‘Suitcase Words’: What Machine Learning (AI) really is & what it does

These days, no matter what industry you might work in, there are a lot of ‘suitcase words’ that are flying around. ‘Suitcase words’ refer to any words of phrases that you can stuff anything and any meaning into (Machine Learning and AI both seem to be ‘suitcase words’). Because you can fit anything into such words, those words start to lose their initial meanings, they seem to lack finite definitions, and there is often a lack of precision of language. ‘Suitcase words’ may arise when trying to encompass broad domains, or when there is a general lack of foundational understanding.

In the business world I operate in, I have often seen ‘suitcase words’ or ‘buzz words’ used for contexts in which they don’t make any sense and it is often due to a lack of foundation understanding. This article, is my attempt to dispel the mysteries around one such ‘suitcase word’, i.e. Machine Learning, and bring forward a semi-technical understanding of what it is and what it does.

The Precise Definition of Machine Learning

In order to veer away from any type of generic ‘suitcase’ explanation of what Machine Learning is, a precise definition is needed. Machine Learning is a type of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and refers to the science of getting computers to ‘learn’…