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Week 3, 5–9 October

Welcome to week 3! This week we introduce classification and gradient‑based fitting.

Many applications of machine learning use discrete labels (spam vs not spam) rather than real-valued outcomes (strength of metal alloy). We look at two different ways to “classify” (predict discrete labels), based on the main tools we’ve built up so far: regression and multivariate Gaussians.

This week also has the first discussion group meetings, and is the first week to be assessed. Your mark for this week depends on completing the discussion task (10%), attempting the in-note questions (20%), and this week’s assessed questions (70%). Full details on the assessments page including rules you must know.

Recommended event (entirely optional):

Distinguished lecture Monday 5 October, 3–4pm:
Christopher Bishop - Research and the “AI Revolution”

Here is what you need to do in Week 3:

We recommend that you aim to finish the questions (in the notes and question sheet) and submit your discussion report by the end of Thursday. We will assess only what you have submitted by 4pm UK time on Friday.

As in the Informatics late policy, extensions are not available for weekly hand-ins. We expect many students to miss or under-perform on one hand-in, and will discount the one with the lowest mark. If you experience more significant disruption to your studies, you may need to file special circumstances. Consult your Personal Tutor or Student Support team. Lecturers on a course cannot make allowances outside these procedures.