Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Dataset
Definition
A dataset is a collection of data. In machine learning, it is the collection of examples used to train and evaluate a model. It is typically split into training, validation, and testing sets.
Why It Matters
The dataset is the raw material of machine learning. The quality, size, and representativeness of the dataset are the most important factors in building a successful model. "Garbage in, garbage out" is a common saying.
Contextual Example
A dataset for an image classifier would consist of thousands of images and their corresponding labels (e.g., "cat", "dog").
Common Misunderstandings
- Training Set: The data the model learns from.
- Validation Set: The data used to tune the model's hyperparameters during training.
- Test Set: A completely separate set of data used to evaluate the final performance of the trained model.