Machine learning is a branch of Artificial Intelligence that enables computer programs to learn, analyse and identify trends and patterns within large sets of data.

Rapid innovation in recent years has seen exciting advances in machine learning with the rise of multiple use cases across a range of industries.

In the past two decades, an increasing amount of digitalisation of information has changed how we go about our daily lives. One of the key outcomes from this digitalisation is the exponential growth in data. This has in turn created an environment for advances in computing to take place, especially computing technologies with the ability to process and analyse vast amounts of digitalised data. Today’s computers can process massive amounts of data quickly and Machine Learning enables computer programs to learn, analyse and identify trends and patterns within large sets of data. For example, a photo identification software with Machine Learning abilities could learn how to differentiate fruits from vegetables by entering a series of photos with the right identification and get better at identification as it processes more data.

In this report, we look at what is Machine Learning and how it fits within the Artificial Intelligence paradigm, the drivers that have led to the emergence of Machine Learning, its impact on different sectors and lastly the challenges going forward.