What is deep learning (deep neural network)? - Definition from WhatIs.com

Each algorithm in the hierarchy applies a nonlinear transformation on its input and uses what it learns to create a statistical model as output. Iterations continue until the output has reached an acceptable level of accuracy. The number of processing layers through which data must pass is what inspired the label deep. In traditional machine learning, the learning process is supervised and the programmer has to be very, very specific when telling the computer what types of things it should be looking for when deciding if an image contains a dog or does not contain a dog. This is a laborious process called feature extraction and the computer's success rate depends entirely upon the programmer's ability to accurately define a feature set for "dog."