Machine Learning
Machine learning is the study of computational methods for pattern discovery and skill acquisition. This includes methods by which both humans and artificial agents can improve their behavior while interacting with their environments, for example, by learning effective behavioral strategies from experience or by improving the knowledge structures forming the basis of their decisions. Specific research topics in computer science include learning conceptual structures through developmental processes; improving control of stochastic and nonlinear dynamic systems through observation, experimentation, and reinforcement feedback; finding patterns in complex bodies of data with temporal, spatial, and relational variability drawn from sources such as images, text, online social networks, and biological, social, and technological systems; and using learning methods for improving discrete optimization algorithms. Much of the machine learning research in computer science is multi-disciplinary, with strong ties to research in statistics, operations research, cognitive and developmental psychology, neuroscience, medicine, biology, social science, and philosophy.