Bayesian Reasoning and Machine Learning

by David Barber • 2011

"Machine learning methods extract value from vast data sets quickly and with modest resources. They are established tools in a wide range of industrial applications, including search engines, DNA sequencing, stock market analysis, and robot locomotion, and their use is spreading rapidly. People who know the methods have their choice of rewarding jobs. This hands-on text opens these opportunities to computer science students with modest mathematical backgrounds. It is designed for final-year undergraduates and master's students with limited background in linear algebra and calculus. Comprehensive and coherent, it develops everything from basic reasoning to advanced techniques within the framework of graphical models. Students learn more than a menu of techniques, they develop analytical and problem-solving skills that equip them for the real world. Numerous examples and exercises, both computer based and theoretical, are included in every chapter. Resources for students and instructors, including a MATLAB toolbox, are available online"-- "Vast amounts of data present amajor challenge to all thoseworking in computer science, and its many related fields, who need to process and extract value from such data. Machine learning technology is already used to help with this task in a wide range of industrial applications, including search engines, DNA sequencing, stock market analysis and robot locomotion. As its usage becomes more widespread, no student should be without the skills taught in this book. Designed for final-year undergraduate and graduate students, this gentle introduction is ideally suited to readers without a solid background in linear algebra and calculus. It covers everything from basic reasoning to advanced techniques in machine learning, and rucially enables students to construct their own models for real-world problems by teaching them what lies behind the methods. Numerous examples and exercises are included in the text. Comprehensive resources for students and instructors are available online"--