Explain by Example: Machine Learning

Disclaimer: The following content is not officially endorsed by Microsoft. I've been wanting to learn about investments, the stock market, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for a while now so I thought, why not combine them all together? So, today I decided to try and create my own machine learning model using Azure Machine Learning services, some free ASX historical data as my data sets and output a model that helps determine whether I should Buy, Hold, or Sell a stock listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Since this is for experimental and learning purposes, I have to note that whatever model I am about to create and deploy should not be taken seriously (as a financial advisor, financial guidance, etc). But before I dive in any further, let's take a step back and discuss the basics... Why is everyone talking about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning? Machine Learning is one component of Artificial Intelligence (or AI).