About machine learning
Machine learning focuses on computer programs that access data and use statistical techniques to learn from it without being explicitly programmed. It is the application of artificial intelligence that gives systems the ability to learn and improve from experience. Learning begins with observations or data — examples, direct experience or instruction — in order to look for patterns and make better decisions in the future.
Machine learning and vector-borne diseases
Machine learning has not yet been fully applied in modelling vector-borne diseases. Many vector-borne diseases are epidemic, and timely prediction is limited by the absence of the long time series that standard statistical models need. Machine-learning algorithms can find clues within available or simulated data: anomaly detection systems, artificial neural networks and support vector machines can identify unusual patterns that give an early signal of an epidemic.
The network's anomaly-detection work on simulated Rift Valley fever vector data now feeds into the RVF Early Warning Platform.