Machine learning is the practice of developing computer models that can learn patterns and improve their performance based on input data. This allows the model to make predictions based on the patterns it’s learned. It can solve problems without being explicitly programmed for each task. This is very different from rules-based programming where programmers lay out each step for the machine to follow. Instead, these models learn from patterns.
“In AI, the role of the programmer isn’t to tell the algorithm what to do. It’s to tell the algorithm how to train itself what to do, using data and the rules of probability.” — Nick Polson and James Scott
AIQ: How People and Machines Are Smarter Together