Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Logistic Regression
Definition
Despite its name, logistic regression is a supervised learning algorithm used for classification problems. It models the probability of a discrete outcome (e.g., true/false, yes/no) given an input variable.
Why It Matters
Logistic regression is a fundamental classification algorithm. It is simple, fast, and highly interpretable, making it a popular choice for binary classification problems.
Contextual Example
A bank might use logistic regression to predict whether a loan applicant will default or not. The model takes inputs like income and credit score and outputs a probability of default.
Common Misunderstandings
- The name "regression" is confusing; it is a classification, not a regression, algorithm.
- The output is typically passed through a sigmoid function to squash it into a probability between 0 and 1.