What Is Machine Learning? | The Royal Society

Love cat pictures? So does your computer. Find out how machine learning is giving technology the ability to recognise household pets, as well as recommend our favourite films.
Robotics expert Sabine Hauert delves into the ways machines are using data to expand their capabilities.
In 2012, Google created an ‘artificial neural network’ and fed it millions of pictures from the internet. By processing all the images, the system learnt the concept of a ‘cat’ unaided. Could your computer now identify your cat more accurately than you?
One thing is for certain, machines will get cleverer. But what does that mean for our lives?
Find out more about machine learning on our website, including interactive infographics, videos and reports: https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/machine-learning/