What Execs Should Know About Deep Learning Posted on : Jun 25 - 2017

Deep learning takes a step beyond machine learning, and it's first killer app is computervision.

From Uber using past trips to predict its customers’ future habits to Facebook automatically tagging a picture you upload of your family, data is everywhere these days, and smart companies are using it to inform a better experience for their customers. Could the same be true for your company?

When it comes to making sense of big data, enterprises are heavily invested in machine learning. Simply put, machine learning uses algorithms to find patterns in data fed to it by humans. (There are resources out there for executives who want a high-level overview of this approach.)

Typically, machine learning deals with data that is relatively simple. This low-dimensional data, whether structured or unstructured, can be analyzed in light of a handful of factors. But eventually, companies started amassing a lot of highly complex data, things like images. That meant it was time for more sophisticated analytics tools. Enter deep learning.

“Wait,” you may be thinking. “I’ve been using those terms interchangeably. Aren’t they the same thing?” That is a pretty widespread assumption, but deep learning is exactly as it sounds, deeper.

 Traditional machine learning requires humans to provide context for data — something called feature engineering — so a machine can make better predictions. Deep learning uses a layered approach to make better decisions by constantly curating the data it is fed. It simplifies feature engineering in many ways, putting more of the work on machines, and ever more complex, self-learning models. Essentially, deep learning can assess and categorize data like our five human senses, and then make correlations more akin to the human mind. View More