William Cox

Ms. Bagley

Intern Mentor G/T

9 October 2017

Works Cited

Deo, Rahul. "Machine Learning in Medicine." Circulation, no. 132, 2015.

In this journal, Deo analyzes the use of machine learning in the medical field. Deo first
explains why machine learning has seen little use in the medical field. It is hard to assign
significance to symptoms, and input this significance into an algorithm. Some symptoms are
more important than others, and other symptoms are only important if another symptom is
present. The complexity of medicine, therefore, is hard to put into an algorithm. Deo does
demonstrate that algorithms can be relatively accurate in their diagnoses, however, if they have
supervised learning and are given very large sets of data. Supervised learning is a type of
machine learning where machines try and replicate human performance. This is in contrast to
unsupervised learning, where the thing the algorithm is predicting is not known by humans.
Another reason Deo thinks machines are not used widely in medical offices is because of patient
reimbursement and liability costs. Deo reasons that even though machines may initially cost less
than human doctors, liability costs and malpractice suits will make machine doctors
economically inviable, as machines right now are less accurate than doctors in diagnosing
patients. Deo concludes that machine learning can be helpful to doctors, maintain the current
level of medical error, and decrease cost of running a medical office if doctors and computer
algorithms work together to diagnose patients, where the doctor is able to specify what variables
the algorithm pays the most attention to.
This article is helpful to my research for many reasons. Not only does the article specify a
new and innovative way machine learning can help society, it also discusses the shortcomings of
artificial intelligence. Although many of the other articles I have analyzed have demonstrated the
deficiencies of machine learning, this is the only article that shows that machine learning is
inherently flawed, and its problems cannot be easily fixed and resolved. The article also show
how machine learning algorithms can still be helpful, even if they need human assistance to be
accurate. This helps my understanding of why businesses use machine learning and artificial
intelligence, even though it has not surpassed human abilities.

"Economists Are Prone to Fads, and the Latest Is Machine Learning." The Economist, 24 Nov.
2016.

This article describes how economists can use machine learning to model data, and
discusses some of the shortfalls of machine learning. The article begins by calling machine
learning a “fad” in economics. The article then compares machine learning with other economics
fads, and discusses the shortcomings of the other fads. One of these fads, randomized control
trials (RCT) is described in detail in the article. RCTs involve randomly assigning an attribute to
some people and not others, theoretically ensuring that experimental differences amongst people
are caused by the attribute. The results are a comparison of averages between the two groups
However, many economists abuse RCTs, as they do not take care when ensuring that two results
are significantly different from each other, which lead to unreliable results. The author of the
article claims that something similar happens when economists use machine learning algorithms
to analyze data and results. To depict this, the author sets up a theoretical example of economists
using machine learning to calculate the chance that a someone charged with a crime will return
to court. If economists fail to input all factors into the machine learning algorithm, the algorithm
might use race as a major factor when calculating if a criminal suspect will return to court,
because those who live in low income housing are most often minorities, and crime rates will be
higher in low income neighborhoods regardless of the neighborhood’s demographics. This will
unfairly punish minorities if the results of the machine learning algorithm are used to determine
bail
This article is relevant to my research because it is related to machine learning, the topic
of my research project. Although the article mostly dealt with how economists have abused
breakthroughs in their field, it also discusses that machine learning can have shortcomings. The
article proved that the results of machine learning algorithms can be manipulated by those who
use them. This has many implications for my research, as I can no longer trust the results of all
machine learning algorithms and studies, as I know they can be easily influenced by those who
make the algorithm to show things that are not necessarily true.

Ha, Phuong. Interview.

Phuong Ha is the director of the Quality Management Division of the National Archives.
She obtained her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Miami University. She went on to
get her master’s in information systems from Johns Hopkins University. Before Ha’s promotion
to director, she was a software tester for the National Archives. As a tester, she ensured that all
software developed by the National Archives or contracted companies worked properly and did
not have any software “bugs.” Before she worked at the National Archives, she was a tester at
the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
As the director of the Quality Management Division of the National Archives, Ha oversees
testers, delegating tasks and ensuring the testers get these tasks done in a timely manner.

Holley, Peter. "Teenage Suicide Is Extremely Difficult to Predict. That's Why Some Experts Are
Turning to Machines for Help." The Washington Post, 26 Sept. 2017.

This article discusses how machine learning can be used to predict if someone is having
mental health issues and is going to attempt suicide. The author starts the article by mentioning a
new app called Spreading Activation Mobile (SAM). This app, developed by Ben Crotte, a
behavioral health therapist at Children’s Home of Cincinnati, uses algorithms and machine
learning to analyze speech to determine if someone is at risk of committing suicide. SAM was
introduced to some Cincinnati schools in response to the rising suicide rates of teenagers. The
article also mentions two other machine learning algorithms, one developed by Chris Danforth, a
researcher at the University of Vermont, and Andrew Reece, a researcher at Harvard University;
and the other developed by Colin Walsh, a data scientist at Vanderbilt University. Walsh’s
algorithm can predict, with more than 90% accuracy, if an individual will commit suicide within
the next week by analyzing the individual’s age, gender, location, medication, and prior
illnesses. Danforth and Recce’s algorithm, alternatively, can anticipate if someone has
depression by looking through his or her social media pages. The algorithm looks at numerous
factors, including if an individual says more negative things and less positive things than they
did previously, to determine if someone is depressed.
This article is relevant to my research for many reasons. It involves artificial intelligence,
and its uses, which is what I am researching. It describes how artificial intelligence can be
utilized to diagnose health issues, something many people, myself included, did not know
computer could do. The article also touches on the specific sub-topic of artificial intelligence I
am interested in: the economics of artificial intelligence. The article states that “[an algorithm]
pinpoints the rise and fall of someone’s mental illness by scanning the language, word count,
speech patterns and degree of activity on their Twitter feed. A task that would require days of
research for a clinician was accomplished by the machine in a matter of seconds.” The author
implies that machine learning could help computers replace the jobs of many health care
professionals and researchers. Because my research will be on machine learning, its uses, and
how it will affect the job market of the future, the breakthroughs described in this article are of
particular interest to me.

"IBM Watson: How It Works." YouTube, uploaded by IBM Watson,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xcmh1LQB9I&t=248s.

This video, as the name implies, explains how the machine learning algorithm named
Watson works. The video starts by explaining how Watson learns and stores information similar
to how the human brains does. Watson observes what is going on, interprets what it means, and
decides what to do. This decision making process is the exact same one used by humans. The
video then continues by stating how Watson can interpret unstructured data, data that is
constructed by humans for other humans to consume. Unstructured data is hard for a computer to
read, as language often contains strange idioms and expressions that are difficult to decipher.
The video also explains how Watson “learns.” Watson analyzes thousands of texts from the field
it is studying. Using its abilities to understand text, Watson is able to learn about the most recent
advancements and breakthroughs in a field, allowing Watson to perform well in tasks related to
that field. Watson also learns through machine learning. Question and answer pairs are
repeatedly given to Watson, not so that Watson can know answers to specific questions, but so
Watson can get base knowledge about a variety of subjects. Watson then continues to learn from
ongoing interaction with humans.
This video is pertinent to my research because Watson is one of the most advanced
machine learning algorithms today. Watson, therefore, shows what is possible with machine
learning, and allows me to get a better understanding of what machines will do and how we will
use them in the future. The video also explains how Watson’s algorithm works. This gives me a
potential model I can base my machine learning algorithm on if I decide to make one during my
research. Lastly, the video gives a detailed explanation on what machine learning is. This offers
me a better understanding of how machine learning works.
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. www.jhuapl.edu/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2017.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL) website provides useful information
about the research center. The frontpage shows news stories regarding the physics lab and its
employees, as well as ways to contact APL, maps of APL, and visitor information. The website
also presents the different mission areas of APL, which include National Security Space,
Precision Strike, Sea Control, and Strategic Deterrence, describing each one in detail. The
website states, for example, that the Air and Missile Defense Sector “[focuses] on ballistic
missile defense, sensors and weapons, and integrated warfare systems.” This allows visitors to
the site to know precisely what APL does. Additionally, the website has information about
careers at APL, as well as college and high school internships, allowing visitors interested in
APL to learn about any job opportunities available.
This source is particularly important to my research because it is the website of the
research facility where I am currently interning. Not only does it allow me to know more about
the mission area in which I am interning (the Air and Missile Defense Sector), it also allows me
to see what other sectors are doing, so that if another sector is also doing something closely
related to my machine learning research topic, I will be able to know in which sector to look to
find someone who will be able to act as an additional human source to my research project. The
news stories on the website will be useful in this regard as well. If an employee at APL has a
breakthrough discovery in machine learning, I will be able to learn about it from the front page
of the site, allowing me to seek out this person so that I can ask him or her questions I have
regarding my research.

Lapowsky, Issie. "Just What We Need: An Algorithm to Help Politicians Pander." Wired.
In this article, Lapowsky describes how politicians and political campaigns can use
machine learning algorithms to become more favorable among the voting population. Lapowsky
describes a machine learning algorithm made by Nick Beaucamp, an assistant professor in
Northeastern University’s department of political science, that tells politicians what they can say
to make the voting populace more sympathetic to their cause. The algorithm works by scanning
and searching through websites and articles that are biased towards a given politician or piece of
legislation. The algorithm then sorts the inputted texts into categories, each category being a
reason why the politician or piece of legislation is good, and then outputs an argument that is
favorable towards that politician or legislation. The person using the algorithm then polls people
on that argument, asking those polled to rank the argument on a scale from 1 to 9. This
information is inputted back into the algorithm, so that it produces an even better argument. This
process continues until the political campaign is satisfied with the favorability of the argument.
In testing this algorithm, Beaucamp used “Obamacare” legislation, and found that arguments
revolving around pre-existing conditions and employer-employee relationships tended to be the
most favorable.
 This article is useful to my research in machine learning for many reasons. One reason is
that it cites how the machine learning algorithm works. Many of my other articles only explain
the implication of machine learning, and do not go into detail on how the algorithms are
developed. By explaining how Beaucamp developed his algorithm, the article gives me a better
understanding of how machine learning algorithms are developed in all industries. It also gives
me an understanding of how I could make my own machine learning algorithm as part of my
research. This article is also significant to my research because it touches on the specific topic of
machine learning I am interested in: the ethics of machine learning. Although machine learning
algorithms have the capacity to make human lives easier, safer, and more efficient, this does not
necessarily mean that machine learning should be left unregulated. As the machine learning
algorithm discussed in this article demonstrates, machine learning can be potentially dangerous,
as it may be used to manipulate people, like Beaucamp’s algorithm.

Levy, Steven. "Inside Facebook's AI Machine." Wired.

This article discusses how Facebook implements machine learning and artificial
intelligence to improve its social media platform. The article begins by introducing FAIR
(Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research group) and AML (Applied Machine Learning group).
FAIR is one of the best groups in the world for discovering breakthroughs in brain inspired
“neural networks,” which serve as the base of machine learning, as these neural networks are the
things that allow machines to learn. AML takes FAIR’s breakthroughs, and implements them
into actual products. The article then continues by citing examples of products developed by
Facebook that use machine learning. One of these products is a piece of software that renders
pictures and videos into images reminiscent of the works of famous artists. An individual using
this software could, for example, take a picture of them self and see a cubist self-portrait as
imagined by Pablo Picasso. Levy also describes what you need to make machine learning
algorithms accurate and effective. One of the things needed is quality data, as a machine that
learns off of bad data will not make accurate decisions or assessments. Another thing that is
essential is an abundance of data, as the more things that can be inputted into the algorithm, the
more things the algorithm can learn. Levy describes why this is not a problem for Facebook
because they have billions of people using the platform every day. Levy then continues by
describing how different groups within Facebook collaborate to make machine learning projects.
This can be done because AML does not create new machine learning algorithms for every
project. Instead, it has a general algorithm that can be used in many potential projects. This
allows new machine learning projects to be developed quickly and easily. Finally, the article
ends by describing how Facebook is using machine learning to develop ways of combatting
“fake news” that was prevalent in the 2016 election.
This article discusses a variety of things that are important to my research. One of these
things is how large companies implement machine learning. Before I read this article, I was
under the impression that machine learning algorithms had to be created for a specific product,
and that algorithms could not be reused. The article corrected these false assumptions. If I
wanted to build a machine learning algorithm therefore, this article shows me why I should make
a general machine learning algorithm that can be used on many projects, and not one that can be
used on only one project. Additionally, the article discusses what data makes for an effective
machine learning algorithm. Again, this article would be useful if I wanted to make a machine
learning algorithm, as it explains why I should use accurate data and input substantial amounts of
information into the algorithm to make the algorithm more efficient and precise.

Lufkin, Bryan. "Why the Biggest Challenge Facing AI Is an Ethical One." BBC, 22 Sept. 2017.
Accessed 17 Oct. 2017.
This article discusses the problems that may arise with the mass introduction of machine
learning and artificial intelligence. Lufkin begins by acknowledging that artificial intelligence is
useful in the modern world. It helps consumers choose which flights to take, banks choose who
to give loans to, and doctors determine which prescription to give. Lufkin claims, however, that
artificial intelligence can also be greatly detrimental to humans. Because algorithms are complex
and difficult to read, we have no way to see if machines will act maliciously until they do. We
therefore do not have the capability to determine if an algorithm is safe to use. Additionally,
Lufkin analyzes what will happen if we put the responsibility of decision making solely on
machines. Lufkin reasons that if machines make all decisions, those who no longer make
decisions will never know if the machines are correct in the choices. Lufkin also raises the
question of whose values and teachings machines will learn. There is not a set definition of what
is ethical and what isn’t. It is therefore impossible to get consensus on what values and ethics a
machine should learn. Finally, the article claims that machine learning may drastically reduce
employment in the future. This could lead to depression and mental health problems for many
people. Machine learning, therefore, can increase efficiency in the work place and profits for
businesses, but it is has the capability to be detrimental for millions.
This article is significant to my research because it directly addresses a specific topic I
want to include in research: the ethics of machine learning. It gives me plenty of background
information on this topic, which will be useful when I continue researching this topic. The article
focuses on many of the ethics questions that innovators of machine learning are facing. Although
the article does not draw conclusions on whether machine learning is a net positive or negative
for society, it is useful to get insights on how one should look at machine learning from an
ethical point of view.

"Machine Learning Department." Carnegie Mellon University, www.ml.cmu.edu.

This is the website for the machine learning department for Carnegie Mellon University
(CMU). This website is a good source for information on machine learning. On the main page,
the site provides information on upcoming events related to CMU’s machine learning
department. It also has an advertisement for faculty positions, highlights of recent events relating
to machine learning, and a definition of machine learning. The website has tabs on the top of the
page in which a user of the cite can navigate. The academics tab has information on majors in the
department. The research tab has information about research being conducted on machine
learning at CMU. This includes things like PhD dissertations. The people tab has information
about faculty who work in the department. From this tab, you can contact the faculty. Honors
and Awards has information about paper awards rewarded to the school, as well as faculty
awards, faculty honors and student awards. Similar to the front page, the MLD (Machine
Learning Department) recent news tab lists stories and articles on recent events that are related to
CMU’s machine learning department. There is also a faculty openings tab, allowing those
interested in a job at CMU’s machine learning department to see what jobs are available. Lastly,
there is an info tab for current MLD students. This tab is aimed towards students at Carnegie
Mellon who have questions about the machine learning department.
This website is helpful because it allows me to find accurate and trustworthy information.
Carnegie Mellon University is widely regarded as one of the best schools for computer science in
the United States. Articles on the front page of the site will allow me to know about
breakthroughs that are happening in the field. Not only does this website provide me with
trustworthy sources on machine learning, but it also allows me to contact professors or faculty
members in the department. If I have a question about machine learning, being able to contact
experts in the field will be useful.

Prado, Alvaro Javier, et al. "Machine Learning Based Approaches For Self-Tuning Trajectory
Tracking Controllers Under Terrain Changes in Repetitive Tasks." Engineering
Applications of Machine Learning.
This article explains how machine learning can be used to increase the performance of
vehicles on rough terrain. This is a problem, because a vehicle that has trouble travelling through
terrain takes longer to travel, is less accurate in getting to their destination, and expends more
energy doing so. Machine learning is needed to fix this problem because static solutions,
solutions that cannot change, cannot account for specific terrains that require a different
approach then the one it was tested on. Additionally, these static solutions often try to counteract
uncertainties in the terrain or directly compensate for disturbances caused by the terrain. These
methods are ineffective, because they do not react to changes in the terrain the vehicle is
traveling on. Because machine learning algorithms adapt to changes and different circumstances,
it is the only feasible option for vehicles travelling through rough terrain. Machine learning
would be especially helpful if the vehicle had to travel over the same path multiple times, as with
each passing, the vehicle would learn more about the path, allowing it to consistently increase its
efficiency in traveling over the path. The researchers involved with this paper used three criteria
to test the performance of the machine learning algorithms: energy used to move the vehicle,
traction of the vehicle over different terrains, and errors made in calculating its path. The
researchers also tested three machine learning approaches in their testing. The Gaussian Mixture
Model groups similar methods for going through the terrain together. Then, when the vehicle
finds terrain that is difficult to handle, it goes through the different groups, seeing which ones are
the most probable to help the vehicle move. The Mobil-Window Clustering uses the Gaussian
Mixture Model, but looks at the points that make up each group. Within the cluster that is most
useful to the vehicle, it estimates which point will be most effective. Finally, the Spectral
Clustering Method finds similarities between consecutive “gains” in vehicle movement. The
algorithm uses these similarities to find patterns that are relevant to help the vehicle move. The
researchers tested these methods using both mathematical simulations and field tests using an
electric vehicle, the Renault Twizy, over fields of both grass and mud. In the simulation, the
vehicle tested was a two-wheeled bicycle. Its parameters were distance between the front and
rear axles, the pose of the bike, and the longitudinal velocity of the wheel. The simulation was
completed using these parameters, and the three methods of machine learning discussed earlier
in addition to a manual terrain response software that was developed by the researchers and has
no machine learning capacity. The results of the simulation were that all three machine learning
methods beat the manual terrain software, in that they reduced tracking errors, or errors in
determining where the vehicle should go. The researchers tested the algorithms in the field test in
two ways. The first considers three different trajectory tracking controllers, three different
trajectory shapes, and the three different methods of machine learning. The second involved go
over two types of surfaces repeatedly. The results of the three machine learning methods were
better than the control of the manual method in terms of total error, total energy, and total
slippage. The same results were achieved in the second field test. By the end of the experiments
the researchers could safely say that the machine learning algorithms could reduce tracking
errors, energy consumption, and slippage errors in vehicles on inconsistent terrain. They could
also say that all three approaches to machine learning improved these factors.
This articles aides my research on a variety of ways. One way is that it shows me many
different algorithms used in the development of machine learning. This will be helpful if I decide
to build a machine learning algorithm during my research. Knowing machine learning
algorithms now will allow me to build artificially intelligent software in the future relatively
easily and quickly. This article is also significant because it shows me how to test machine
learning algorithms, should I choose to make one during my research. Knowing how to test
software is important in software development. Without knowing how to test my algorithm, I
would not be able to make much progress on it. Lastly, this article is important because it details
how to conduct research regarding machine learning. Before I read this article, I had no idea
what would be included in a research paper on machine learning. This paper showed me that a
research paper should include pseudocode, diagrams, mathematical equations that I used,
diagrams of models or simulations, and graphs and tables of my results. This information will be
useful if I conduct experiments on machine learning during my research. This article will be a
reference to me if I decide to do that.

Rosenberg, Matthew. "The Pentagon’s ‘Terminator Conundrum’: Robots That Could Kill on
Their Own." The New York Times, 26 Oct. 2016.
This article discusses the implication artificial intelligence has on military strategy and
operations. The article begins by describing a drone developed by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that could identify men carrying weapons amongst a
village of unarmed civilians. The article continues by citing more examples of the Defense
Department developing weapons that use artificial intelligence, including missiles that can
decide what targets to attack and ships that can find enemy submarines without human
intervention. The United States military hopes that implementing weapons that use artificial
intelligence will increase the effectiveness of weapons while also reducing the number of lives
lost during combat. The article also discusses the consequences of developing artificially
intelligent weapons. It specifically refers to an open letter written by hundreds of scientists and
researchers, who claim that the development of intelligent weapons will start an arms race
between nations, which will result in the production of deadly robotic weapons that can be
produced by rogue nations and terrorist organizations easily and cheaply. Artificial intelligence,
after all, is not proprietary to the United States government, as it is being worked on in the
private sector In Silicon Valley, and in foreign nations. Finally, the article examines ethical
questions that artificially intelligent weapons pose: Can a machine be trusted to kill? Who would
be responsible if a robot killed civilians? Is being killed by a human more dignifying then being
killed by a robot? The article implies that if the global community does not regulate the use of
intelligent weapons, like it did to submarine warfare after World War I, that the nations in the
future, including the United States, could use these weapons to commit war crimes.
This article is very relevant to my research on machine learning. First, it describes a new
and innovative way artificial intelligence, a subset of machine learning, is being used. Before I
read this article, I had only ever heard of machine learning being used in relations to self-driving
cars and search algorithms like Google’s. This article helped me realize that machine learning
can be used in almost all fields. This article also goes into detail on the ethics of machine
learning, a sub-topic I am particularly interested in. Questions this article discusses, like who is
responsible for a robot who kills an innocent person, are questions that I want to analyze and
solve in my research. This article gives me another example of how machine learning can be
unethical, if abused.

"The 7 Steps of Machine Learning." YouTube, uploaded by Google Cloud,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKW8Ndu7Mjw.

This video explains what machine learning is. It does this through theoretical examples
and analogies. The video explains how machine learning works using one of these examples, in
this case, creating an algorithm to determine if a beverage was a beer or a wine. Factors are used
to determine if a drink is a beer or a wine. The factors used in this scenario are color of the
beverage and alcohol content. Drinks are then obtained, and data is gathered, labeling each as
either beer or wine, and correctly identifying the color and alcohol content of every beverage.
After data is gathered on many different beverages, a machine learning algorithm is able to
memorize which colors and alcohol content go with beer, and which go with wine. The
algorithm should now be able to tell if a completely new beverage is beer or wine. The video
also provides tips for making sure your machine learning algorithm is accurate. One of these tips
is that data should be randomized before being inputted into a machine learning algorithm, as
without randomization, the algorithm might use order inputted as a factor. Additionally, there
should be the same amount of data for one category (i.e. beer), as another category (i.e. wine). If
there is more data for beer than wine, than the machine learning algorithm will always guess that
a beverage is a beer, as it thinks that the beverage being a beer is statistically more likely.
This video will be of particular interest to me if I decide to build a machine learning
algorithm as part of my research. The tips it provides will prevent me from making an inaccurate
or nonfunctioning algorithm. Additionally, this video showed me the steps necessary to build a
machine learning algorithm, and how machine learning works. If I decide to build a machine
learning algorithm, I will follow the steps shown in this video, which will ensure that I will have
a functioning and accurate algorithm.
Smith, Samuel, et al. "Predicting Congressional Votes Based on Campaign Finance Data." 11th
International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications.

The researchers writing this paper, who are employed by the Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley, use machine
learning to see if there is a correlation between voting records of members of congress and
monetary contributions to those members from corporations, individuals, and political action
committees. These researchers decided to do this because lobbying and political donations are at
a record high in the United States, and many people, including political scholars and pundits, feel
that this makes elected officials less interested in the needs of their constituents, and more
concerned with the interests of large corporations. This argument, however, has no quantitative
basis, so the researchers of this paper sought to prove this mathematically. Before they
conducted research, the researchers hypothesized that there would be a relationship between
campaign contributions and voting records. To try and see if this hypothesis is true, the
researchers used a machine learning classification model. The data inputted into this model were
from politicians whom the researchers had information about their campaign donors and their
voting records. The researchers obtained this information from a nonprofit named MapLight,
which collects information from public sources about political donations from corporations and
individuals. The model also requires information on how other politicians vote on a bill, before
predicting how the politicians it is examining will vote, as the model cannot just look at the title
and text of a bill to determine how politicians will vote. The algorithm, therefore, can only
predict votes for bills that have already been voted on. The specific parameters used to predict
votes were: previous votes on over 1262 pieces of legislation, public positions on legislations
from corporations, political donations made by individuals and corporations, and sector lists
(groupings of similar corporations). Before the data is used, the researchers pool all the money
given to each politician, and sort them into the 16 sectors in the sector lists. The researchers do
this because looking at each corporation individually would not yield many useful results or data.
They also do this because the opinions of corporations may only be made public through
industry advocacy groups. After this pre analysis sorting, the data is standardized and the
variance is calculated. Principal component analysis (PCA) is then used to easily represent the
donations obtained by each politician. This involves finding maximum variance from the
covariance. It can be inferred from the PCA graph and the first principal component that the
more money a firm that donates to all politicians gives to an individual politician, the more
important that individual politician is. This first principal component, was not largely divided by
political party. The second principal component, however, is sharply divided by political party.
To predict how a politician will vote, the researchers used many different methods. The baseline
was a coin toss, essentially giving a 50% chance that the politician will vote “aye” and a 50%
chance that the politician will vote “nay.” This method serves as a control in order to see how
well the other methods are at inferring votes. The researchers also used party to predict votes, as
elected officials of the same part often have similar views and policy objectives. The K-Nearest
Neighbors machine learning method (KNN) was also used. This method involves graphing the
data on a plane, and having a point you want predicted also shown on the plane. The prediction
point becomes the same as the data points around it. The algorithm holds all of these predictions
in its memory. The researchers specifically specified that in their research the prediction point
would become the same as the points holding a majority in the random point’s seven closest
neighbor. Another tool used to predict votes was the linear support vector machine (SVM). This
method divides the predictions into two categories (“aye” or “nay”) and puts known data and
votes into both of those categories. The machine then finds patterns in the data, and compares
new data with the old ones to try and predict how the law maker that the new data pertains to
will vote. The last method used was L1 regularized support vector machine (L1-SVM). This is
very similar to the linear support vector machine, but works better with small datasets. The
KNN, SVM, and L1-SVM methods all performed better than the coin toss method. This suggests
that there is a relationship between campaign donations and votes. Political party, however, is the
most accurate predictor of votes. The relative accuracy of both political parties and campaign
donations is not surprising, as political party and monetary contributions were highly correlated
with each other. Just because money is correlated with votes on legislation, however, does not
mean that campaign contributions make law makers vote in certain ways. There is no way to
establish this direct link. It could be that effective law makers are just better at asking for money,
which would also cause the correlation we see. At the end of the paper, the researchers
acknowledged that the results of the paper may be somewhat inaccurate due to the clustering of
firms into sectors, as this eliminates differing opinions across different firms in the sector.
This paper is significant and relevant to my research because it shows how to conduct
research and experiments about machine learning. In this paper, the researchers revealed their
hypothesis, gave background information on why they were conducting their research, explained
what data they used in the machine learning algorithms and why, explained how they modified
their data to suit their needs, showed their control and how they were going to compare data to
see results, and clearly stated what was learned from the research. This shows me that if I want
to do a research paper in machine learning as part of my research project, I should include these
same things in my paper. This paper also contains many methods used by computer scientists to
implement machine learning, and how each method works. This will be helpful to me if I do
decide to do a research paper, as the explanations found in this paper will allow me to make a
machine learning algorithm that will suit the needs of my research. Lastly, this research paper
shows that you do not have to put raw data into a machine learning algorithm. The researchers
who wrote this paper clustered similar data into groups. This research paper, therefore, shows me
that I can organize data in a way that will help me obtain usable results, which will be helpful if I
do a research paper on machine learning.

Stalker, Mario. Interview. 19 Sept. 2017.

Mario Stalker is a systems engineer working in the Supporting Missile Defense Agency
of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL). At APL, Stalker uses machine
learning, artificial intelligence, and the visual basic programming language to simplify tasks and
processes so that other employees can work quickly and efficiently. Stalker earned his degree in
computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and has been working at
the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab for more than 15 years.

The Wonderful and Terrifying Implications of Computers That Can Learn. Narrated by Jeremy
Howard, 2014. TED. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.
 In this video presentation, Jeremy Howard, a data scientist and former president of a
company specializing in machine learning, describes what machine learning is, what it can be
used for, and potential problems with using it. He starts the presentation by explaining that
machine learning is the process that a computer goes through to “learn” something that a
software engineer did not explicitly program. He uses Arthur Samuel, the man who invented
machine learning, as an example. Howard states that Samuel taught a computer to be a master
checkers player buy having the computer play itself in checkers thousands of times. In playing
checkers thousands of times, the computer was able to understand and store what moves are
good and what moves are bad. The computer that Samuel programmed went on to beat the
Connecticut state checkers champion. Howard then gives examples of machine learning we see
every day. He points out that Google’s search algorithm is the product of machine learning, and
that the suggestions given by Netflix and Amazon on what to buy and watch are also determined
by machine learning. Next, Howard describes deep learning, a machine learning algorithm based
on how the human brain learns. He then gives an algorithm that can detect survival rates for
cancer as an example of deep learning. Finally, Howard analyzes the down sides of machine
learning. Howard states that 80% of the work force in many industrialized countries have service
jobs, or jobs that involve reading and writing, speaking and listening, looking at things, or
integrating knowledge. Howard reasons that because machine learning allows computers to do
these things, in the future, industrialized countries will face a major employment and economic
crisis.
Machine learning is the topic of my research, which is why this video presentation is so
helpful. It concisely explains what machine learning is and what machine learning can do,
helping me better understand the concept of machine learning how it affects us in daily life. It
also goes into detail on how machine learning works, something I only had a vague
understanding of before I watched the video. Additionally, the presenter goes into detail about a
sub-topic of machine learning that I am particularly interested in, the economics of machine
learning, when he discusses the economic problem that machine learning might bring in the
future. This video, therefore, was a good source to familiarize me with my research topic.