Dynamic Automatic Model Selection
Carla E. Brodley · 1992
The problem of how to learn from examples has been studied throughout the history of machine learning, and many successful learning algorithms have been developed. A problem that has received less attention is how to select which algorithm to use for a given learning task. The ability of a chosen algorithm to induce a good generalization depends on how appropriate the model class underlying the algorithm is for the given task. We define an algorithm's model class to be the representation language it uses to express a generalization of the examples. Supervised learning algorithms differ in their underlying model class and in how they search for a good generalization. Given this characterization, it is not surprising that some algorithms find better generalizations for some, but not all tasks. Therefore, in order to find the best generalization for each task, an automated learning system must search for the appropriate model class in addition to searching for the best generalization wit...