Is Our Mind A Machine Learning Algorithm? | Forbes - Women@Forbes

Machine Learning algorithms are ubiquitous, but what is the relationship between our mind and a machine learning algorithm? How can we leverage science to create the change we want to see? Learn here!

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Photo: Anna Powers

"It is no doubt that everyone has come in contact with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, perhaps without knowing that they have or what they are, but they certainly have" inform Dr. Anna Powers, entrepreneur, advisor and an award winning scientist. 

Photo: Shutterstock

For example when you are making a purchase online and some items are 'suggested for you,' this is an example of ML, another example is when a dating app tries to 'match' you based on previous matches you have selected or when social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, show you certain sponsored content. In all these instances some form an ML algorithm is used, which a powerful tool that many corporations are now adopting to derive more value.

So what is ML? ML is a type of computer algorithm which relies on a large amount of input data to make a future decision about a new data point. Basically, it is a type of algorithm that when it is fed data, it 'learns' and with more and more data, it becomes better at selecting the data points which best match the 'learning' data set which it was fed. The only thing ML can make decisions about is the data which was fed to it. For example, if you are shopping online for a black bag, the algorithm will suggest various black bags for you to chose from, but it will not suggest a blue or silver bag unless you look at some items which are black or silver.

When we think about our mind, it is much like an ML algorithm. We feed our mind certain data, in the form of stories we tell ourselves, the experiences we have, beliefs, things we read or watch, the music we listen to and the ideas we get from the people we interact with.
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Source: Forbes