R: Data Analysis and Visualization

Uses and abuses of machine learning

Most people have heard of the chess-playing computer Deep Blue—the first to win a game against a world champion—or Watson, the computer that defeated two human opponents on the television trivia game show Jeopardy. Based on these stunning accomplishments, some have speculated that computer intelligence will replace humans in many information technology occupations, just as machines replaced humans in the fields, and robots replaced humans on the assembly line.

The truth is that even as machines reach such impressive milestones, they are still relatively limited in their ability to thoroughly understand a problem. They are pure intellectual horsepower without direction. A computer may be more capable than a human ...