Over the past three decades or so, research on machine learning and data mining has led to a wide variety of algorithms that learn general functions from experience. As machine learning is maturing, it has begun to make the successful transition from academic research to various practical applications. Generic techniques such as decision trees and artificial neural networks, for example, are now being used in various commercial and industrial applications. Learning to Learn is an exciting new research direction within machine learning. Similar to traditional machine-learning algorithms, the methods described in Learning to Learn induce general functions from experience. However, the book investigates algorithms that can change the way they generalize, i.e., practice the task of learning itself, and improve on it. To illustrate the utility of learning to learn, it is worthwhile comparing machine learning with human learning. Humans encounter a continual stream of learning tasks. They do not just learn concepts or motor skills, they also learn bias, i.e., they learn how to generalize. As a result, humans are often able to generalize correctly from extremely few examples - often just a single example suffices to teach us a new thing. A deeper understanding of computer programs that improve their ability to learn can have a large practical impact on the field of machine learning and beyond. In recent years, the field has made significant progress towards a theory of learning to learn along with practical new algorithms, some of which led to impressive results in real-world applications. Learning to Learn provides a survey of some of the most exciting new research approaches, written by leading researchers in the field. Its objective is to investigate the utility and feasibility of computer programs that can learn how to learn, both from a practical and a theoretical point of view.

Over the past three decades or so, research on machine learning and data mining has led to a wide variety of algorithms that learn general functions from experience. As machine learning is maturing, it has begun to make the successful transition from academic research to various practical applications. Generic techniques such as decision trees and artificial neural networks, for example, are now being used in various commercial and industrial applications. Learning to Learn is an exciting new research direction within machine learning. Similar to traditional machine-learning algorithms, the methods described in Learning to Learn induce general functions from experience. However, the book investigates algorithms that can change the way they generalize, i.e., practice the task of learning itself, and improve on it. To illustrate the utility of learning to learn, it is worthwhile comparing machine learning with human learning. Humans encounter a continual stream of learning tasks. They do not just learn concepts or motor skills, they also learn bias, i.e., they learn how to generalize. As a result, humans are often able to generalize correctly from extremely few examples - often just a single example suffices to teach us a new thing. A deeper understanding of computer programs that improve their ability to learn can have a large practical impact on the field of machine learning and beyond. In recent years, the field has made significant progress towards a theory of learning to learn along with practical new algorithms, some of which led to impressive results in real-world applications. Learning to Learn provides a survey of some of the most exciting new research approaches, written by leading researchers in the field. Its objective is to investigate the utility and feasibility of computer programs that can learn how to learn, both from a practical and a theoretical point of view.

Decision intelligence (DI) has been widely named as a top technology trend for several years, and the Gartner Group reports that more than a third of large organizations are adopting it. Some even say that DI is the next step in the evolution of AI. Many software vendors offer DI solutions today, as they help organizations implement their evidence-based or data-driven decision strategies. Until now, there has been little practical guidance for organizations to formalize decision-making and integrate their decisions with data. With this book, authors L.Y. Pratt and N.E. Malcolm fill this gap. They present a step-by-step method for integrating technology into decisions that bridge from actions to desired outcomes, with a focus on systems that act in an advisory, human-in-the-loop capacity to decision makers. This handbook addresses three widespread data-driven decision-making problems: How can decision makers use data and technology to ensure desired outcomes? How can technology teams communicate effectively with decision makers to maximize the return on their data and technology investments? How can organizational decision makers assess and improve their decisions over time?

Why aren't the most powerful new technologies being used to solve the world's most important problems: hunger, poverty, conflict, inequality, employment, disease? What's missing? From a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning comes a thought-provoking book that answers these questions. In Link: How Decision Intelligence Connects Data, Actions, and Outcomes for a Better World, Dr. Lorien Pratt explores the solution that is emerging worldwide to take Artificial Intelligence to the next level: Decision Intelligence. Decision Intelligence (DI) goes beyond AI as well, connecting human decision makers in multiple areas like economics, optimization, big data, analytics, psychology, simulation, game theory, and more. Yet despite the sophistication of these approaches, Link shows how they can be used by you and me: connecting us in a way that supercharges our ability to meet the interconnected challenges of our age. Pratt tells the stories of decision intelligence pioneers worldwide, along with examples of their work in areas that include government budgeting, space exploration, emerging democracy conflict resolution, banking, leadership, and much more. Link delivers practical examples of how DI connects people to computers and to each other to help us solve complex interconnected problems. Link explores a variety of scenarios that show readers how to design solutions that change the way problems are considered, data is analyzed, and technologies work together with people. Technology and academics has accelerated beyond our ability to understand or effectively control them. Link brings technology down to earth and connects it to our more natural ways of thinking. It offers a roadmap to the future, empowering us all to make practical steps and take the best actions to solve the hardest problems.