Machine learning is an area of computer science that uses algorithms to learn from data and make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed. It relies on finding patterns in data and using those patterns to inform decisions. It can be used for predictive analytics, as well as to automate decision making and anticipate future outcomes. Machine learning algorithms can learn from past errors, improving accuracy as more data is fed in. It is a powerful tool for generating informed and reliable decisions in complex situations.

See also: artificial intelligence, emergence, evolutionary computing, neural network, deep learning