Using machine learning to develop your hypothesis

There are many applications for machine learning, but one of the most exciting is using it to create hypothesis to test. An article in the Economist, “Computer says ‘try this’,” discusses many of the ways computers are now creating hypothesis to move medicine, farming and even cooking forward.

There are already many projects using machine learning to generate valuable and novel hypotheses. One project, BrainSCANr, suggests research topics for neuro-scientists by looking at millions of peer-reviewed papers. Research published by Baylor College of Medicine researchers used machine-learning software to review over 150,000 papers on a technique to curb the growth of cancer (proteins called kinases). The algorithm led to seven new kinases that researchers had missed. The technique is even being used to analyze search terms in Bing and Internet Explorer to determine potentially dangerous pairings of medicine.

Machine learning generates strong hypotheses

What it means for you

While machine learning is already benefitting many tech and game companies, using it to help develop hypotheses for your business is invaluable. If you are a mobile game company, think of the value of having a machine-learning system suggest that rather than focusing on your premium exchange rate, you should test changing the frequency of your free-coin bonus. Continue reading “Using machine learning to develop your hypothesis”

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