what does it mean for a machine to “learn?” How do we quantify something like skill growth when, for humans, learning is a subjective experience?

Question

what does it mean for a machine to “learn?” How do we quantify something like skill growth when, for humans, learning is a subjective experience?

In: 4

Answer 1

A machine learning is it expanding its algorithm. So a machine that plays chess being programmed with only, let’s say, 50 possible game outcomes. Every time a human plays chess against the machine, it records the game played. It continues to expand its algorithm and it seems like it’s getting better at chess when, really, it’s just expanding its catalog of options.

Humans learning is subjective because we don’t have algorithms. One person who plays chess may come away with a better understanding of the game; another may come away with a transferable skill of analyzing and predicting outcomes before making decisions. Machines don’t transfer their skills. A chess playing machine will need new programming to do a new task.