Leveraging ML Models: Supervised Vs Unsupervised Models

Study the importance incorporated in supervised vs unsupervised models.

The world is advancing every day, and with digital transformation and the evolution of technologies, everything is getting digitized. Businesses and enterprises are implementing advanced technologies to compete in the market and to keep pace with the time. Every company has one common agenda that is to keep up with customer expectations. To make things easier every company is implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. We can see the use when we unlock our smartphones through facial recognition and also for detecting credit card fraud. Now let’s come to the point which is the main discussion of today, supervised learning vs unsupervised models. The above two approaches are incorporated within AI and machine learning. Both approaches result in predicting outcomes. The main difference that the two approaches hold is the use of labeled data. Let’s have a look at the key differences, which approach is the best for your situation, etc.  

What is Supervised Machine Learning?

In supervised learning, the machine is trained to use data that is already labeled. This means some data is already flagged with the correct answer. It is similar to when you learn anything under the guidance or supervision of any teacher. A supervised learning algorithm learns from labeled training data which helps in assuming results for unpredicted data. In supervised learning, the model is provided with both inputs and outputs. For example, you are training the model to recognize and categorize different kinds of animals. For this, you will provide numerous images of animals as input. For the output, you will provide the model with the names of each animal. Ultimately the algorithm will choose a structure between the animals’ images (the inputs) and their names (the outputs).  

What is Unsupervised Machine Learning?

This approach is a machine learning technique where there is no need for supervision. In unsupervised machine learning, the model is trained to work on its own to find information. So, it deals with unlabelled data. This model enables the execution of more complex processing tasks as compared to supervised learning. For unsupervised learning, only the input is provided and not the output. Similarly, as done with supervised models you will provide the images of the animals as input to the unsupervised model but you will not provide the output. The model will then use an appropriate algorithm to train itself to categorize the animals into different groups.  

Which One Should You Use?

Whether you should use a supervised or unsupervised model depends highly on the goals of your company. To some extent, it also depends on the pattern and volume of data that is available. The following features of the two models will help you to analyze the right model to use in the right situation.  

Goals

The goal in supervised learning is to assume outcomes for new data. With supervised learning, you will know what results to expect. If your goal is to get insights from a large volume of new data, you must choose the unsupervised model.  

Implementation

Supervised learning models are perfect for detecting spam, predicting the weather, pricing predictions, and similar other things. On the contrary, unsupervised models are ideal for oddity detection, customer personas, medical imaging, and recommendation engines.  

Involvement

In supervised learning, a simple method of machine learning is used which is calculated by using programs like R, Python, etc. In unsupervised learning, powerful tools are required for working with huge amounts of uncategorized datasets.  

Disadvantages

Training supervised models can be time taking and also the labels for input and output requires competence. Unsupervised models on the other hand can provide inaccurate outcomes so you will require humans to intervene to validate the output variables. So, to choose the right model you must evaluate your input data, define your goals and review your options for algorithms. In supervised models categorizing big data becomes complex but the outcome is accurate. On the other hand, in unsupervised models complex and large volumes of data can be interpreted in real-time but the result can be inaccurate.