This open access book presents the first comprehensive overview of general methods in Automated Machine Learning (AutoML), collects descriptions of existing systems based on these methods, and discusses the first series of international challenges of AutoML systems. The recent success of commercial ML applications and the rapid growth of the field has created a high demand for off-the-shelf ML methods that can be used easily and without expert knowledge. However, many of the recent machine learning successes crucially rely on human experts, who manually select appropriate ML architectures (deep learning architectures or more traditional ML workflows) and their hyperparameters. To overcome this problem, the field of AutoML targets a progressive automation of machine learning, based on principles from optimization and machine learning itself. This book serves as a point of entry into this quickly-developing field for researchers and advanced students alike, as well as providing a reference for practitioners aiming to use AutoML in their work.

Computational Intelligence (CI) community has developed hundreds of algorithms for intelligent data analysis, but still many hard problems in computer vision, signal processing or text and multimedia understanding, problems that require deep learning techniques, are open. Modern data mining packages contain numerous modules for data acquisition, pre-processing, feature selection and construction, instance selection, classification, association and approximation methods, optimization techniques, pattern discovery, clusterization, visualization and post-processing. A large data mining package allows for billions of ways in which these modules can be combined. No human expert can claim to explore and understand all possibilities in the knowledge discovery process. This is where algorithms that learn how to learnl come to rescue. Operating in the space of all available data transformations and optimization techniques these algorithms use meta-knowledge about learning processes automatically extracted from experience of solving diverse problems. Inferences about transformations useful in different contexts help to construct learning algorithms that can uncover various aspects of knowledge hidden in the data. Meta-learning shifts the focus of the whole CI field from individual learning algorithms to the higher level of learning how to learn. This book defines and reveals new theoretical and practical trends in meta-learning, inspiring the readers to further research in this exciting field.

Metalearning is the study of principled methods that exploit metaknowledge to obtain efficient models and solutions by adapting machine learning and data mining processes. While the variety of machine learning and data mining techniques now available can, in principle, provide good model solutions, a methodology is still needed to guide the search for the most appropriate model in an efficient way. Metalearning provides one such methodology that allows systems to become more effective through experience. This book discusses several approaches to obtaining knowledge concerning the performance of machine learning and data mining algorithms. It shows how this knowledge can be reused to select, combine, compose and adapt both algorithms and models to yield faster, more effective solutions to data mining problems. It can thus help developers improve their algorithms and also develop learning systems that can improve themselves. The book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students in the areas of machine learning, data mining and artificial intelligence.

Deep neural networks (DNNs) with their dense and complex algorithms provide real possibilities for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Meta-learning with DNNs brings AGI much closer: artificial agents solving intelligent tasks that human beings can achieve, even transcending what they can achieve. Meta-Learning: Theory, Algorithms and Applications shows how meta-learning in combination with DNNs advances towards AGI. Meta-Learning: Theory, Algorithms and Applications explains the fundamentals of meta-learning by providing answers to these questions: What is meta-learning?; why do we need meta-learning?; how are self-improved meta-learning mechanisms heading for AGI ?; how can we use meta-learning in our approach to specific scenarios? The book presents the background of seven mainstream paradigms: meta-learning, few-shot learning, deep learning, transfer learning, machine learning, probabilistic modeling, and Bayesian inference. It then explains important state-of-the-art mechanisms and their variants for meta-learning, including memory-augmented neural networks, meta-networks, convolutional Siamese neural networks, matching networks, prototypical networks, relation networks, LSTM meta-learning, model-agnostic meta-learning, and the Reptile algorithm. The book takes a deep dive into nearly 200 state-of-the-art meta-learning algorithms from top tier conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, ACL, ICLR, KDD). It systematically investigates 39 categories of tasks from 11 real-world application fields: Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Meta-Reinforcement Learning, Healthcare, Finance and Economy, Construction Materials, Graphic Neural Networks, Program Synthesis, Smart City, Recommended Systems, and Climate Science. Each application field concludes by looking at future trends or by giving a summary of available resources. Meta-Learning: Theory, Algorithms and Applications is a great resource to understand the principles of meta-learning and to learn state-of-the-art meta-learning algorithms, giving the student, researcher and industry professional the ability to apply meta-learning for various novel applications. A comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art meta-learning techniques and methods associated with deep neural networks together with a broad range of application areas Coverage of nearly 200 state-of-the-art meta-learning algorithms, which are promoted by premier global AI conferences and journals, and 300 to 450 pieces of key research Systematic and detailed exploration of the most crucial state-of-the-art meta-learning algorithm mechanisms: model-based, metric-based, and optimization-based Provides solutions to the limitations of using deep learning and/or machine learning methods, particularly with small sample sizes and unlabeled data Gives an understanding of how meta-learning acts as a stepping stone to Artificial General Intelligence in 39 categories of tasks from 11 real-world application fields

The book focuses on different variants of decision tree induction but also describes the meta-learning approach in general which is applicable to other types of machine learning algorithms. The book discusses different variants of decision tree induction and represents a useful source of information to readers wishing to review some of the techniques used in decision tree learning, as well as different ensemble methods that involve decision trees. It is shown that the knowledge of different components used within decision tree learning needs to be systematized to enable the system to generate and evaluate different variants of machine learning algorithms with the aim of identifying the top-most performers or potentially the best one. A unified view of decision tree learning enables to emulate different decision tree algorithms simply by setting certain parameters. As meta-learning requires running many different processes with the aim of obtaining performance results, a detailed description of the experimental methodology and evaluation framework is provided. Meta-learning is discussed in great detail in the second half of the book. The exposition starts by presenting a comprehensive review of many meta-learning approaches explored in the past described in literature, including for instance approaches that provide a ranking of algorithms. The approach described can be related to other work that exploits planning whose aim is to construct data mining workflows. The book stimulates interchange of ideas between different, albeit related, approaches.

How deep learning—from Google Translate to driverless cars to personal cognitive assistants—is changing our lives and transforming every sector of the economy. The deep learning revolution has brought us driverless cars, the greatly improved Google Translate, fluent conversations with Siri and Alexa, and enormous profits from automated trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Deep learning networks can play poker better than professional poker players and defeat a world champion at Go. In this book, Terry Sejnowski explains how deep learning went from being an arcane academic field to a disruptive technology in the information economy. Sejnowski played an important role in the founding of deep learning, as one of a small group of researchers in the 1980s who challenged the prevailing logic-and-symbol based version of AI. The new version of AI Sejnowski and others developed, which became deep learning, is fueled instead by data. Deep networks learn from data in the same way that babies experience the world, starting with fresh eyes and gradually acquiring the skills needed to navigate novel environments. Learning algorithms extract information from raw data; information can be used to create knowledge; knowledge underlies understanding; understanding leads to wisdom. Someday a driverless car will know the road better than you do and drive with more skill; a deep learning network will diagnose your illness; a personal cognitive assistant will augment your puny human brain. It took nature many millions of years to evolve human intelligence; AI is on a trajectory measured in decades. Sejnowski prepares us for a deep learning future.

This book disseminates and promotes the recent research progress and frontier development on AutoML and meta-learning as well as their applications on computer vision, natural language processing, multimedia and data mining related fields. These are exciting and fast-growing research directions in the general field of machine learning. The authors advocate novel, high-quality research findings, and innovative solutions to the challenging problems in AutoML and meta-learning. This topic is at the core of the scope of artificial intelligence, and is attractive to audience from both academia and industry. This book is highly accessible to the whole machine learning community, including: researchers, students and practitioners who are interested in AutoML, meta-learning, and their applications in multimedia, computer vision, natural language processing and data mining related tasks. The book is self-contained and designed for introductory and intermediate audiences. No special prerequisite knowledge is required to read this book.