Abstract: Machine Learning (ML) started as a niche field of computer science in the 80s and is now impacting several aspects of modern life. I will start with an overview of the core ML primitives that drive these tasks including classification, regression, structured prediction, and reinforcement learning. The current success of ML is attributed to the twin power of deep learning to process complex inputs like images, audio, and text and the easy availability of resources such as data and computing. In the concluding part, I will attempt to summarize the current fervent pace of research in ML, which might give us a peek into what we might expect in the near-term future.
