Amazon researchers' method adds classes to AI classifiers more quickly

Classifiers are a staple of modern-day machine learning. Simply put, they categorize input data -- photos, videos, objects, and recordings -- by type, and do it very efficiently. However, problems arise when a classifier needs a new class -- that is, a new category. Adding even one new class is traditionally arduous and involves lots of data collection and model retraining. But scientists at Amazon's Alexa research division say it doesn't have to be that way.