Modern Alchemy 101: Machine Learning – The Art of Turning Big Data into Insights

To most laymen, the work of data scientists is a form of digital alchemy. They distill huge volumes of data into bits of information and insights that are extremely valuable to businesses. Although there are many tasks that data scientists do, few can call themselves true data scientists without knowledge of machine learning (ML). But what is ML? This esoteric subject is often misconceived. Contrary to popular belief, ML has little to do with pattern recognition or artificial intelligence. Instead, it’s a rigorous procedure in statistical science that help data scientist choose the best model to fit a data set. This presentation provides an operational understanding of what ML really entails and demystifies the work of data scientists. Moreover, it will reveal the black art that every data scientist must perfect while practicing data science in the industry. Knowing how to leverage this black art well makes the difference between a good data scientist and a great one.