and up to date. This can be achieved with tools like continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, which automate the process of building, testing, and deploying models. 

• Monitoring and Maintenance: ML models need to be monitored and maintained to ensure they continue to perform well and provide accurate results. This includes monitoring performance metrics, such as accuracy and recall, tracking and fixing bugs, and other issues. 

• Data Management: Effective data management is crucial for ML models to work well. This includes ensuring that data is properly labeled and processed, managing data quality, and ensuring that the right data is used for training and testing models. 

• Collaboration and Communication: Collaboration and communication between data scientists, engineers, and other stakeholders is essential for successful MLOps. This includes sharing code, documentation, and other information and providing regular updates on the status and performance of models. 

• Security and Compliance: ML models must be secure and comply with regulations, such as data privacy laws. This includes implementing secure data storage, and processing, and ensuring that models do not infringe on privacy rights or compromise sensitive information. 

Advantages of MLOps 

The advantages of MLOps (Machine Learning Operations) are numerous and provide significant benefits to organizations that adopt this practice. Here are some of the key advantages: 

1. Streamlined deployment: MLOps streamlines the deployment of ML models, making it faster and easier for data scientists and engineers to get their models into production. This helps to speed up the time to market for ML projects, which can have a major impact on an organization’s bottom line. 

2. Better accuracy of ML models: MLOps helps to ensure that ML models are reliable and accurate, which is critical for making data-driven decisions. This is achieved through regular monitoring and maintenance of the models and automated tools for building and deploying models. 

3. Collaboration boost between data scientists and engineers: MLOps promotes collaboration and communication between data scientists and engineers, which helps to ensure that models are developed and deployed effectively. This also makes it easier for teams to share code, documentation, and other information, which can lead to more efficient and effective development processes. 

4. Improves data management and compliance with regulations: MLOps helps to improve data management and ensure compliance with regulations, such as data privacy laws. This includes implementing secure data storage, and processing, and ensuring that models do not infringe on privacy rights or compromise sensitive information. 

5. Reduces the risk of errors: MLOps reduces the risk of errors and downtime in ML projects, which can have a major impact on an organization’s reputation and bottom line. This is achieved using automated tools for model building and deployment and through regular monitoring and maintenance of models. 

Best practices for implementing MLOps 

Best practices for implementing ML Ops (Machine Learning Operations) can help organizations to effectively manage the development, deployment, and maintenance of ML models. Here are some of the key best practices: 

• Start with a solid data management strategy: A solid data management strategy is the foundation of MLOps. This includes developing data governance policies, implementing secure data storage and processing, and ensuring that data is accessible and usable by the teams that need it. 
• Use automated tools for model building and deployment: Automated tools are critical for streamlining the development and deployment of ML models. This includes tools for model training, testing, and deployment, and for model version control and continuous integration. 
• Monitor performance metrics regularly: Regular monitoring of performance metrics is an essential part of MLOps. This includes monitoring model performance, accuracy, stability, tracking resource usage, and other key performance indicators. 

• Ensure data privacy and security: MLOps must prioritize data privacy and security, which includes ensuring that data is stored and processed securely and that models do not compromise sensitive information or infringe on privacy rights. This also includes complying with data privacy regulations and standards, such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). 

By following these best practices, organizations can effectively implement MLOps and take full advantage of the benefits of ML. 

Wrapping up 

MLOps is a critical component of ML projects, as it helps organizations to effectively manage the development, deployment, and maintenance of ML models. By implementing ML Ops best practices, organizations can streamline their ML development and deployment processes, ensure that ML models are reliable and accurate, and reduce the risk of errors and downtime in ML projects. 

In conclusion, the importance of MLOps in ML projects cannot be overstated. By prioritizing MLOps, organizations can ensure that they are making the most of the opportunities that ML provides and that they are able to leverage ML to drive growth and competitiveness successfully.

Imbalanced data is a common problem in machine learning, where one class has a significantly higher number of observations than the other. This can lead to biased models and poor performance on the minority class. In this blog, we will discuss techniques for handling imbalanced data and improving model performance.   

Understanding imbalanced data 

Imbalanced data refers to datasets where the distribution of class labels is not equal, with one class having a significantly higher number of observations than the other. This can be a problem for machine learning algorithms, as they can be biased towards the majority class and perform poorly on the minority class. 

Techniques for handling imbalanced data

Dealing with imbalanced data is a common problem in data science, where the target class has an uneven distribution of observations. In classification problems, this can lead to models that are biased toward the majority class, resulting in poor performance of the minority class. To handle imbalanced data, various techniques can be employed. 

 1. Resampling techniques

Resampling techniques involve modifying the original dataset to balance the class distribution. This can be done by either oversampling the minority class or undersampling the majority class. 

Oversampling techniques include random oversampling, synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE), and adaptive synthetic (ADASYN). Undersampling techniques include random undersampling, nearmiss, and tomek links. 

An example of a resampling technique is bootstrap resampling, where you generate new data samples by randomly selecting observations from the original dataset with replacements. These new samples are then used to estimate the variability of a statistic or to construct a confidence interval.  

For instance, if you have a dataset of 100 observations, you can draw 100 new samples of size 100 with replacement from the original dataset. Then, you can compute the mean of each new sample, resulting in 100 new mean values. By examining the distribution of these means, you can estimate the standard error of the mean or the confidence interval of the population mean. 

2. Data augmentation

Data augmentation involves creating additional data points by modifying existing data. This can be done by applying various transformations such as rotations, translations, and flips to the existing data.

Read about top statistical techniques in this blog  

3. Synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE)

SMOTE is a type of oversampling technique that involves creating synthetic examples of the minority class by interpolating between existing minority class examples.

4. Ensemble techniques

Ensemble techniques involve combining multiple models to improve performance. This can be done by using techniques such as bagging, boosting, and stacking.

5. One-class classification

One-class classification involves training a model on only one class and then using it to identify data points that do not belong to that class. This can be useful for identifying anomalies and outliers in the data.

6. Cost-sensitive learning

Cost-sensitive learning involves adjusting the cost of misclassifying data points to account for the class imbalance. This can be done by assigning a higher cost to misclassifying the minority class, which encourages the model to prioritize correctly classifying the minority class.

7. Evaluation metrics for imbalanced data

Evaluation metrics such as precision, recall, and F1 score can be used to evaluate the performance of models on imbalanced data. Additionally, metrics such as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) and the area under the precision-recall curve (AUC-PR) can also be used. 

Choosing the best technique for handling imbalanced data 

After discussing techniques for handling imbalanced data, we learned several approaches that can be used to address the issue. The most common techniques include undersampling, oversampling, and feature selection. 

Undersampling involves reducing the size of the majority class to match that of the minority class, while oversampling involves creating new instances of the minority class to balance the data. Feature selection is the process of selecting only the most relevant features to reduce the noise in the data.  

In conclusion, it is recommended to use both undersampling and oversampling techniques to balance the data, with oversampling being the most effective. However, the choice of technique will ultimately depend on the specific characteristics of the dataset and the problem at hand. 

Data science model deployment can sound intimidating if you have never had a chance to try it in a safe space. Do you want to make a rest API or a full frontend app? What does it take to do either of these? It’s not as hard as you might think. 

In this series, we’ll go through how you can take machine learning models and deploy them to a web app or a rest API (using saturn cloud) so that others can interact. In this app, we’ll let the user make some feature selections and then the model will predict an outcome for them. But using this same idea, you could easily do other things, such as letting the user retrain the model, upload things like images, or conduct other interactions with your model. 

Just to be interesting, we’re going to do this same project with two frameworks, voila and flask, so you can see how they both work and decide what’s right for your needs. In a flask, we’ll create a rest API and a web app version.
A

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Our toolkit 

• saturn cloud (so you can deploy easily!) 
• flask 
• voila 
• plotly (python and js) 
• scikit-learn (for our model)
  A

Other helpful links 

• ipywidgets (helpful for voila) 
• codebook for the dataset 
• plotly.js cheat sheet 
• jinja (helpful for flask)
  A
  

The project – Deploying machine learning models

The first steps of our process are exactly the same, whether we are going for voila or flask. We need to get some data and build a model! I will take the us department of education’s college scorecard data, and build a quick linear regression model that accepts a few inputs and predicts a student’s likely earnings 2 years after graduation. (you can get this data yourself at https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/) 

About measurements 

According to the data codebook: “the cohort of evaluated graduates for earnings metrics consists of those individuals who received federal financial aid, but excludes those who were subsequently enrolled in school during the measurement year, died before the end of the measurement year, received a higher-level credential than the credential level of the field of the study measured, or did not work during the measurement year.” 

Load data 

I already did some data cleaning and uploaded the features I wanted to a public bucket on s3, for easy access. This way, I can load it quickly when the app is run. 

Format for training 

Once we have the dataset, this is going to give us a handful of features and our outcome. We just need to split it between features and target with scikit-learn to be ready to model. (note that all of these functions will be run exactly as written in each of our apps.) 

 Our features are: 

• Region: geographic location of college 
• Locale: type of city or town the college is in 
• Control: type of college (public/private/for-profit) 
• Cipdesc_new: major field of study (cip code) 
• Creddesc: credential (bachelor, master, etc) 
• Adm_rate_all: admission rate 
• Sat_avg_all: average sat score for admitted students (proxy for college prestige) 
• Tuition: cost to attend the institution for one year 

Our target outcome is earn_mdn_hi_2yr: median earnings measured two years after completion of degree. 

Train model 

We are going to use scikit-learn’s pipeline to make our feature engineering as easy and quick as possible. We’re going to return a trained model as well as the r-squared value for the test sample, so we have a quick and straightforward measure of the model’s performance on the test set that we can return along with the model object. 

Now we have a model, and we’re ready to put together the app! All these functions will be run when the app runs, because it’s so fast that it doesn’t make sense to save out a model object to be loaded. If your model doesn’t train this fast, save your model object and return it in your app when you need to predict. 

If you’re interested in learning some valuable tips for machine learning projects, read our blog on machine learning project tips.

Visualization 

In addition to building a model and creating predictions, we want our app to show a visual of the prediction against a relevant distribution. The same plot function can be used for both apps, because we are using plotly for the job. 

The function below accepts the type of degree and the major, to generate the distributions, as well as the prediction that the model has given. That way, the viewer can see how their prediction compares to others. Later, we’ll see how the different app frameworks use the plotly object. 

 

 This is the general visual we’ll be generating — but because it’s plotly, it’ll be interactive! 

You might be wondering whether your favorite visualization library could work here — the answer is, maybe! Every python viz library has idiosyncrasies and is not likely to be supported exactly the same for voila and flask. I chose plotly because it has interactivity and is fully functional in both frameworks, but you are welcome to try your own visualization tool and see how it goes.  

Wrapping up

Are you struggling with managing MLOps tools? In this blog, we’ll show you how to boost your MLOps efficiency with 6 essential tools and platforms. These tools will help you streamline your machine learning workflow, reduce operational overheads, and improve team collaboration and communication.

Machine learning (ML) is the technology that automates tasks and provides insights. It allows data scientists to build models that can automate specific tasks. It comes in many forms, with a range of tools and platforms designed to make working with ML more efficient. It is used by businesses across industries for a wide range of applications, including fraud prevention, marketing automation, customer service, artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots, virtual assistants, and recommendations. Here are the best tools and platforms for MLOps professionals: 

Watch the complete MLOps crash course and add to your knowledge of developing machine learning models. 

Apache Spark 

Apache Spark is an in-memory distributed computing platform. It provides a large cluster of clusters on a single machine. Spark is a general-purpose distributed data processing engine that can handle large volumes of data for applications like data analysis, fraud detection, and machine learning. It features an ML package with machine learning-specific APIs that enable the easy creation of ML models, training, and deployment.  

With Spark, you can build various applications including recommendation engines, fraud detection, and decision support systems. Spark has become the go-to platform for an impressive range of industries and use cases. It excels with large volumes of data in real-time. It offers an affordable price point and is an easy-to-use platform. Spark is well suited to applications that involve large volumes of data, real-time computing, model optimization, and deployment.  

Read about Apache Zeppelin: Magnum Opus of MLOps in detail 

AWS SageMaker 

AWS SageMaker is an AI service that allows developers to build, train and manage AI models. SageMaker boosts machine learning model development with the power of AWS, including scalable computing, storage, networking, and pricing. It offers a complete end-to-end solution, including development tools, execution environments, training models, and deployment.  

AWS SageMaker provides managed services, including model management and lifecycle management using a centralized, debugged model. It also has a model marketplace for customers to choose from a range of models, including custom ones.  

AWS SageMaker also has a CLI for model creation and management. While the service is currently AWS-only, it supports both S3 and Glacier storage. AWS SageMaker is great for building quick models and is a good option for prototyping and testing. It is also useful for training models on smaller datasets. AWS SageMaker is useful for creating basic models, including regression, classification, and clustering. 

Google Cloud Platform 

Google Cloud Platform is a comprehensive offering of cloud computing services. It offers a range of products, including Google Cloud Storage, Google Cloud Deployment Manager, Google Cloud Functions, and others.  

Google Cloud Platform is designed for building large-scale, mission-critical applications. It provides enterprise-class services and capabilities, such as on-demand infrastructure, network, and security. It also offers managed services, including managed storage and managed computing. Google Cloud Platform is a great option for businesses that need high-performance computing, such as data science, AI, machine learning, and financial services. 

Microsoft Azure Machine Learning 

Microsoft Azure Machine Learning is a set of tools for creating, managing, and analyzing models. It has prebuilt models that can be used for training and testing. Once a model is trained, it can be deployed as a web service. 

It also offers tools for creating models from scratch. Machine Learning is a set of techniques that allow computers to make predictions based on data without being programmed to do so. It uses algorithms to find patterns and make predictions based on the data, such as predicting what a user will click on.

Azure Machine Learning has a variety of prebuilt models, such as speech, language, image, and recommendation models. It also has tools for creating custom models. Azure Machine Learning is a great option for businesses that want to rapidly build and deploy predictive models. It is also well suited to model management, including deploying, updating, and managing models.  

Databricks 

Next up in the MLOps efficiency list. we have Databricks which is an open-source, next-generation data management platform. It focuses on two aspects of data management: ETL (extract-transform-load) and data lifecycle management. It has built-in support for machine learning.  

It allows users to design data pipelines, such as extracting data from various sources, transforming that data, and loading it into data storage engines. It also has ML algorithms built into the platform. It provides a variety of tools for data engineering, including model training and deployment. It has built-in support for different machine-learning algorithms, such as classification and regression. Databricks is a good option for business users that want to use machine learning quickly and easily. It is also well suited to data engineering tasks, such as vectorization and model training. 

TensorFlow Extended (TFX) 

TensorFlow is an open-source platform for implementing ML models. TensorFlow offers a wide range of ready-made models for various tasks, along with tools for designing and training models. It also has support for building custom models.  

TensorFlow offers a wide range of models for different tasks, such as speech and language processing, computer vision, and natural language understanding. It has support for a wide range of formats, including CSV, JSON, and HDFS.

TensorFlow also has a large library of machine learning models, such as neural networks, regression, probabilistic models, and collaborative filtering. TensorFlow is a powerful tool for data scientists. It also provides a wide range of ready-made models, making it an easy-to-use platform. TensorFlow is easy to use and comes with many models and algorithms. It has a large community, which makes it a reliable tool.

Key Takeaways 

Machine learning is one of the most important technologies in modern businesses. But finding the right tool and platform can be difficult. To help you with your decisions, here’s a list of the best tools and platforms for MLOps professionals. It is a technology that automates tasks and provides insights. It allows data scientists to build models that can automate specific tasks. ML comes in many forms, with a range of tools and platforms designed to make working with ML more efficient. 

Azure Synapse provides a unified platform to ingest, explore, prepare, transform, manage, and serve data for BI (Business Intelligence) and machine learning needs.

Introduction

Dedicated SQL pools offer fast and reliable data import and analysis, allowing businesses to access accurate insights while optimizing performance and reducing costs. DWUs (Data Warehouse Units) can customize resources and optimize performance and costs. In this blog, we will explore how to optimize performance and reduce costs when using dedicated SQL pools in Azure Synapse Analytics. 

Loading data

When loading data, it is best to use PolyBase for substantial amounts of data or when speed is a priority. PolyBase is a feature that allows you to query and load data from different data sources, like Azure Blob Storage. This makes it optimal for handling large amounts of data or when speed is a priority.

Additionally, using a heap table for temporary data can improve loading speed. A heap table is a temporary table that only exists for a session and is useful when loading data to stage it before running more transformations. 

Clustered column store index

When loading data to a clustered column store table, creating a clustered column store index is essential for query performance. A clustered column store index is created on a table with a clustered column store architecture.  It is a highly compressed and in-memory storage format that stores each column of data separately, resulting in faster query processing and superior query performance. This helps to improve query performance by allowing the database engine to retrieve the required data pages more quickly. 

Managing compute costs

Managing computer costs is also important when working with dedicated SQL pools. One way to do this is by pausing and scaling the dedicated SQL pool. This allows you to only pay for the resources you need and can help you avoid unnecessary expenses. Additionally, using the appropriate resource class can improve query performance.

SQL pools use resource groups to allocate memory to queries. Initially, all users are assigned to the small resource class, which grants 100 MB of memory per distribution. However, more significant memory allocations will benefit certain queries, like large joins or loads to clustered column store tables. 

Maintaining statistics and performance tuning

To ensure optimal performance, it is essential to keep statistics updated when using dedicated SQL pools. The quality of the query plans generated by the optimizer depends on the accuracy of the statistics, so it is necessary to make sure statistics on columns used in queries are current. Performance tuning is another crucial aspect of working with dedicated SQL pools.

One way to improve query performance is using materialized views, ordered clustered column store index, and result set caching. Additionally, it is a good practice to group INSERT statements into batches to optimize large amounts of data loading. 

Hash distributes large tables and partitioning data

When using dedicated SQL pools, it is recommended to hash-distribute large tables instead of relying on the default Round Robin distribution. It is also important to be mindful when partitioning data, as too many partitions can impact performance negatively. Partitioning can be beneficial for managing data through partition switching or optimizing scans, but it should be done carefully. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, working with dedicated SQL pools in Azure Synapse Analytics requires a comprehensive understanding of best practices for loading data, managing compute costs, utilizing PolyBase, maintaining statistics, performance tuning, hash distributing large tables, and partitioning data.

By following these best practices, you can achieve optimal performance and reduce costs with your dedicated SQL pools in Azure Synapse Analytics. It is important to remember that Azure Synapse Analytics is a complex platform. These best practices will help you in your data processing and analytics journey.   

Machine learning is the way of the future. Discover the importance of data collection, finding the right skill sets, performance evaluation, and security measures to optimize your next machine learning project. 

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Billions of users use various social media daily and see a lot of new suggestions there. The content includes text, images, videos, and so on depending on the social platform. Do you know how that content is suggested? 

We will learn about it in this blog.
 

Recommendation system: 

It is an algorithm that suggests relevant products to users based on a variety of factors. Sometimes, when you search for a certain product on a website you notice that you start receiving several suggestions of similar products, there is a system behind this. It is generally used to target potential users more efficiently and improve the user experience by suggesting new items, saving users’ time, and narrowing down the set of choices. 

Learn about Data Science here

Watch the video to see what a recommendation system is and how it is used in various real-world applications. 

Introduction to Recommender Systems 

Now that we know the concept, let’s dive deeper into a real-world application to better comprehend it. 

YouTube’s recommendation system journey

YouTube has over 800 million videos, which is about 17,810 years of continuous video watching. It is hard for a user to repeatedly search for certain sorts of videos from millions of videos. This problem is solved by recommendation systems, which provide relevant videos based on what you are currently watching.

The system also works when you open YouTube’s home page and do not watch any videos. In this case, it shows the mixture of the subscribed, most up-to-date, promoted, and most recently watched videos.  

Let’s discuss the journey of the recommendation system on YouTube. 

In 2008, YouTube’s recommendation system ranked videos based on popularity. The issue with this approach was sometimes violent or racy videos get popular. To avoid this, YouTube built classifiers to identify this type of content and avoid recommending them. After a couple of years, YouTube started to incorporate video watch time in its recommendation system.

The reason for this was that users often watched different types of videos and there were different recommendations for them. Later, YouTube took surveys where users rated the watched videos and answered the questions upon giving low or high stars.  

Soon, YouTube’s management realized that everyone did not fill out the survey. So, YouTube trained a machine learning model on completed surveys and predicted the survey responses. YouTube did not stop there; they started to consider the likes/dislikes and share information to make the recommender system better.  

Nowadays, they are also using classifiers to identify authoritative and borderline (doesn’t quite violate community) content to make a better recommender system. 

Read more about social media algorithms in this blog

Before diving deep into the technical detail, let’s first discuss common types of recommendation systems. 

Classification of recommendation system:  

These types of recommendation systems are widely used in industry to solve different problems. We will go through these briefly. 

1. Content-based recommendation system

 According to the user’s past behavior or explicit feedback, content-based filtering uses item features (such as keywords, categories, etc.) to suggest additional items that are similar to what they already enjoy. 

2. Collaborative recommendation system 

Collaborative filtering gives information based on interactions and data acquired by the system from other users. It is divided into two types: memory-based, and model-based systems. 

a) Memory-based system 

This mechanism is further classified as user-based and item-based filtering. In the user-based approach, recommendations are made based on the user’s preferences that are similar to the preferences of other users. In the item-based approach, recommendations are made based on items similar to other items the active user likes. 

Let’s see the below illustration to understand the difference:  

b) Model-based system 

This mechanism provides recommendations by developing machine learning models from users’ ratings. A few commonly used machine learning models are clustering-based, matrix factorization-based, and deep learning models.  

2. Demographic-based recommendation system 

This system provides recommendations based on user demographic attributes, such as age, sex, and location. This system uses demographic information, such as a user’s age, gender, and location, to provide personalized recommendations. This type of system uses data about a user’s characteristics to suggest items that may be of particular interest to them.

For example, a recommendation system might use a user’s age and location to suggest events or activities in the user’s area that might be of interest to someone in their age group.

3. Knowledge-based recommendation system 

This system offers recommendations based on queries made by the user rather than a user’s rating history. Shortly, it is based on explicit knowledge of the item variety, user preference and suggestion criteria. This strategy is suited for complex domains where products are not acquired frequently, such as houses and automobiles. 

4. Community-based recommendation system 

This system provides recommendations based on user-interacted items within a community that shares a common interest. A community-based recommendation system is a tool that uses the interactions and preferences of a group of people with a shared interest to provide personalized recommendations to individual users.

This type of system takes into account the collective experiences and opinions of the community in order to provide personalized recommendations.

5. Hybrid recommendation system 

This system is a combination of two or more discussed recommendation systems such as content-based, collaborative-based, and so on. Sometimes a single recommendation system cannot solve an issue, thus we must combine two or more recommendation systems. 

We now have a high-level understanding of the various recommendation systems. Recall the YouTube discussion, what do you think, which recommendation method suits YouTube the most. 

It is a memory-based collaborative recommendation system. YouTube can use an item-based approach to suggest videos based on other similar videos using users’ ratings (clicked on and watched videos). To determine the most similar match, we can use matrix factorization. This is a class of collaborative recommendation systems to find the relationship between items’ and users’ entities. However, this approach has numerous limitations, such as  

• Not being suitable for complex relations in the users and items 
• Always recommend popular items 
• Cold start problem (cannot anticipate items and users that we have never encountered in training data) 
• Can only use limited information (only user IDs and item IDs)  

To address the shortcomings of the matrix factorization method, deep neural networks are designed and used by YouTube. Deep learning is based on artificial neural networks, which enable computers to comprehend and make decisions in the same way that the human brain does.

Let’s watch the video below to gain a better understanding of deep learning.

YouTube uses the deep learning model for its video recommendation system. They provide users’ watch history and context to the deep neural network. The network then learns from the provided data and uses the softmax classifier (used for multiclass classification) to differentiate among the videos. This model provides hundreds of videos from a pool of over 800 million videos. This procedure was named “candidate generation” by YouTube.  

But we just need to reveal a few of them to a certain user. So, YouTube created a ranking system in which they provide a rank (score) to each of a few hundred videos. They used the same deep learning model that assigns a score to each video for this. The score may be based on the video that the user watched from any channel and/or the most recently watched video topic.  

Summary 

We studied different recommendation systems that can be used to address various real-world challenges. These systems help to connect people with resources and information that may not have been easily discoverable otherwise, making them a useful tool for solving these challenges.

We discussed the journey of YouTube’s recommendation system, a collaborative system used by YouTube, and examined how YouTube performed well using deep learning in their systems.  

In this blog, we will have a look at the list of top 10 Machine Learning Demos offered by Data Science Dojo that will provide ease to use ML (Machine Learning) techniques free.  

(more…)

Statistical distributions help us understand a problem better by assigning a range of possible values to the variables, making them very useful in data science and machine learning. Here are 6 types of distributions with intuitive examples that often occur in real-life data. 

In statistics, a distribution is simply a way to understand how a set of data points are spread over some given range of values.  

For example, distribution takes place when the merchant and the producer agree to sell the product during a specific time frame. This form of distribution is exhibited by the agreement reached between Apple and AT&T to distribute their products in the United States. 

Types of statistical distributions 

There are several statistical distributions, each representing different types of data and serving different purposes. Here we will cover several commonly used distributions. 

1. Normal Distribution 
2. t-Distribution 
3. Binomial Distribution 
4. Poisson Distribution 
5. Uniform Distribution 

Pro-tip: Enroll in the data science bootcamp today and advance your learning 

1. Normal Distribution 

A normal distribution also known as “Gaussian Distribution” shows the probability density for a population of continuous data (for example height in cm for all NBA players). Also, it indicates the likelihood that any NBA player will have a particular height. Let’s say fewer players are much taller or shorter than usual; most are close to average height.  

The spread of the values in our population is measured using a metric called standard deviation. The Empirical Rule tells us that: 

• 68.3% of the values will fall between1 standard deviation above and below the mean 
• 95.5% of the values will fall between2 standard deviations above and below the mean 
• 99.7% of the values will fall between3 standard deviations above and below the mean 

Let’s assume that we know that the mean height of all players in the NBA is 200cm and the standard deviation is 7cm. If Le Bron James is 206 cm tall, what proportion of NBA players is he taller than? We can figure this out! LeBron is 6cm taller than the mean (206cm – 200cm). Since the standard deviation is 7cm, he is 0.86 standard deviations (6cm / 7cm) above the mean. 

Our value of 0.86 standard deviations is called the z-score. This shows that James is taller than 80.5% of players in the NBA!  

This can be converted to a percentile using the probability density function (or a look-up table) giving us our answer. A probability density function (PDF) defines the random variable’s probability of coming within a distinct range of values. 

2. t-distribution 

A t-distribution is symmetrical around the mean, like a normal distribution, and its breadth is determined by the variance of the data. A t-distribution is made for circumstances where the sample size is limited, but a normal distribution works with a population. With a smaller sample size, the t-distribution takes on a broader range to account for the increased level of uncertainty. 

The number of degrees of freedom, which is determined by dividing the sample size by one, determines the curve of a t-distribution. The t-distribution tends to resemble a normal distribution as sample size and degrees of freedom increase because a bigger sample size increases our confidence in estimating the underlying population statistics. 

For example, suppose we deal with the total number of apples sold by a shopkeeper in a month. In that case, we will use the normal distribution. Whereas, if we are dealing with the total amount of apples sold in a day, i.e., a smaller sample, we can use the t distribution. 

3. Binomial distribution 

A Binomial Distribution can look a lot like a normal distribution’s shape. The main difference is that instead of plotting continuous data, it plots a distribution of two possible discrete outcomes, for example, the results from flipping a coin. Imagine flipping a coin 10 times, and from those 10 flips, noting down how many were “Heads”. It could be any number between 1 and 10. Now imagine repeating that task 1,000 times. 

If the coin, we are using is indeed fair (not biased to heads or tails) then the distribution of outcomes should start to look at the plot above. In the vast majority of cases, we get 4, 5, or 6 “heads” from each set of 10 flips, and the likelihood of getting more extreme results is much rarer! 

4. Bernoulli distribution 

The Bernoulli Distribution is a special case of Binomial Distribution. It considers only two possible outcomes, success, and failure, true or false. It’s a really simple distribution, but worth knowing! In the example below we’re looking at the probability of rolling a 6 with a standard die.

If we roll a die many, many times, we should end up with a probability of rolling a 6, 1 out of every 6 times (or 16.7%) and thus a probability of not rolling a 6, in other words rolling a 1,2,3,4 or 5, 5 times out of 6 (or 83.3%) of the time! 

5. Discrete uniform distribution: All outcomes are equally likely 

Uniform distribution is represented by the function U(a, b), where a and b represent the starting and ending values, respectively. Like a discrete uniform distribution, there is a continuous uniform distribution for continuous variables.  

In statistics, uniform distribution refers to a statistical distribution in which all outcomes are equally likely. Consider rolling a six-sided die. You have an equal probability of obtaining all six numbers on your next roll, i.e., obtaining precisely one of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, equaling a probability of 1/6, hence an example of a discrete uniform distribution. 

As a result, the uniform distribution graph contains bars of equal height representing each outcome. In our example, the height is a probability of 1/6 (0.166667). 

The drawbacks of this distribution are that it often provides us with no relevant information. Using our example of a rolling die, we get the expected value of 3.5, which gives us no accurate intuition since there is no such thing as half a number on a dice. Since all values are equally likely, it gives us no real predictive power. 

It is a distribution in which all events are equally likely to occur. Below, we’re looking at the results from rolling a die many, many times. We’re looking at which number we got on each roll and tallying these up. If we roll the die enough times (and the die is fair) we should end up with a completely uniform probability where the chance of getting any outcome is exactly the same 

6. Poisson distribution 

A Poisson Distribution is a discrete distribution similar to the Binomial Distribution (in that we’re plotting the probability of whole numbered outcomes) Unlike the other distributions we have seen however, this one is not symmetrical – it is instead bounded between 0 and infinity.  

For example, a cricket chirps two times in 7 seconds on average. We can use the Poisson distribution to determine the likelihood of it chirping five times in 15 seconds. A Poisson process is represented with the notation Po(λ), where λ represents the expected number of events that can take place in a period.

The expected value and variance of a Poisson process is λ. X represents the discrete random variable. A Poisson Distribution can be modeled using the following formula. 

The Poisson distribution describes the number of events or outcomes that occur during some fixed interval. Most commonly this is a time interval like in our example below where we are plotting the distribution of sales per hour in a shop. 

Conclusion: 

Data is an essential component of the data exploration and model development process. We can adjust our Machine Learning models to best match the problem if we can identify the pattern in the data distribution, which reduces the time to get to an accurate outcome.  

Indeed, specific Machine Learning models are built to perform best when certain distribution assumptions are met. Knowing which distributions, we’re dealing with may thus assist us in determining which models to apply. 

With the surge in demand and interest in AI and machine learning, many contemporary trends are emerging in this space. As a tech professional, this blog will excite you to see what’s next in the realm of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning trends.

Data security and regulations 

In today’s economy, data is the main commodity. To rephrase, intellectual capital is the most precious asset that businesses must safeguard. The quantity of data they manage, as well as the hazards connected with it, is only going to expand after the emergence of AI and ML. Large volumes of private information are backed up and archived by many companies nowadays, which poses a growing privacy danger. Don Evans, CEO of Crewe Foundation   

The future currency is data. In other words, it’s the most priceless resource that businesses must safeguard. The amount of data they handle, and the hazards attached to it will only grow when AI and ML are brought into the mix. Today’s businesses, for instance, back up and store enormous volumes of sensitive customer data, which is expected to increase privacy risks by 2023.
 

Overlap of AI and IoT 

There is a blurring of boundaries between AI and the Internet of Things. While each technology has merits of its own, only when they are combined can they offer novel possibilities? Smart voice assistants like Alexa and Siri only exist because AI and the Internet of Things have come together. Why, therefore, do these two technologies complement one another so well?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the digital nervous system, while Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the decision-making brain. AI’s speed at analyzing large amounts of data for patterns and trends improves the intelligence of IoT devices. As of now, just 10% of commercial IoT initiatives make use of AI, but that number is expected to climb to 80% by 2023. Josh Thill, Founder of Thrive Engine 

Why then do these two technologies complement one other so well? IoT and AI can be compared to the brain and nervous system of the digital world, respectively. IoT systems have become more sophisticated thanks to AI’s capacity to quickly extract insights from data. Software developers and embedded engineers now have another reason to include AI/ML skills in their resumes because of this development in AI and machine learning. 

Augmented Intelligence   

The growth of augmented intelligence should be a relieving trend for individuals who may still be concerned about AI stealing their jobs. It combines the greatest traits of both people and technology, offering businesses the ability to raise the productivity and effectiveness of their staff.

40% of infrastructure and operations teams in big businesses will employ AI-enhanced automation by 2023, increasing efficiency. Naturally, for best results, their staff should be knowledgeable in data science and analytics or have access to training in the newest AI and ML technologies. 

Moving on from the concept of Artificial Intelligence to Augmented Intelligence, where decisions models are blended artificial and human intelligence, where AI finds, summarizes, and collates information from across the information landscape – for example, company’s internal data sources. This information is presented to the human operator, who can make a human decision based on that information. This trend is supported by recent breakthroughs in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Natural Language Understanding (NLU). Kuba Misiorny, CTO of Untrite Ltd
 

Transparency 

Despite being increasingly commonplace, there are trust problems with AI. Businesses will want to utilize AI systems more frequently, and they will want to do so with greater assurance. Nobody wants to put their trust in a system they don’t fully comprehend.

As a result, in 2023 there will be a stronger push for the deployment of AI in a visible and specified manner. Businesses will work to grasp how AI models and algorithms function, but AI/ML software providers will need to make complex ML solutions easier for consumers to understand.

The importance of experts who work in the trenches of programming and algorithm development will increase as transparency becomes a hot topic in the AI world. 

Composite AI 

Composite AI is a new approach that generates deeper insights from any content and data by fusing different AI technologies. Knowledge graphs are much more symbolic, explicitly modeling domain knowledge and, when combined with the statistical approach of ML, create a compelling proposition. Composite AI expands the quality and scope of AI applications and, as a result, is more accurate, faster, transparent, and understandable, and delivers better results to the user. Dorian Selz, CEO of Squirro

It’s a major advance in the evolution of AI and marrying content with context and intent allows organizations to get enormous value from the ever-increasing volume of enterprise data. Composite AI will be a major trend for 2023 and beyond. 

Continuous focus on healthcare

There has been concern that AI will eventually replace humans in the workforce ever since the concept was first proposed in the 1950s. Throughout 2018, a deep learning algorithm was constructed that demonstrated accurate diagnosis utilizing a dataset consisting of more than 50,000 normal chest pictures and 7,000 scans that revealed active Tuberculosis. Since then, I believe that the healthcare business has mostly made use of Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning applications of artificial intelligence. Marie Ysais, Founder of Ysais Digital Marketing

Learn more about the role of AI in healthcare:

AI in healthcare has improved patient care

Pathology-assisted diagnosis, intelligent imaging, medical robotics, and the analysis of patient information are just a few of the many applications of artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry. Leading stakeholders in the healthcare industry have been presented with advancements and machine-learning models from some of the world’s largest technology companies. Next year, 2023, will be an important year to observe developments in the field of artificial intelligence.
 

Algorithmic decision-making 

Advanced algorithms are taking on the skills of human doctors, and while AI may increase productivity in the medical world, nothing can take the place of actual doctors. Even in robotic surgery, the whole procedure is physician-guided. AI is a good supplement to physician-led health care. The future of medicine will be high-tech with a human touch.  

No-code tools   

The low-code/No Code ML revolution accelerates creating a new breed of Citizen AI. These tools fuel mainstream ML adoption in businesses that were previously left out of the first ML wave (mostly taken advantage of by BigTech and other large institutions with even larger resources). Maya Mikhailov Founder of Savvi AI 

Low-code intelligent automation platforms allow business users to build sophisticated solutions that automate tasks, orchestrate workflows, and automate decisions. They offer easy-to-use, intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, all without the need to write a line of code. As a result, low-code intelligent automation platforms are popular with tech-savvy business users, who no longer need to rely on professional programmers to design their business solutions. 

Cognitive analytics 

Cognitive analytics is another emerging trend that will continue to grow in popularity over the next few years. The ability for computers to analyze data in a way that humans can understand is something that has been around for a while now but is only recently becoming available in applications such as Google Analytics or Siri—and it’ll only get better from here! 

Virtual assistants 

Virtual assistants are another area where NLP is being used to enable more natural human-computer interaction. Virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are becoming increasingly common in homes and businesses. In 2023, we can expect to see them become even more widespread as they evolve and improve. Idrees Shafiq-Marketing Research Analyst at Astrill

Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular, thanks to their convenience and ability to provide personalized assistance. In 2023, we can expect to see even more people using virtual assistants, as they become more sophisticated and can handle a wider range of tasks. Additionally, we can expect to see businesses increasingly using virtual assistants for customer service, sales, and marketing tasks.
 

Information security (InfoSec)

The methods and devices used by companies to safeguard information fall under the category of information security. It comprises settings for policies that are essentially designed to stop the act of stopping unlawful access to, use of, disclosure of, disruption of, modification of, an inspection of, recording of, or data destruction.

With AI models that cover a broad range of sectors, from network and security architecture to testing and auditing, AI prediction claims that it is a developing and expanding field. To safeguard sensitive data from potential cyberattacks, information security procedures are constructed on the three fundamental goals of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, or the CIA. Daniel Foley, Founder of Daniel Foley SEO 

Wearable devices 

The continued growth of the wearable market. Wearable devices, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, are becoming more popular as they become more affordable and functional. These devices collect data that can be used by AI applications to provide insights into user behavior. Oberon, Founder, and CEO of Very Informed 

Process discovery

It can be characterized as a combination of tools and methods with heavy reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to assess the performance of persons participating in the business process. In comparison to prior versions of process mining, these goes further in figuring out what occurs when individuals interact in different ways with various objects to produce business process events.

The methodologies and AI models vary widely, from clicks of the mouse for specific reasons to opening files, papers, web pages, and so forth. All of this necessitates various information transformation techniques. The automated procedure using AI models is intended to increase the effectiveness of commercial procedures. Salim Benadel, Director at Storm Internet

Robotic Process Automation, or RPA. 

An emerging tech trend that will start becoming more popular is Robotic Process Automation or RPA. It is like AI and machine learning, and it is used for specific types of job automation. Right now, it is primarily used for things like data handling, dealing with transactions, processing/interpreting job applications, and automated email responses. It makes many businesses processes much faster and more efficient, and as time goes on, increased processes will be taken over by RPA. Maria Britton, CEO of Trade Show Labs 

Robotic process automation is an application of artificial intelligence that configures a robot (software application) to interpret, communicate and analyze data. This form of artificial intelligence helps to automate partially or fully manual operations that are repetitive and rule based. Percy Grunwald, Co-Founder of Hosting Data 

Generative AI 

Most individuals say AI is good for automating normal, repetitive work. AI technologies and applications are being developed to replicate creativity, one of the most distinctive human skills. Generative AI algorithms leverage existing data (video, photos, sounds, or computer code) to create new, non-digital material.

Deepfake films and the Metaphysic act on America’s Got Talent have popularized the technology. In 2023, organizations will increasingly employ it to manufacture fake data. Synthetic audio and video data can eliminate the need to record film and speech on video. Simply write what you want the audience to see and hear, and the AI creates it. Leonidas Sfyris 

With the rise of personalization in video games, new content has become increasingly important. Companies are not able to hire enough artists to constantly create new themes for all the different characters so the ability to put in a concept like a cowboy and then the art assets created for all their characters becomes a powerful tool. 

Observability in practice

By delving deeply into contemporary networked systems, Applied Observability facilitates the discovery and resolution of issues more quickly and automatically. Applied observability is a method for keeping tabs on the health of a sophisticated structure by collecting and analyzing data in real time to identify and fix problems as soon as they arise.

Utilize observability for application monitoring and debugging. Telemetry data including logs, metrics, traces, and dependencies are collected by Observability. The data is then correlated in actuality to provide responders with full context for the incidents they’re called to. Automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AIOps) might be used to eliminate the need for human interaction in problem-solving. Jason Wise, Chief Editor at Earthweb 

Natural Language Processing 

As more and more business processes are conducted through digital channels, including social media, e-commerce, customer service, and chatbots, NLP will become increasingly important for understanding user intent and producing the appropriate response.
 

Read more about NLP tasks and techniques in this blog:

Natural Language Processing – Tasks and techniques

In 2023, we can expect to see increased use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) for communication and data analysis. NLP has already seen widespread adoption in customer service chatbots, but it may also be utilized for data analysis, such as extracting information from unstructured texts or analyzing sentiment in large sets of customer reviews. Additionally, deep learning algorithms have already shown great promise in areas such as image recognition and autonomous vehicles.

In the coming years, we can expect to see these algorithms applied to various industries such as healthcare for medical imaging analysis and finance for stock market prediction. Lastly, the integration of AI tools into various industries will continue to bring about both exciting opportunities and ethical considerations. Nicole Pav, AI Expert.  

 Do you know any other AI and Machine Learning trends

Share with us in comments if you know about any other trending or upcoming AI and machine learning.

In this blog, we have gathered the top 10 machine learning books. Learning this subject is a challenge for beginners. Take your learning experience one step ahead with these top-rated ML books on Amazon. 

1. Machine Learning: 4 Books in 1

Machine Learning: 4 Books in 1 is a complete guide for beginners to master the basics of Python programming and understand how to
build artificial intelligence through data science. This book includes four books: Introduction to Machine Learning, Python Programming for
Beginners, Data Science for Beginners, and Artificial Intelligence for Beginners. It covers everything you need to know about machine learning, including supervised and unsupervised learning, regression and classification, feature engineering, model selection, and more. Muhammad Junaid – Marketing manager, BTIP

With clear explanations and practical examples, this book will help you quickly learn the essentials of machine learning and start building your own AI applications.

2. Mathematics for Machine Learning

Mathematics for Machine Learning is a tool that helps you understand the mathematical foundations of machine learning, so that you
can build better models and algorithms. It covers topics such as linear algebra, probability, optimization, and statistics. With this book, you
will be able to learn the mathematics needed to develop machine learning models and algorithms. Daniel – Founder, Gadget FAQs

This book is excellent for brushing up your mathematics knowledge required for ML. It is very concise while still providing enough details to help readers determine important parts. This is the go-to if you need to review some concepts or brush up on my knowledge in general.

This book is not recommended if you have absolutely no prior math experience though as it can be hard to digest and sometimes, they would skip parts here and there in proofs and examples. Especially for the probability section, the concepts will be very hard to grasp without prior knowledge

3. Linear Algebra and Optimization for Machine Learning

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to linear algebra and optimization, two fundamental topics in machine learning. It
covers both theory and applications and is suitable for students with little or no background in mathematics. Allan McNabb, VP – Image Building Media

The book begins with a review of basic linear algebra, before moving on to more advanced topics such as matrix decompositions, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, singular value decomposition, and least squares methods. Optimization techniques are then introduced, including gradient descent, Newton’s Method, conjugate gradient methods, and interior point methods.

4. The Hundred-Page Machine Learning Book

If we have to teach machine learning to someone in juts few weeks, it is a lot better not to bother starting from scratch, instead hand over this book to the learners, because no doubt Andriy Burkov does a better job than we could do to quickly teach this vast subject in a limited time.

The book has a litany of rave reviews from some of the biggest names in tech, with scores more five-star reviews to boot, and you can see why. Burkov keeps his lessons concise and as easy to understand as possible given the subject matter, but still drills down into the details where necessary. Overall, the book excels at linking together complicated and sometimes seemingly unrelated concepts into a coherent whole. Peter, CEO and founder – Lantech

The book is very well organized, giving the reader an introduction and discussion on the mathematical notation used, a well written chapter that discusses several quite common algorithms, talks about best practices (like feature engineering, breaking up the data into multiple sets, and tuning the model’s hyperparameters), digs deeper into supervised learning, discusses unsupervised learning, and gives you a taste of a variety of other related topics.

This is a well-rounded book, far more so than most books I’ve read on machine learning or artificial intelligence. After reading through this, you will feel like you can competently discuss the subject, read one of the simpler machine learning research papers, and not be totally lost on the mathematics involved. The language used is concise and reads very well, showing very tight editing

5. Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow by Aurélien Géron

It’s good for new programmers without over-simplifying. I’d recommend it for really getting into practice exercises. It’s a book you need to take your time with, but you’ll learn a lot from it. One thing observed by the learners of this book as a con is that the quality of the print varies, but the quality of its content makes it more than worth it. Chris Martinez – Founder of Idiomatic

6. Machine Learning for Absolute Beginners by Oliver Theobald

Machine Learning is easy only when you have the right teacher and an appropriate reference book. Most of us fail to understand the importance of simple concepts that help us understand complex ones. Therefore, I recommend using Oliver Theobald’s *Machine Learning for Absolute Beginners *as the base reference book. Layla Acharya – Owner at Edwize

This book uses simple language to explain to the reader and teaches Machine learning from the scratch. Although non-technical people will find this book more relatable, people wanting to make a career in the machine learning field can benefit equally. It also has good references that can help a person who wants to learn like an expert.

7. Deep Learning for Coders with Fastai and PyTorch: AI Applications Without a PhD by Jeremy Howard and Sylvain Gugger

This book is very well-rated and it’s helped me a lot in understanding the basics of deep learning.

The main reason readers suggest this book is because it’s very accessible and easy to follow. As the authors themselves say, you don’t need a PhD to understand and use the concepts in the book, and it follows a top-down approach (starting with the applications and working backwards to the theory). So, you’ll first have fun with building cool applications and then gradually learn the underlying theory as you go. Ed Shway – Owner & Writer at ByteXD.com

Fast AI have kept updating their courses and library, so you might want to check out their website (https://www.fast.ai/) for the latest and greatest Just this July they released a latest version of the course that the book is associated with (https://course.fast.ai/).

Furthermore, the book also comes in a free online version https://github.com/fastai/fastbook. Since the *Fast AI team put all this effort and made every resource available for free, you can be sure they’re in it for the love of the game and to help the community*, rather than to make a quick buck. So, this book is definitely worth your time.

The first practical applications it teaches you is in computer vision – you’ll build an image classifier, which you can use to tell apart different
kinds of images. For example, you can use it to distinguish between different kinds of animals. It will be very easy to follow along and build
this classifier yourself.

8. Bayesian Reasoning and Machine Learning by David Barber

It’s a real must-have for beginners interested in deepening their knowledge of machine learning in an engaging way. The book covers topics such as dynamic and probabilistic models, approximate interference, graphical models, Naive Bayes algorithms, and more. What makes it worth checking out is the fact that the book is full of examples and exercises, which makes it a hands-on guide full of useful practice rather than dry theoretical frameworks. Marcin Gwizdala – Chief Technical Officer – Tidio

For relative beginners, Bayesian techniques began in the 1700s to model how a degree of belief should be modified to account for new evidence. The techniques and formulas were largely discounted and ignored until the modern era of computing, pattern recognition and AI, now machine learning.

The formula answers how the probabilities of two events are related when represented inversely, and more broadly, gives a precise mathematical model for the inference process itself (under uncertainty), where deductive reasoning and logic becomes a subset (under certainty, or when values can resolve to 0/1 or true/false, yes/no etc. In “odds” terms (useful in many fields including optimal expected utility functions in decision theory), posterior odds = prior odds * the Bayes Factor.

9. Deep Learning with PyTorch: Build, train, and tune neural networks using Python tools by Eli Stevens, Luca Antiga, Thomas Viehmann

This book provides a good and fairly complete description of the basic principles and abstractions of one of the most popular frameworks for
Machine Learning – PyTorch.

It’s great that this book is written by the creator and key contributors of PyTorch, unlike many books that claim to be a definitive treatise, it is not overloaded with non-essential details, the emphasis is on making the book practical. The book gives a reader a deep understanding of the framework and methods for building and training models on it (with advanced best practices) describing what is under the hood. Vitalii Kudelia, TUTU – Machine Learning Scientist

There is an example of solving a real-world problem in this book, it analyzes the problem of searching for malignant tumors on a computer
diagram with an analysis of approaches, possible errors, options for improvements, and provides code examples.

It also includes options for translating the model into production, using the models in other programming languages, and on mobile devices.
As a result, the book is highly useful for understanding and mastering the framework. Mastering PyTorch helps not only in computer vision, but also in other areas of deep learning, such as, for example, natural language processing.

10. Introduction to Machine Learning by Ethem Alpaydin

This comprehensive text covers everything from the basics of linear algebra to more advanced topics like support vector machines. In addition to being an excellent resource for students, Alpaydin’s book is also very accessible for practitioners who want to learn more about this exciting field. Rajesh Namase – Co-Founder and Tech Blogger

For learners, this is the best book for machine learning for a number of reasons. First, the book provides a clear and concise introduction to the basics of machine learning. Second, it covers a wide range of topics in machine learning, including supervised and unsupervised learning, feature selection, and model selection.

Third, the book is well-written and easy to understand. Finally, the book includes exercises and solutions at the end of each
chapter, which is extremely helpful for readers who want to learn more about machine learning.

Share more machine learning books with us 

If you have read any other interesting machine learning books, share with us in the comments below and let us help the learners to begin with computer vision. 

What can be a better way to spend your days listening to interesting bits about trending AI and Machine learning topics? Here’s a list of the 10 best AI and ML podcasts.

1. The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence)

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are fundamentally altering how organizations run and how individuals live. It is important to discuss the latest innovations in these fields to gain the most benefit from technology. The TWIML AI Podcast outreaches a large and significant audience of ML/AI academics, data scientists, engineers, tech-savvy business, and IT (Information Technology) leaders, as well as the best minds and gather the best concepts from the area of ML and AI.  

The podcast is hosted by a renowned industry analyst, speaker, commentator, and thought leader Sam Charrington. Artificial intelligence, deep learning, natural language processing, neural networks, analytics, computer science, data science, and other technologies are discussed. 

2. The AI Podcast

One individual, one interview, one account. This podcast examines the effects of AI on our world. The AI podcast creates a real-time oral history of AI that has amassed 3.4 million listens and has been hailed as one of the best AI and machine learning podcasts. They always bring you a new story and a new 25-minute interview every two weeks. Consequently, regardless of the difficulties, you are facing in marketing, mathematics, astrophysics, paleo history, or simply trying to discover an automated way to sort out your kid’s growing Lego pile, listen in and get inspired. 

3. Data Skeptic

Data Skeptic launched as a podcast in 2014. Hundreds of interviews and tens of millions of downloads later, we are a widely recognized authoritative source on data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and related topics. 

Data Skeptic runs in seasons. By speaking with active scholars and business leaders who are somehow involved in our season’s subject, we probe it. 

We carefully choose each of our visitors using a system internally. Since we do not cooperate with PR firms, we are unable to reply to the daily stream of unsolicited submissions. Publishing quality research to the arxiv is the greatest approach to getting on the show. It is crawled. We will locate you. 

Data Skeptic is a boutique consulting company in addition to its podcast. Kyle participates directly in each project our team undertakes. Our work primarily focuses on end-to-end machine learning, cloud infrastructure, and algorithmic design. 

The Data Skeptic Podcast features interviews and discussion of topics related to data science, statistics, machine learning, artificial intelligence and the like, all from the perspective of applying critical thinking and the scientific method to evaluate the veracity of claims and efficacy of approaches. 

Pro-tip: Enroll in the data science boot camp today to learn the basics of the industry

4. Podcast.ai 

Podcast.ai is entirely generated by artificial intelligence. Every week, they explore a new topic in-depth, and listeners can suggest topics or even guests and hosts for future episodes. Whether you are a machine learning enthusiast, just want to hear your favorite topics covered in a new way or even just want to listen to voices from the past brought back to life, this is the podcast for you.

The podcast aims to put incremental advances into a broader context and consider the global implications of developing technology. AI is about to change your world, so pay attention. 

5. The Talking Machines

Talking machines is a podcast hosted by Katherine Gorman and Neil Lawrence. The objective of this show is to bring you clear conversations with experts in the field of machine learning, insightful discussions of industry news, and useful answers to your questions. Machine learning is changing the questions we can ask of the world around us, here we explore how to ask the best questions and what to do with the answers. 

6. Linear Digressions

If you are interested in learning about unusual applications of machine learning and data science. In each episode of linear digressions, your hosts explore machine learning and data science through interesting apps. Ben Jaffe and Katie Malone host the show, they assure themselves to produce the most exciting additions in the industry such as AI-driven medical assistants, open policing data, causal trees, the grammar of graphics and a lot more.  

7. Practical AI: Machine Learning, Data Science

Making artificial intelligence practical, productive, and accessible to everyone. Practical AI is a show in which technology professionals, businesspeople, students, enthusiasts, and expert guests engage in lively discussions about Artificial Intelligence and related topics (Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Neural Networks, GANs (Generative adversarial networks), MLOps (machine learning operations) (machine learning operations), AIOps, and more).

The focus is on productive implementations and real-world scenarios that are accessible to everyone. If you want to keep up with the latest advances in AI, while keeping one foot in the real world, then this is the show for you! 

8. Data Stories

Enrico Bertini and Moritz Stefaner discuss the latest developments in data analytics, visualization, and related topics. The data stories podcast consists of regular new episodes on a range of discussion topics related to data visualization. It shares the importance of data stories in different fields including statistics, finance, medicine, computer science, and a lot more to name. The podcast’s hosts Enrico and Moritz invite industry leaders, experienced professionals, and instructors in data visualization to share the stories and the importance of representation of data visuals into appealing charts and graphs. 

9. The Artificial Intelligence Podcast

The Artificial intelligence podcast is hosted by Dr. Tony Hoang. This podcast talks about the latest innovations in the artificial intelligence and machine learning industry. The recent episode of the podcast discusses text-to-image generator, Robot dog, soft robotics, voice bot options, and a lot more.  

10. Learning Machines 101

Smart machines employing artificial intelligence and machine learning are prevalent in everyday life. The objective of this podcast series is to inform students and instructors about the advanced technologies introduced by AI and the following: 

•  How do these devices work? 
• Where do they come from? 
• How can we make them even smarter? 
• And how can we make them even more human-like? 

Have we missed any of your favorite podcasts?

 Do not forget to share in comments the names of your most favorite AI and ML podcasts. Read this amazing blog if you want to know about Data Science podcasts.

In this blog, we are going to discuss the leading data jobs in demand for the coming year along with their average annual earnings.

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In this blog, we will discuss the top 8 Machine Learning algorithms that will help you to receive and analyze input data to predict output values within an acceptable range

1. Linear Regression 

Linear regression is a simple machine learning model and chances are you are already aware of it! Do you remember plotting the line y=mx+c in your introductory algebra class? This is an equation of a straight line where m is its gradient and c is the point where the line crosses the y-axis. Using this equation, you’re able to estimate the value of y for any given value of x. Similarly, linear regression involves estimating the relationship between independent variables (x) and a dependent variable(y).  

2. Logistic Regression 

Just like linear regression, logistic regression is a machine learning model used to determine the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. However, this model is used for classification analysis. This is because logistic regression predicts the probability of an event occurring. For a probability greater than 0.5, a value of 1 is assigned, and for less than that 0. For example, you can use logistic regression to predict whether a student will pass (1) an exam, or they will fail (0). 

3. Decision Trees 

Decision tree is a supervised machine learning model that repeatedly splits the data based on a question corresponding to the features. The model learns the best way to reduce randomness and drafts a decision tree that can be used to predict the category of an item based on answering a selection of questions. For example, in the case of whether it will rain today or not, the questions can be whether it is sunny, did it rain yesterday, whether it is windy, and so on.  

4. Random Forest 

Random Forest is a machine learning algorithm that works similarly to a decision tree. The difference is that random forest uses multiple decision trees to make a prediction and hence decreases overfitting. The process of majority voting is carried out and the class selected by most trees is assigned to an item. For example, if two trees predict it to be 0, and one tree predicts it to be 1, then the class of 0 will be assigned to the item.  

5. K-Nearest Neighbor 

K-Nearest Neighbor is another simple machine learning algorithm that classifies new cases based on the category/class of the data points nearest to the new data point. That is, if most neighbors of an unknown item belong to class 1, then we assign class 1 to this unknown item. The number of neighbors to take into consideration is the value K assigned. If k=10, we will look at the 10 nearest neighbors of this item. The nearest neighbors are determined by measuring the distance using distance measures such as Euclidean distance, and the nearest are those that have the shortest distance. 

6. Support Vector Machine 

Support vector machines by dividing the data points using a hyperplane which is a straight line. The points donated by the blue diamond form one class on the left side of the plane and the points donated by the green circle represent another class on the right side of the plane. If we want to predict the class of a new point, we can simply determine it by whether it lies on the left or right side of the hyperplane and where it is within the margin. 

7. K-Means clustering 

K-means clustering is an unsupervised machine learning algorithm. That means it is used to work with data points whose class is not already known. We can use the clustering algorithm to group similar items into clusters. The number of clusters is determined by the value of K assigned. For example, you assign K=3. Three clusters are selected at random, and we adjust them until they are highly distinct from one another. Distinct clusters will have points similar to each other but these points will be distinct from points in another cluster.

8. Naïve Bayes

Naïve Bayes is a probabilistic machine learning model based on the Bayes theorem that assumes that all the features are independent of one another. Conditional probability refers to the probability of an outcome occurring if it is given that another event has occurred. This algorithm predicts the probability that an item belongs to a particular class and is assigned the class with the highest probability. 

Share more Machine Learning algorithms with us

Have we missed any Machine Learning algorithm that you would like to learn about? Share with us in the comments below

Data Science Dojo is offering Apache Zeppelin for FREE on Azure Marketplace packaged with pre-installed interpreters and backends to make Machine Learning easier than ever. 

Introduction 

How cumbersome and tiring it is to install different tools to perform your desired ML tasks and then look after the integration and dependency issues. Already getting headaches? Worry not, because Data Science Dojo’s Apache Zeppelin instance fixes all of that. But before we delve further into it, let’s get to know some basics. 

What are Machine Learning Operations?  

Machine Learning is a branch of Artificial Intelligence that deals with models that produce outcomes based on some learned pre-existing data. It provides automation and reduces the workload of users. ML converges with Data Science and Engineering and that gives birth to some necessary operations to be performed to acquire the output of any task.

These operations include ETL (Extraction, Transform, Load) or ELT, drawing interactive visualizations, running queries, training and testing ML models and several other functions. 

Pro Tip: Join our 6-months instructor-led Data Science Bootcamp to master machine learning skills. 

Challenges for individuals 

 Wanting to explore and visualize your data but not knowing the methodology of the new tool is not only a red flag but also demands extraneous skills to be learnt to proceed with your job. Or you would have to switch among different environments to achieve your goal which is again – time-consuming, and needless to say time is of the essence for data scientists and engineers when they must deliver a task.

In this scenario, switching from one tool to another which you may know how to use or may not, is time and cost intensive. What if a data driven interactive environment having several interpreters ready to be worked with in one place is provided and you just select your favorite language and break the ice? 

ML Operations with Apache Zeppelin 

Apache Zeppelin is an open-source tool that equips you with a web-based notebook that can be used for data processing and querying, handling big data, training and testing models, interactive data analytics, visualization, and exploration. Vibrant designs and pictures generated can save time for users in the identification of key patterns in data and ultimately accelerates the decision-making processes.

It contains different pre-installed interpreters but also allows you to plug in your own various language backends for desirability. Apache Zeppelin supports many data sources which allow you to synthesize your data to visualize into interactive plots and charts. You can also create dynamic forms in your notebook and can share your notebook with collaborators.              

(Picture Courtesy: https://zeppelin.apache.org/ ) 

Key features 

• Zeppelin delivers an optimized and interactive UI that enhances the plots, charts, and other diagrams. You can also create dynamic forms in your notebook along with other markdowns to fancify your note 
• It’s open-source and allows vendors to make Zeppelin highly customized according to use-case requirements that vary from industry to industry 

• The choice to select a learned backend from a variety of pre-installed ones or the feasibility to add your own customizable language adds to the user-friendliness, flexibility, and adaptability 
• It supports Big Data databases like Hive and Spark. It also provides support for web sockets so you can share your web page by echoing the output of the browser and creating live reports 
• Zeppelin provides an in-build job manager who keeps track of the condition or status of various notebooks 

What Data Science Dojo has for you 

Our Zeppelin instance serves as a web-accessible programming environment with miscellaneous pre-installed interpreters. In our service users can switch between different interpreters like processing data with python and then visualizing it by querying with SQL. The pre-installed backends provide the feasibility to perform the task using your accustomed language instead of learning a new tool. 

• A web-accessible Zeppelin environment 
• Several pre-installed language-backends/interpreters 
• Various tutorial notebooks containing codes for understandability 

• A Job manager responsible for monitoring the status of the notebooks 
• A Notebook Repos feature to manage your notebook repositories’ settings 
• Ability to import notes from JSON file or URL 
• In-build functionality to add and modify your own customized interpreters 
• Credential management service 

Our instance supports the following interpreters: 

• Alluxio 
• Angular 
• Beam 
• BigQuery 

• Cassandra 
• Elasticsearch 
• File 
• Flink 

And many others which you check by taking a quick peek here: Zeppelin on Market Place  

Conclusion 

Efficient resource requirement for processing, visualizing, and training large data was one of the areas of concern when working on traditional desktop environments. The other area of concern includes the burden of working with non-familiar backends or switching among different accustomed environments. With our Zeppelin instance, both concerns are put to rest.

When coupled with Microsoft Azure services and processing speed, it outperforms the traditional counterparts because data-intensive computations aren’t performed locally, but in the cloud. You can collaborate and share notebooks with various stakeholders within and outside the company while monitoring the status of each 

At Data Science Dojo, we deliver data science education, consulting, and technical services to increase the power of data. We are therefore adding a free Zeppelin Notebook Environment dedicated specifically for Machine Learning and Data Science operations on Azure Market Place. Don’t wait to install this offer by Data Science Dojo, your ideal companion in your journey to learn data science! 

Click on the button below to head over to the Azure Marketplace and deploy Apache Zeppelin for FREE by clicking on “Get it now”.

Note: You’ll have to sign up to Azure, for free, if you do not have an existing account.

Be it Netflix, Amazon, or another mega-giant, their success stands on the shoulders of experts, analysts are busy deploying machine learning through supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement successfully. 

The tremendous amount of data being generated via computers, smartphones, and other technologies can be overwhelming, especially for those who do not know what to make of it. To make the best use of data researchers and programmers often leverage machine learning for an engaging user experience.

Many advanced techniques that are coming up every day for data scientists of all supervised, and unsupervised, reinforcement learning is leveraged often. In this article, we will briefly explain what supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning is, how they are different, and the relevant uses of each by well-renowned companies.

Supervised learning

Supervised machine learning is used for making predictions from data. To be able to do that, we need to know what to predict, which is also known as the target variable. The datasets where the target label is known are called labeled datasets to teach algorithms that can properly categorize data or predict outcomes. Therefore, for supervised learning:

• We need to know the target value
• Targets are known in labeled datasets

Let’s look at an example: If we want to predict the prices of houses, supervised learning can help us predict that. For this, we will train the model using characteristics of the houses, such as the area (sq ft.), the number of bedrooms, amenities nearby, and other similar characteristics, but most importantly the variable that needs to be predicted – the price of the house.

A supervised machine learning algorithm can make predictions such as predicting the different prices of the house using the features mentioned earlier, predicting trends of future sales, and many more.

Sometimes this information may be easily accessible while other times, it may prove to be costly, unavailable, or difficult to obtain, which is one of the main drawbacks of supervised learning.

Saniye Alabeyi, Senior Director Analyst at Garnet calls Supervised learning the backbone of today’s economy, stating:

“Through 2022, supervised learning will remain the type of ML utilized most by enterprise IT leaders” (Source).

Types of problems:

Supervised learning deals with two distinct kinds of problems:

1. Classification problems
2. Regression problems

Classification problem: In the case of classification problems, examples are classified into one or more classes/ categories.

For example, if we are trying to predict that a student will pass or fail based on their past profile, the prediction output will be “pass/fail.” Classification problems are often resolved using algorithms such as Naïve Bayes, Support Vector Machines, Logistic Regression, and many others.

Regression problem: A problem in which the output variable is either a real or continuous value, s is defined as a regression problem. Bringing back the student example, if we are trying to predict that a student will pass or fail based on their past profuse, the prediction output will be numeric, such as “68%” likely to score.

Predicting the prices of houses in an area is an example of a regression problem and can be solved using algorithms such as linear regression, non-linear regression, Bayesian linear regression, and many others.

Why Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube are great fans of supervised learning

Recommender systems are a notable example of supervised learning. E-commerce companies such as Amazon, streaming sites like Netflix, and social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and even YouTube among many others make use of recommender systems to make appropriate recommendations to their target audience.

Unsupervised learning

Imagine receiving swathes of data with no obvious pattern in it. A dataset with no labels or target values cannot come up with an answer to what to predict. Does that mean the data is all waste? Nope! The dataset likely has many hidden patterns in it.

Unsupervised learning studies the underlying patterns and predicts the output. In simple terms, in unsupervised learning, the model is only provided with the data in which it looks for hidden or underlying patterns.

Unsupervised learning is most helpful for projects where individuals are unsure of what they are looking for in data. It is used to search for unknown similarities and differences in data to create corresponding groups.

An application of unsupervised learning is the categorization of users based on their social media activities.

Commonly used unsupervised machine learning algorithms include K-means clustering, neural networks, principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering, and many more.

Reinforcement learning

Another type of machine learning is reinforcement learning.

In reinforcement learning, algorithms learn in an environment on their own. The field has gained quite some popularity over the years and has produced a variety of learning algorithms.

Reinforcement learning is neither supervised nor unsupervised as it does not require labeled data or a training set. It relies on the ability to monitor the response to the actions of the learning agent.

Most used in gaming, robotics, and many other fields, reinforcement learning makes use of a learning agent. A start state and an end state are involved. For the learning agent to reach the final or end stage, different paths may be involved.

• An agent may also try to manipulate its environment and may travel from one state to another
• On success, the agent is rewarded but does not receive any reward or appreciation for failure
• Amazon has robots picking and moving goods in warehouses because of reinforcement learning

Numerous IT companies including Google, IBM, Sony, Microsoft, and many others have established research centers focused on projects related to reinforcement learning.

Social media platforms like Facebook have also started implementing reinforcement learning models that can consider different inputs such as languages, integrate real-world variables such as fairness, privacy, and security, and more to mimic human behavior and interactions. (Source)

Amazon also employs reinforcement learning to teach robots in its warehouses and factories how to pick up and move goods.

Comparison between supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning

Caption: Differences between supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning algorithms

Which is the better Machine Learning technique?

We learned about the three main members of the machine learning family essential for deep learning. Other kinds of learning are also available such as semi-supervised learning, or self-supervised learning.

Supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, are all used for different to complete diverse kinds of tasks. No single algorithm exists that can solve every problem, as problems of different natures require different approaches to resolve them.

Despite the many differences between the three types of learning, all of these can be used to build efficient and high-value machine learning and Artificial Intelligence applications. All techniques are used in different areas of research and development to help solve complex tasks and resolve challenges.

Was this article helpful? Let us know in the comments below.

If you would like to learn more about data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, visit the Data Science Dojo blog.

In today’s blog, we will try to understand the working behind social media algorithms and focus on the top 6 social media platforms. Algorithms are a part of machine learning which has also become a key area to measure success of digital marketing; these are written by coders to learn human actions. It specifies the behavior of data by using a mathematical set of rules 

According to the latest data for 2022, users worldwide spend 147 minutes, on average every day on social media. The use of social media is booming with every passing day. We get hooked up on the content of our interest. But you cannot deny that it is often surprising to experience the content we just discussed with our friends or family.  

Social media algorithms sort posts on a user’s feed based on their interest rather than the publishing time. Every content creator desires to get the maximum impressions on their social media postings or their marketing campaigns. That’s where the need to develop quality content comes in. Social media users only experience the content that the algorithms figure out to be most relevant for them.  

1. Insights into Facebook algorithm 

Facebook had 2.934 billion monthly active users in July 2022.  

Anna Stepanov, Head of Facebook App Integrity said “News Feed uses personalized ranking, which considers thousands of unique signals to understand what’s most meaningful to you. Our aim isn’t to keep you scrolling on Facebook for hours on end, but to give you an enjoyable experience that you want to return to.” 

On Facebook, which means that the average reach for an organic post is down over 5 percent while the engagement rate is just 0.25 percent which drops to 0.08 percent if you have over 100k followers. 

Facebook’s algorithm is not static, it has evolved over the years with the objective to keep its users engaged with the platform. In 2022, Facebook adopted the idea of showing stories to users instead of news, like before. So, what we see on Facebook is no longer a newsfeed but “feed” only. 

Further, it works mainly on 3 ranking signals: 

• Interactivity:

The more you interact with the posts from one of your friends or family members, Facebook is going to show you their activities relatively more on your feed.  

• Interest:

If you like content about cars or automobiles, there’s a high chance Facebook algorithm will push relevant posts to your feed. This happens because we search, like, interact or spend most of our time seeing the content we like.  

• Impressions:

Viral or popular content becomes a part of everyone’s Facebook. That’s because the Facebook algorithm promotes content that is in general liked by its users. So, you’re also more likely to see what’s everyone talking about today.  

2. How does YouTube algorithm work 

There are 2.1 billion monthly active YouTube users worldwide. When you open YouTube, you see multiple streaming options. YouTube says that in 2022, homepages and suggested videos are usually the top sources of traffic for most channels. 

The broad selection is narrowed on the user homepage on the basis of two main types of ranking signals.  

• Performance:

When a video is uploaded on YouTube, the algorithm evaluates it on the basis of a few key metrics: 

• Click-through rate 
• Average view duration 
• Average percentage viewed 
• Likes and dislikes 
• Viewer surveys 

If a video gains good viewership and engagement by the regular followers of the channel, then the YouTube algorithm will offer that video to more users on YouTube.  

• Personalization:

The second-ranking signal for YouTube is personalization. In case you love watching DIY videos, YouTube algorithm processes to keep you hooked on the platform by suggesting interesting DIY videos to you.  

Personalization works based on a user’s watch history or the channels you subscribed to lately. It tracks your past behavior and figures out your most preferred streaming options.  

Lastly, you must not forget that YouTube acts as a search engine too. So, what you type in the search bar plays a major role in shortlisting the top videos for you.  

3. Instagram algorithm explained  

In July 2022, Instagram reached 1.440 billion users around the world according to the global advertising audience reach numbers.  

The main content on Instagram revolves around posts, stories, and reels. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said, “We want to make the most of your time, and we believe that using technology [the Instagram algorithm] to personalize your experience is the best way to do that.” 

Let’s shed some light to the Instagram’s top 3 ranking factors for year 2022: 

• Interactivity:

Every account holder or influencer on Instagram runs after followers. Because that’s the core to getting your content viewed by the users. To get something on our Instagram feed we need to follow other accounts. As much as our interaction with someone’s content occurs, we will be able to see more of their postings.  

• Interest:

This ranking factor has more influence on reels feed and explore page. The more you show interest in watching a specific type of content and tap on it, the more of that category will be shown to you. And it’s not essential to follow someone to see their postings on reels and explore the page. 

• Information:

How relevant is the content uploaded on Instagram? This highlights the value of content posted by anyone. If people are talking about it, engaging with it, and sharing it on their stories, you are also going to see it on your feed. 

4. Guide to Pinterest algorithm 

Being the 15th most active social media platform, Pinterest had 433 million monthly active users in July 2022.  

Pinterest is popular amongst audiences who are more likely interested in home décor, aesthetics, food, and style inspirations. This platform carries a slightly different purpose of use than the above-mentioned social media platforms. Therefore, the algorithm works with distinct ranking factors for Pinterest.  

Pinterest algorithm promotes pins having: 

• High-quality images and visually appealing designs  
• Proper use of keywords in the pin descriptions so that pins come up in search results. 
• Increased activity on Pinterest and engagement with other users. 

Needless to mention, the algorithm weighs more for the pins that are similar to a user’s past pins and search activities. 

5. Working process behind LinkedIn algorithm  

There are 849.6 million users with LinkedIn in July 2022. LinkedIn is a platform for professionals. People use it to build their social networks and have the right connections that can help them succeed in their careers.  

To maintain the authenticity and relevance of connections for professionals, the LinkedIn algorithm processes billions of posts per day to keep the platform valuable for its users. LinkedIn’s ranking factors are mainly these: 

• Spam:

LinkedIn considers post as spam if it contains a lot of links, has multiple grammatical errors, and consists of bad vocabulary. Also, avoid using hashtags like #comment, #like, or #follow can flag the system, too. 

• Low-quality posts:

There are billions of posts uploaded on LinkedIn every day. The algorithm works to filter out the best for users to engage with. Low-quality posts are not spam but they lack value as compared to other posts. It is evaluated based on the engagement a post receives. 

• High-quality content:

You wonder what’s the criteria to create high-quality posts on LinkedIn? Here are some tips to remember: 

Easy to read posts 

Encourages responses with a question 

Uses three or fewer hashtags 

Incorporates strong keywords 

Tag responsive people to the post 

Moreover, LinkedIn appreciates consistency in posts, so it’s recommended to keep your followers engaged not only with informative posts but also conversing with users in the comments section.  

6. A sneak peek at the TikTok algorithm 

TikTok will have 750 million monthly users worldwide in 2022. In the past couple of years, this social media platform has gained popularity for all the right reasons. The TikTok algorithm is considered as a recommendation system for its users.  

We have found one great explanation of TikTok “For You” page algorithm by the platform itself: 

“A stream of videos curated to your interests, making it easy to find content and creators you love … powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user.” 

Key ranking factors for the TikTok algorithm are: 

• User interactions:

This factor is like the Instagram algorithm, but mainly concerns the following actions of users: 

Which accounts do you follow 

Comments you’ve posted 

Videos you’ve reported as inappropriate 

Longer videos you watch all the way to the end (aka video completion rate) 

Content you create on your own account 

Creators you’ve hidden 

Videos you’ve liked or shared on the app 

Videos you’ve added to your favorites 

Videos you’ve marked as “Not Interested” 

Interests you’ve expressed by interacting with organic content and ads 

• Video information: 

Videos with missing information, incorrect captions, titles, and tags are buried under hundreds of videos being uploaded on TikTok every minute. On the discover tab, your video information signals tend to seek for: 

Captions 

Sounds 

Hashtags* 

Effects 

Trending topics

• TikTok account settings:

TikTok algorithm optimizes the audience for your video based on the options you selected while creating your account. Some of the device and account settings that decide audience for your videos are: 

Language preference 

Country setting (you may be more likely to see content from people in your own country) 

Type of mobile device 

Categories of interest you selected as a new user 

Social media algorithms relation with content quality 

Apart from all the key ranking factors for each platform, we discussed in this blog, one thing remains ascertain for all i.e., maintain content quality. Every social media platform is algorithm bsed which means it only filters out the best quality content for visitors. 

No matter which platform you focus on growing your business or your social network, it highly relies on the meaningful content you provide your connections.  

If we missed your favorite social media platform, don’t worry, let us know in the comments and we will share its algorithm in the next blog.  

What’s better than a data scientist? Well, humor is based on their pain, of course. Here’s a list of over 50 data science memes to help you get through the week.

When thinking of Data Scientists and researchers, the first things that usually come to mind are algorithms, techniques, and programming languages. However, there’s a completely different aspect of data science that is often ignored: the far more entertaining side of the field.

Moreover, a Data Scientist’s job can become extremely stressful. In such tiring times, it is especially important to take a step back and take a breather. 

To help our fellow data scientists or anyone who may be planning on joining the ranks, we have compiled a list of memes from Reddit to brighten your day. So, if you ever need a break from training your model or just from life in general, bookmark this article and go over the list. 

Previously, we also compiled a list of data science, machine learning, statistics, and artificial intelligence jokes. The internet is filled with hidden gems such as these, so we thought it would be a great idea to compile them in one place. 

List of 50+ memes compiled for some mid-week laughs:

1. Let’s begin with the basic ‘data scientist’ starter pack:

2. Been there, done that. More times than I’d like to admit.

3. This may or may not be helpful for your next job interview. Try at your own risk.

4. It’s safe to say, we only see the good boy.

5. Oh no! The cat’s been let out of the bag.

6. I am somewhat of an expert myself in data science and machine learning.

7. I’ll admit Neural Networks do look a bit spooky. It’s just the way they are.

8. Shh! You can be anything you want to be. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.

9. Everyone here at Data Science Dojo.

10. I am ashamed to admit that this has happened way too often.

11. I really thought it would be simpler.

12. Don’t get me wrong, I like mathematics, but why does the universe keep testing me like this?

13. I study data science memes more than actual books.

14. The only 10-year challenge that really matters.

15. Shh! What they don’t know won’t hurt them.

16. Days when the programming blues kick in, don’t you wish you could skip and just get away from everything?

17. Do you know what the funeral director did with Alan Turing’s dead body? He encrypted it.

18. Human know all. Human smart. Machine dumb.

19. Overfitting is the bane of my existence. 

20. Almost had us there in the first half.

21. Why does Python live on land? Because it is above C-level. (Cries in high-level languages)

22. The two look nothing alike.

23. This is the only thing I really care about most days. 

24. Most data scientists just want to watch the world burn.

25. Anytime a data scientist shares a meme in the family group chat.  

26. Follow us for more intellectual content on Machine Learning.

27. This is what Data Scientists are up to all day long.

28. Revealing to the world what Artificial Intelligence really is.

29. Life is just a constant battle between what they want vs what they give.

30. Every single company ever. (Not us though)

31. What is your idea of a perfect date? I like DD-MM-YYYY.

32. Spoiler alert: Anakin may have been evil, but we did not think he was this evil.

33. Gaussian is the only way to go.

34. This is what everyone means when they talk about the algorithm.

35. The ingredients needed to create the perfect data scientist.

36. I am somewhat of an R programmer myself.

37. This is the only way to attain deep self-actualization.

38. This is what would happen if a Data Scientist were to become a parent.

39. We all know he is a very good boy who can take care of himself.

40. Some deep learnings just do not deep learn the way other deep learnings do.

41. Skipping any step may prove to be fatal.

42. The four stages of deep learning – the four stages before a disaster.

43. The greatest question in the universe that needs to be answered asap.

44. Let us be honest here, research and mathematics are extremely scary.

45. Data scientists spend 80% of their time collecting, cleaning, and preparing data.

46. If you know, you know.

47. This is a tough one.

48. BRB, we need to edit our resumes now.

49. A dog’s projected growth based on trends is not a sight anyone would like to see.

50. Mathematics – the only OG in the universe.

51. This hits on a different level.

52. Have you ever tried a data science pickup line? They may work. Sometimes.

53. Please don’t tell HR.

54. If it works, it works.55. One can never go wrong with a tweet.

56. Please do not let our engineering team hear about this.

57. Data science summarized in a single photograph:

58. Data Scientist mantra: I am not everyone else’s perception of me.

59. Sometimes at night, I can still hear the data.

60. The positively skewed graph does not get along with the negatively skewed one.

61. My model’s been training for the past 999999 days, now.

62. Testing is one word I do not enjoy hearing about.

63. Please understand the importance of the p-value.

64. As a cat person myself, I support this graph.65. Our future looks very much like this.

66. Data scientists all day, every day.

67. Machine learning, good. Data science, bad.

68. When you sometimes make an oopsie.

69. “I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you. How dare you?” – Tyra Banks.

70. We like one more than the other.

71. Everyone wants to become a data scientist, but no one wants to clean the data.

72. Should we tell him?

73. Wait until they find out.

74. I honestly do not.

75. Machines are becoming smarter every day.

76. We, data scientists, just love complicating our lives.

77. I may look like I know stuff, but I really do not.

78. Move along. Nothing to see here.

79. Python may be great, but C++ has my heart.

80. So that’s what happened.

81. One just simply cannot.

82. Models really do not make good children.

83. Ah! The satisfaction of days like this.

84. Gradients just like to panic, a lot.

85. Even Mr. Rogers approves.

We hope you enjoyed these funny data science memes. 

Let us know which meme was your favorite in the comments below and share it with other data scientists. Also, feel free to share a relatable meme of your own. 

Confused about which machine learning conferences you should attend? Here are our top 10 picks for the remaining months of 2022.

For aspiring data scientists, machine learners, and researchers, conferences are a great way to network, highlight their own work, and learn from others. This article highlights the top 10 machine learning conferences that you should attend if you are in Asia or are planning to visit soon.

1. ACAIT 2022: The 6th Asian Conference on Artificial Intelligence Technology – Changzhou, China

Taking place in the southern Jiangsu province of China, on the 4th of November, the ACAIT is a joint endeavor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (CAAI), and Changzhou Institute of Technology (CIT).

The conference invites significant and original research work from the world of artificial intelligence. The main aim of the conference is to provide an international forum for researchers to share their ideas and achievements in the field of artificial intelligence.

The conference covers all major topics from AI-related brain and cognitive sciences to machine Cognition and Pattern Recognition, Big data and knowledge engineering, Robotics, swarm intelligence, and even the Internet of Things.

Further details regarding the conference can be found here.

2. 4th Asian Conference on Machine Learning (ACML 2022) – Hyderabad, India

Taking place between 12th to 14th December in Hyderabad, India, the ACML abides by the post-pandemic laws and will be conducted virtually, as well as allow in-person interactions.

Focusing on theoretical and practical aspects of machine learning, the conference encourages researchers from around the globe to join and be a part of the conversation.

The conference will cover general machine learning topics such as supervised learning and reinforcement learning, and even dive deeper into Deep Learning, Probabilistic Methods, theoretical frameworks, and much more.

Further details regarding the conference can be found here.

3. The 29th International Conference on Computational Linguistics – Gyeongju, Republic of Korea

One of the most popular conferences on natural language processing and computational linguistics, COLING is expected to be held on October 12-17, 2022, in Gyeongju, South Korea.

The conference has been held every year since 1965. Participants from both top-ranked research centers and emerging countries attend this conference as it provides equal opportunities to researchers from educational institutes and academia, as well as from the corporate sector.

COLING focuses on all aspects of natural language processing and computation.

Not only is this one of the most prestigious conferences on NLP and computational linguistics, but it is also heavily sponsored by names such as LG Electronics, Hyundai, Google, and Apple, among many others.

Further details regarding the conference can be found here.

4. IROS 2022: International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems – Kyoto, Japan

One of the flagship conferences of the robotics community, IROS is one of the world’s oldest forums for the global robotics community to explore intelligent robots and systems. Held every year in Kyoto, Japan since 1987, the conference will be held on 23-27 October.

Not only does the conference feature numerous research works from various international authors, but the conference also includes workshops and training, as well as multiple guest lectures by professionals in academia and industry.

Further details regarding the conference can be found here.

5. ACCV 2022: The 16th Asian Conference on Computer Vision

The Asian Conference on Computer Vision (AACV) 2022 focuses on computer vision and pattern recognition and will be held on 4-8 December in Macau, China.

The biennial international conference is sponsored by the Asian Federation of Computer Vision and provides like-minded individuals an opportunity to discuss the latest problems, solutions, and technologies in the field of computer vision and other similar areas.

The conference proceedings are published by Springer as Lecture Notes. Moreover, the award-winning papers are invited for publication in a special issue of the International Journal of Computer Vision (IJCV).

More details on the conference can be found here.

6. The 29th International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP 2022), New Delhi, India

One of the leading international conferences in the fields of pattern recognition, neuroscience, intelligent control, information security, and brain-machine interface, the ICONIP will be held in New Delhi, India on 22nd -26th November 2022.

It is the annual flagship conference organized by the Asia Pacific Neural Network Society (APNNS), which strives towards bridging the gap between educational institutions and industry.

The conference provides an international forum for anyone working in neuroscience, neural networks, deep learning, and other similar fields.

The conference is divided into four categories: Theory and Algorithms, Computational and Cognitive Neurosciences, Human-Centered Computing, and other machine learning applications.

Further details on the conference can be found here.

7. The 19th Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (PRICAI) – Shanghai, China

A biennial international conference, the PRICAI focuses on AI theories, technologies, and their applications in areas of social and economic importance, specifically focusing on countries in the Pacific Rim. Held since 1990, PRICAI will take place on 10-13th November, in the financial hub of China – Shanghai.

The conference focuses on all things related to AI, machine learning, data mining, robotics, computer vision, and much more.

Further information regarding the conference can be found here.

8. The 4th International Conference on Data-driven Optimization of Complex Systems (DOCS2022) – Chengdu, China

Focused on data-driven optimization, learning and control, and their applications to complex systems, DOCS 2022 will be held 23-25th September, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

The conference focuses on topics ranging from data-driven machine learning, optimization, decision-making, analysis, and application.

Further details on the conference can be found here.

9. The 9th IEEE International Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics (DSAA) – Shenzhen, China

Widely recognized as a dedicated flagship annual conference, the International Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics (DSAA) will be held in Shenzhen, China on the 13th –16th of October 2022.

The conference not only focuses on computing and information/intelligence sciences but also considers their relationship with statistics, and the crossover of data science and analytics.

An interesting aspect of this conference is that it is a dual-track conference with both a research track and an application track. Further details regarding these different tracks can be found here.

While more details on the conference can be found here.

10. The 5th International Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (ICoIAS 2022) – Dalian, China

The ICoIAS conference focuses on intelligent autonomous systems that play a significant role in multiple control and engineering applications.

The conference will be held on 23-25 September at the Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China, in collaboration with Tianjin University, the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, and The Institution of Engineers, Singapore.

The conference focuses on distinct aspects of intelligent autonomous systems. Moreover, IEEE fellows from all over the world are expected to attend the conference as guest speakers.

For further information regarding the conference, click here.

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