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Ask HN: Is it OK to equate “experience” to “machine learning”?

by zhirzh on 4/24/17, 7:01 PM with 2 comments

I don't think my question explains itself very well, so allow me to elaborate.

If we talk about poker, the rules are few and simple. Yet, it takes some time to really master the game. The experience gained helps in making better decisions by having some sort of "insight" about the game that a beginner lacks.

Can we compare "experience" is the edge weights in a neural network? In my understanding, AI has 2 roles thus far: 1. draw some form of statistical inference from data by finding patterns - the experience 2. use the gained experience to solve a problem

  • by kafkaesq on 4/25/17, 3:22 AM

    A qood question - I'd say the best answer is "no" simply because "experience" and "insight" imply some higher-order cognition at play ("insight" for sure).

    What ML algorithms do is more akin to curve-fitting, or (chains of) "if-this-then-that" type of association. Yes this is comparable to "experience", but only at very simplistic level.