Introduction to Neural Network in Machine Learning

VARIN Last Updated : 12 Dec, 2024
10 min read

Neural network is the fusion of artificial intelligence and brain-inspired design that reshapes modern computing. With intricate layers of interconnected artificial neurons, these networks emulate the intricate workings of the human brain, enabling remarkable feats in machine learning. There are different types of neural networks, from feedforward to recurrent and convolutional, each tailored for specific tasks. This article covers its real-world applications across industries like image recognition, natural language processing, and more. Read on to know everything about neural network in machine learning!These Learning algorithms will help you for optimization these adaptive networks while it is computer science or having different deep learning algorithms.

This article was published as a part of the Data Science Blogathon.

What is Neural Networks?

Neural networks mimic the basic functioning of the human brain and draw inspiration from how the brain interprets information. They solve various real-time tasks due to their ability to perform computations quickly and respond rapidly.

Neural Network in macine learning

Artificial Neural Network has a huge number of interconnected processing elements, also known as Nodes. These nodes are connected with other nodes using a connection link. The connection link contains weights, these weights contain the information about the input signal. Each iteration and input in turn leads to updation of these weights. After inputting all the data instances from the training dataset, the final weights of the neural network, along with its architecture, form the trained neural network. This process is called training neural networks. These trained neural networks solve specific problems defined in the problem statement.

Artificial neural networks can solve tasks such as classification problems, pattern matching, and data clustering.

Importance of Neural Networks

We use artificial neural networks because they learn very efficiently and adaptively. They have the capability to learn “how” to solve a specific problem from the training data it receives. After learning, the model can solve that specific problem very quickly and efficiently with high accuracy.

Some real-life applications of neural networks include Air Traffic Control, Optical Character Recognition as used by some scanning apps like Google Lens, Voice Recognition, etc.

What are Neural Networks Used For?

Neural networks find applications across various domains for:

  • Identifying objects, faces, and understanding spoken language in applications like self-driving cars and voice assistants.
  • Analyzing and understanding human language, enabling sentiment analysis, chatbots, language translation, and text generation.
  • Diagnosing diseases from medical images, predicting patient outcomes, and drug discovery.
  • Predicting stock prices, credit risk assessment, fraud detection, and algorithmic trading.
  • Personalizing content and recommendations in e-commerce, streaming platforms, and social media.
  • Powering robotics and autonomous vehicles by processing sensor data and making real-time decisions.
  • Enhancing game AI, generating realistic graphics, and creating immersive virtual environments.
  • Monitoring and optimizing manufacturing processes, predictive maintenance, and quality control.
  • Analyzing complex datasets, simulating scientific phenomena, and aiding in research across disciplines.
  • Generating music, art, and other creative content.

Types of Neural Networks in Machine Learning

Explore different kinds of neural networks in machine learning in this section:

Artificial Neural Network (ANN)

ANN also goes by the name of artificial neural network. It functions as a feed-forward neural network because the inputs move in the forward direction. It can also contain hidden layers which can make the model even denser. They have a fixed length as specified by the programmer. It is used for Textual Data or Tabular Data. A widely used real-life application is Facial Recognition. It is comparatively less powerful than CNN and RNN.

(Convolution Neural Network (CNN)

CNNs is mainly used for Image Data. It is used for Computer Vision. Some of the real-life applications are object detection in autonomous vehicles. It contains a combination of convolutional layers and neurons. It is more powerful than both ANN and RNN.

Recurrent Neural Network (RNN)

It is also known as RNNs. It is used to process and interpret time series data. In this type of model, the output from a processing node is fed back into nodes in the same or previous layers. The most known types of RNN are LSTM (Long Short Term Memory) Networks

Now that we know the basics about Neural Networks, We know that Neural Networks’ learning capability is what makes it interesting.

Types of Learnings in Neural Networks

  • Supervised Learning
  • Unsupervised Learning
  • Reinforcement Learning

Supervised Learning

As the name suggests Supervised Learning, it is a type of learning that is looked after by a supervisor. It is like learning with a teacher. You input all the data instances from the training dataset, and the final weights of the neural network, along with its architecture, define the trained neural network. This process involves training neural networks. These trained neural networks solve specific problems defined in the problem statement. In this, there is feedback from the environment to the model.

Supervised Learning |

Unsupervised Learning 

Unlike supervised learning, there is no supervisor or a teacher here. In this type of learning, there is no feedback from the environment, there is no desired output and the model learns on its own. During the training phase, you form the inputs into classes that define the similarity of the members. Each class contains similar input patterns. On inputting a new pattern, it can predict to which class that input belongs based on similarity with other patterns. If there is no such class, a new class is formed.

Unsupervised Learning | Types of Neural Network in Machine Learning

Reinforcement Learning 

It gets the best of both worlds, that is, the best of both Supervised learning and Unsupervised learning. It is like learning with a critique. Here there is no exact feedback from the environment, rather there is critique feedback. The critique tells how close our solution is. Hence the model learns on its own based on the critique information. It is similar to supervised learning in that it receives feedback from the environment, but it is different in that it does not receive the desired output information, rather it receives critique information.

Reinforcement Learning, neural network in machine learning

What is a Convolutional Neural Network?

A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is a type of artificial intelligence especially good at processing images and videos. They draw inspiration from the structure of the human visual cortex.

You can use CNNs in many applications, including image recognition, facial recognition, and medical imaging analysis. They are able to automatically extract features from images, which makes them very powerful tools.

Here are some key points about CNNs, incorporating your keywords naturally:

  1. Input Layer: CNNs start with an input layer that takes in the raw image data.
  2. Nonlinear: They apply nonlinear activation functions, like the sigmoid, to introduce nonlinearity into the model.
  3. Advancements: Recent advancements in CNNs have significantly improved their performance in various tasks.
  4. Next Layer: After the convolutional layer, the next layer typically involves pooling or another convolution to further process the data.
  5. Pattern Recognition: CNNs are exceptional at pattern recognition, which is crucial for tasks like image and speech recognition.
  6. Multilayer Perceptron: While CNNs are distinct from traditional multilayer perceptrons, they often incorporate fully connected layers similar to those in MLPs.
  7. Sigmoid: The network often uses nonlinear activation functions, such as the sigmoid function, to add nonlinearity.
  8. Automate: CNNs help automate the feature extraction process, reducing the need for manual intervention.

How Does a Neural Network Work?

According to Arthur Samuel, one of the early American pioneers in the field of computer gaming and artificial intelligence, he defined machine learning as:

Example

Suppose we arrange for some automatic means of testing the effectiveness of any current weight assignment in terms of actual performance and provide a mechanism for altering the weight assignment so as to maximize the performance. We need not delve into the details of such a procedure to see that it could become entirely automatic and that a machine programmed this way would “learn” from its experience.

NNs

Working Explained

we can think of an artificial neuron as a simple or multiple linear regression model with an activation function at the end. A neuron from layer i will take the output of all the neurons from the later i-1 as inputs calculate the weighted sum and add bias to it. After this is sent to an activation function as we saw in the previous diagram.

NN in machine learning

The first neuron in the first layer connects to all the inputs from the previous layer. Similarly, the second neuron in the first hidden layer also connects to all the inputs from the previous layer, and this pattern continues for all neurons in the first hidden layer.

You consider the outputs of the previously hidden layer as inputs for the neurons in the second hidden layer, and each of these neurons connects to the previous neurons. This whole process is called forward propagation.

After this, there is an interesting thing that happens. Once we have predicted the output it is then compared to the actual output. We then calculate the loss and try to minimize it. But how can we minimize this loss? For this, there comes another concept which is known as Back Propagation. We will understand more about this in another article. I will tell you how it works. First, you calculate the loss, then you adjust the weights and biases to minimize the loss. You update the weights and biases using another algorithm called gradient descent. We will understand more about gradient descent in a later section. We basically move in the direction opposite to the gradient. This concept is derived from the Taylor series.

Deep Learning vs Machine Learning: Neural Networks

Here’s a comparison of Machine Learning and Deep Learning in the context of neural networks:

AspectMachine LearningDeep Learning
Hierarchy of LayersTypically shallow architecturesDeep architectures with many layers
Feature ExtractionManual feature engineering neededAutomatic feature extraction and representation learning
Feature LearningLimited ability to learn complex featuresCan learn intricate hierarchical features
PerformanceMay have limitations on complex tasksExcels in complex tasks, especially with big data
Data RequirementsRequires carefully curated featuresCan work with raw, unprocessed data
Training ComplexityRelatively simpler to trainRequires substantial computation power
Domain SpecificityMay need domain-specific tuningCan generalize across domains
ApplicationsEffective for smaller datasetsParticularly effective with large datasets
RepresentationsRelies on handcrafted feature representationsLearns hierarchical representations
InterpretabilityOffers better interpretabilityOften seen as a “black box”
Algorithm DiversityUtilizes various algorithms like SVM, Random ForestMostly relies on neural networks
Computational DemandLighter computational requirementsHeavy computational demand
ScalabilityMay have limitations in scaling upScales well with increased data and resources

Neural Network Vs. Deep Learning

Neural networks and deep learning are related but distinct concepts in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence. It’s important to understand the differences between the two.

Neural Networks

A neural network is a computational model inspired by the structure and function of biological neural networks in the human brain. It consists of interconnected nodes, called artificial neurons, that transmit signals between each other. The connections have numeric weights that you can tune, allowing the neural network to learn and model complex patterns in data.

Neural networks can be shallow, with only one hidden layer between the input and output layers, or they can have multiple hidden layers, making them “deep” neural networks. Even shallow neural networks are capable of modeling non-linear data and learning complex relationships.

Deep Learning

It is a subfield of machine learning that utilizes deep neural networks with multiple hidden layers. Deep neural networks can automatically learn hierarchies of features directly from data, without requiring manual feature engineering.

The depth of the neural network, with many layers of increasing complexity, allows the model to learn rich representations of raw data. This depth helps deep learning models discover intricate structure in high-dimensional data, making them very effective for tasks like image recognition, natural language processing, and audio analysis.

Key Differences

While all deep learning models are NNs, not all NN are deep learning models. The main distinction is the depth of the model:

  • Deep learning models have many hidden layers (often more than 5 or even hundreds), while shallow neural networks have only one or a few hidden layers.
  • Deep learning models can automatically learn features from raw data, while shallow networks often require manual feature engineering.
  • Deep learning models excel at finding patterns in highly complex, high-dimensional data like images, audio, and text.
  • Shallow neural networks are simpler and can be effective for modeling less complex data with fewer features.

It provide a general framework for machine learning models inspired by the brain, while deep learning leverages the power of deep NN to tackle complex problems with raw, high-dimensional data. Deep learning has achieved remarkable success in many AI applications, but shallow NN still have their uses, especially for less complex tasks or when interpretability is important.

Conclusion

Neural networks have enabled amazing achievements in a variety of industries and transformed modern computing. They perform complicated tasks like image recognition, natural language processing, and predictive analytics with unmatched accuracy thanks to their brain-inspired architecture and capacity to learn from data. Neural networks provide an effective toolkit for realizing the enormous promise of artificial intelligence, whether it is through shallow networks modeling basic patterns or deep learning models automatically extracting hierarchical characteristics. Neural networks will continue to push the envelope as research develops, fostering innovation in industries ranging from finance to healthcare and influencing how we think about intelligent systems. Discover the intriguing realm of neural networks and break through to new machine learning frontiers.

In this article you get a clear understanding of neural network and convoultional neural networks , these networks forecasting their input nodes their learning process.An Single layer of these neural nets provides logistic , walter pitts and at the end provide output node. While these feedback loops provides feedforward network to neural network architecture of biological neurons.

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Frequently Asked Question?

Q1. What is neural network vs AI

A. Neural networks are a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that mimic the structure and function of the human brain to recognize patterns and make decisions.
AI, on the other hand, is a broader field encompassing various techniques and technologies aimed at creating systems that can perform tasks requiring human-like intelligence.

Q2. Is ChatGPT a neural network?

A. Yes, ChatGPT is a neural network-based model developed by OpenAI. It uses a variant of the Transformer architecture, specifically the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) architecture, for natural language processing tasks like text generation and understanding.

Q3. What is neural network and CNN?

A. A neural network serves as a computational model inspired by the structure and function of the human brain, consisting of interconnected nodes (neurons) organized in layers. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) represent a type of neural network specifically designed to process structured grid-like data, such as images. They use convolutional layers to automatically and adaptively learn spatial hierarchies of features from the input data.

Q4. What is neural network in Python?

A. You can implement neural networks in Python using various libraries and frameworks such as TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, and scikit-learn. These libraries provide high-level APIs and tools for building, training, and deployingNNs models efficiently.

I am an undergraduate student at Netaji Subhash University of Technology ( Formerly Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology ) pursuing Bachelors of Technology in Information Technology. I am extremely passionate about coding and robotics. I am participating in various projects.

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Mohsin Kamran/Lecturer/Math
Mohsin Kamran/Lecturer/Math

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