Making sense of machine learning

AI has become so pervasive, almost every software vendor laying claim to today's most hyped technology. In fact, Gartner's latest Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies uncerimoniously drops machine learning from its infamous curve. Hang on -- see what I did there? I used "AI" and "machine learning" interchangeably, which should get me busted by the artificial thought police. The first thing you need to know about AI (and machine learning) is that it's full of confusing, overlapping terminology, not to mention algorithms with functions that are opaque to all but a select few.