{"id":13653,"date":"2016-09-20T15:29:46","date_gmt":"2016-09-20T15:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/unsupervised-learning\/"},"modified":"2024-11-07T16:11:01","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T16:11:01","slug":"unsupervised-learning","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/unsupervised-learning","title":{"rendered":"Unsupervised Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span id=\"what_is_unsupervised_learning\">What is Unsupervised Learning?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unsupervised learning is a type of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/8181\/machine-learning-ml\">machine learning<\/a> (ML) that allows an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/190\/artificial-intelligence-ai\">artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI) model to learn from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/807\/data\">data<\/a> without any human guidance. Unsupervised <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33426\/learning-algorithm\">learning algorithms<\/a> can discover patterns and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/30297\/anomaly-detection\">detect anomalies<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/13865\/unstructured-data\">unstructured<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/30363\/structured-data\">structured<\/a> data without the need for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33181\/training-data\">training data<\/a> to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33695\/labeled-data\">labeled<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases-300x183.jpg\" alt=\"What is Unsupervised Learning\" width=\"1200\" height=\"732\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-348367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases-1024x625.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases-768x468.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases-1536x937.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases-1200x732.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases-1980x1208.jpg 1980w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/What-is-Unsupervised-Learning-Definition-How-It-Works-Use-Cases.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<h2><span id=\"key_takeaways\">Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The primary goal of unsupervised learning is to discover patterns, relationships, and structures in data without relying on pre-existing labels.<\/li>\n<li>Unsupervised learning uses clustering, association rules, and dimensionality reduction algorithms to gain insights into unlabeled data.<\/li>\n<li>Common techniques in unsupervised learning include grouping similar data points (clustering), identifying relationships or rules within data (association analysis), and simplifying data by reducing the number of variables (dimensionality reduction).<\/li>\n<li>Unsupervised learning can be used as a preliminary step in machine learning pipelines to understand a large dataset before applying more structured learning techniques.<\/li>\n<li>Unsupervised learning can be challenging because it&#8217;s difficult to assess model accuracy without labeled data, and hyperparameters often require significant tuning to produce meaningful results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div>\n    <section class=\"toc-sticky w-100 bg-white \">\n        <div class=\"toc-sticky__container container\">\n            <div class=\"toc-sticky__open d-flex align-items-end\" data-bs-toggle=\"collapse\"\n                 aria-controls=\"multiCollapse1\"\n                 data-bs-target=\"#multiCollapse1\">\n                <button\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary collapse-action-btn p-1 rounded-circle\"\n                        type=\"button\"\n                >\n                    <i class=\"icon-chevron-up\"><\/i>\n                <\/button>\n                <span id=\"toc-current-title\" class=\"d-flex align-items-center\">\n                    Table of Contents\n                <\/span>\n                <span class=\"toc-main-title-permanent\">Table of Contents<\/span>\n            <\/div>\n            <div\n                    class=\"collapse my-3\"\n                    id=\"multiCollapse1\"\n            >\n                <ol class=\"StepProgress\">\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item current\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"what_is_unsupervised_learning\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"what_is_unsupervised_learning\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">What is Unsupervised Learning?<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"key_takeaways\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"key_takeaways\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">Key Takeaways<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"examples_of_unsupervised_learning_algorithms\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"examples_of_unsupervised_learning_algorithms\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">Examples of Unsupervised Learning Algorithms<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"how_does_unsupervised_learning_work\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"how_does_unsupervised_learning_work\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">How Does Unsupervised Learning Work?<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"types_of_unsupervised_learning\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"types_of_unsupervised_learning\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">Types of Unsupervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"applications_of_unsupervised_learning_in_the_real_world\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"applications_of_unsupervised_learning_in_the_real_world\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">Applications of Unsupervised Learning in the Real World<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"unsupervised_learning_vs_supervised_learning_semi-supervised_learning\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"unsupervised_learning_vs_supervised_learning_semi-supervised_learning\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">Unsupervised Learning vs. Supervised Learning &amp; Semi-Supervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"challenges_and_benefits_of_unsupervised_learning\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"challenges_and_benefits_of_unsupervised_learning\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">Challenges and Benefits of Unsupervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"future_of_unsupervised_learning\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"future_of_unsupervised_learning\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">Future of Unsupervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"the_bottom_line\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"the_bottom_line\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">The Bottom Line<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                                                        <li class=\"StepProgress-item\">\n                                                <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                            <a data-id=\"faqs\"\n                               onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"faqs\")\n                               class=\"StepProgress-item__link\" data-level=\"2\">FAQs<\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/li>\n                                    <\/ol>\n                <div class=\"toc-sticky__container__disperse\"><\/div>\n                <div class=\"toc-sticky__btn-top justify-content-center\">\n                    <button class=\"btn btn-link d-flex align-items-center\" onclick={btnTop()}><p>Show Full Guide<\/p><img decoding=\"async\"\n                                src=\"\/wp-content\/plugins\/table-of-contents\/assets\/images\/arrow-up-circle.svg\"\n                                alt=\"arrow-up-circle\">\n                    <\/button>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n    <div class=\"toc-sticky-list\">\n        <div class=\"toc-sticky__container container\">\n            <div class=\"toc-sticky__open d-flex align-items-end\" data-bs-toggle=\"collapse\" aria-controls=\"multiCollapse2\" data-bs-target=\"#multiCollapse2\">\n                <button class=\"btn btn-primary collapse-action-btn p-1 rounded-circle\"\n                        type=\"button\">\n                    <i class=\"icon-chevron-up up\"><\/i>\n                <\/button>\n                <span id=\"toc-current-title\" class=\"d-flex align-items-center\">\n                    Table of Contents\n                <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n            <div  class=\"collapse my-3\" id=\"multiCollapse2\">\n                <ol class=\"StepProgress\">\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t                                                     <li class=\"StepProgress-item current \">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"what_is_unsupervised_learning\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"what_is_unsupervised_learning\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">What is Unsupervised Learning?<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t                                                     <li class=\"StepProgress-item \">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"key_takeaways\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"key_takeaways\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">Key Takeaways<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t                                                     <li class=\"StepProgress-item \">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"examples_of_unsupervised_learning_algorithms\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"examples_of_unsupervised_learning_algorithms\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">Examples of Unsupervised Learning Algorithms<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <span class=\"show_moretoc\">Show Full Guide<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t                                                      <li class=\"StepProgress-item ms_hidetoc\">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"how_does_unsupervised_learning_work\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"how_does_unsupervised_learning_work\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">How Does Unsupervised Learning Work?<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t                                                      <li class=\"StepProgress-item ms_hidetoc\">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"types_of_unsupervised_learning\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"types_of_unsupervised_learning\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">Types of Unsupervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t                                                      <li class=\"StepProgress-item ms_hidetoc\">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"applications_of_unsupervised_learning_in_the_real_world\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"applications_of_unsupervised_learning_in_the_real_world\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">Applications of Unsupervised Learning in the Real World<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t                                                      <li class=\"StepProgress-item ms_hidetoc\">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"unsupervised_learning_vs_supervised_learning_semi-supervised_learning\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"unsupervised_learning_vs_supervised_learning_semi-supervised_learning\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">Unsupervised Learning vs. Supervised Learning &amp; Semi-Supervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t                                                      <li class=\"StepProgress-item ms_hidetoc\">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"challenges_and_benefits_of_unsupervised_learning\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"challenges_and_benefits_of_unsupervised_learning\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">Challenges and Benefits of Unsupervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t                                                      <li class=\"StepProgress-item ms_hidetoc\">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"future_of_unsupervised_learning\"\n                                   onclick=handleScrollToTitle(\"future_of_unsupervised_learning\")\n                                   class=\"StepProgress-item__link\"\n                                   data-level=\"2\">Future of Unsupervised Learning<\/a>\n                                                            <\/div>\n                                                    <\/li>\n                    \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t                                                      <li class=\"StepProgress-item ms_hidetoc\">\n                                                    <div class=\"StepProgress-item__group\">\n                                <a data-id=\"the_bottom_line\"\n     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pageLegendCollapse);\n\tjQuery('span.show_moretoc').click(function(){\n\t\tjQuery('span.show_moretoc').hide();\n\t   jQuery('.ms_hidetoc').show();\n\t});\n    });\n\n    \/\/ When the user clicks on the button, scroll to the top of the document\n    function btnTop() {\n        const pageLegend = document.querySelector('#multiCollapse1');\n        document.querySelector('html').classList.remove('overflow-hidden');\n        pageLegend.classList.remove('overflow-auto');\n        pageLegend.style.height = 'auto';\n        window.scrollTo({\n            top: 0,\n            behavior: 'smooth'\n        });\n    }\n\n    const handleScrollToTitle = (id) => {\n        const el = document.getElementById(id);\n        const headerHeightDifference = window.innerWidth < 992 ? -30 : -15;\n        window.scrollTo({\n            top: el.offsetTop - 60 - headerHeightDifference - 10,\n        });\n    }\n<\/script>\n\n<h2><span id=\"examples_of_unsupervised_learning_algorithms\">Examples of Unsupervised Learning Algorithms<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unsupervised learning algorithms are characterized by their ability to learn from unlabeled data, their focus on exploration and pattern discovery, and their capacity to reveal hidden structures and insights that might otherwise remain unknown.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle\" style=\"color:#3CB371\"><\/i> Clustering algorithms like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/32057\/k-means-clustering\">k-means<\/a> can group data points based on their similarity in terms of distance or density<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle\" style=\"color:#3CB371\"><\/i> Association rule learning algorithms like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33156\/apriori-algorithm\">Apriori<\/a> can find relationships between variables, such as &#8220;customers who bought this also bought that&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle\" style=\"color:#3CB371\"><\/i> Techniques like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/32509\/principal-component-analysis-pca\">Principal Component Analysis<\/a> (PCA) can reduce the number of variables while preserving important information and make it easier to visualize and analyze data<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle\" style=\"color:#3CB371\"><\/i> Algorithms like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/30331\/gaussian-mixture-model-gmm\">Gaussian Mixture Models<\/a> (GMM) can model the underlying probability distribution of the data to identify hidden patterns and structures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"how_does_unsupervised_learning_work\">How Does Unsupervised Learning Work?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unsupervised learning algorithms can analyze <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33696\/unlabeled-data\">unlabeled data<\/a> to identify underlying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/1149\/data-structure\">data structures<\/a>, recognize <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/8802\/pattern-recognition-computer-science\">data patterns<\/a>, and discover relationships between data points. Grouping similar data points and calculating how closely they relate to each other helps reveal meaningful insights without needing labeled data.<\/p>\n<p>Machine learning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/3828\/software-library\">libraries<\/a> are essential tools for implementing unsupervised learning. They provide the building blocks and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/14384\/software-framework\">frameworks<\/a> that make it easier to develop, train, and deploy unsupervised learning models.<\/p>\n<h3>Machine Learning Libraries That Support Unsupervised Learning<\/h3>\n<p>Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, Pytorch, and Keras are popular machine learning libraries that provide tools for building and deploying unsupervised machine learning models.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-accordion su-u-trim\">\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Sciekit-Learn<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Offers a wide range of unsupervised clustering, dimensionality reduction, and anomaly detection learning algorithms. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>TensorFlow<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Provides a flexible framework for building custom unsupervised learning models. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>PyTorch<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> A popular choice for research and experimentation with unsupervised learning. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Keras<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Built on TensorFlow and often used to prototype unsupervised machine learning models. <\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"types_of_unsupervised_learning\">Types of Unsupervised Learning<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Different types of unsupervised learning use different techniques to discover and represent patterns in data. The two primary types of unsupervised learning are <strong>clustering<\/strong> and <strong>association<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Clustering groups similar data points together based on their characteristics. Association identifies relationships between variables.<\/p>\n<p>Dimensionality reduction can be used to reduce the number of variables and dimensions within the data. This not only conserves processing power, it also helps prevent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/32512\/overfitting\">overfitting<\/a> and makes it easier to identify patterns, relationships, and anomalies.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"applications_of_unsupervised_learning_in_the_real_world\">Applications of Unsupervised Learning in the Real World<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-160x300.jpg\" alt=\"Applications of Unsupervised Learning in the Real World\" width=\"1200\" height=\"2249\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-348378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-160x300.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-546x1024.jpg 546w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-768x1440.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-819x1536.jpg 819w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-1093x2048.jpg 1093w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-1200x2249.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-1980x3712.jpg 1980w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Applications-of-Unsupervised-Learning-in-the-Real-World-scaled.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Unsupervised learning is a powerful tool for extracting insights from unlabeled data and solving real-world problems across various domains.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some practical use cases for unsupervised learning in the real world:<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-accordion su-u-trim\">\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Retail and marketing<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Use customer browsing history, and interactions with marketing campaigns to group customers into segments and target marketing strategies more effectively. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Finance and cybersecurity<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Use financial records and network logs to identify <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/32511\/outlier\">outlier<\/a> data that may indicate fraud or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/top-cybersecurity-threats-and-how-to-protect-your-data\">cyber threats<\/a>. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Recommendation systems<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Analyze product reviews, ratings, comments, and social media posts to gain insights about customer preferences. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Medical imaging and diagnostics<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Segment regions in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/11890\/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri\">MRI<\/a> scans to support accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Text mining and topic modeling<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Identify common themes or topics within large text datasets to improve content categorization and news aggregation. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Image and video compression<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Use dimensionality reduction to simplify image and video data and reduce transmission and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/storage\">storage<\/a> requirements without losing essential information. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Inventory and supply chain<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Find patterns in purchase orders and stock levels to forecast demand, optimize inventory, and improve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/23789\/supply-chain-management-scm\">supply chain management<\/a> (SCM). <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Customer feedback<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Group customer feedback and reviews by topic or sentiment to help businesses identify key areas for improvement. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Bioinformatics<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Cluster gene expression profiles to identify genetic markers. <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-fancy su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span><strong>Social network analysis<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\"> Identify influential communities or users to maximize marketing reach and engagement with less effort and cost. <\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"unsupervised_learning_vs_supervised_learning_semi-supervised_learning\">Unsupervised Learning vs. Supervised Learning &amp; Semi-Supervised Learning<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unsupervised learning, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/30389\/supervised-learning\">supervised learning<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/32056\/semi-supervised-learning\">semi-supervised learning<\/a> are the three main types of machine learning:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Supervised learning algorithms<\/strong>: Compare model outputs to corresponding output labels. <strong>Unsupervised learning algorithms:<\/strong> Explore the data to identify patterns, clusters, or relationships without any supervision.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Semi-supervised algorithms<\/strong> are initially trained on a small amount of labeled data before they are given a larger amount of unlabeled data to explore.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning-300x218.jpg\" alt=\"Unsupervised Learning vs. Supervised Learning _ Semi-Supervised Learning\" width=\"1200\" height=\"872\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-348384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning-1024x744.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning-768x558.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning-1536x1116.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning-1200x872.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning-1980x1439.jpg 1980w, https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Unsupervised-Learning-vs.-Supervised-Learning-_-Semi-Supervised-Learning.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"challenges_and_benefits_of_unsupervised_learning\">Challenges and Benefits of Unsupervised Learning<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unsupervised learning can be used to uncover hidden patterns in data, but its use comes with its own set of challenges and benefits.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Can uncover hidden patterns, relationships, and anomalies in structured and unstructured data that might not be apparent through traditional analysis methods.<\/li>\n<li>Unsupervised learning algorithms allow businesses and researchers to take advantage of the vast amount of unstructured data that humans produce each day.<\/li>\n<li>Can be used to learn the relevant features of a large <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/3348\/data-set-ibm-mainframe\">data set<\/a>, and this knowledge can then be used as input for supervised learning models.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Challenges:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The outputs for unsupervised learning algorithms are subjective because the algorithms draw their own conclusions. This can make the logic behind outputs difficult to understand and explain.<\/li>\n<li>Unsupervised learning algorithms require significant computational resources to analyze high-dimensional data and extremely large datasets. This can be time-consuming and computationally expensive.<\/li>\n<li>As the volume of the data space grows, it can be difficult for unsupervised algorithms to differentiate between meaningful patterns and noise. Determining the optimal number of clusters or relationships can also be difficult and require trial and error or the use of additional techniques to validate results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span id=\"future_of_unsupervised_learning\">Future of Unsupervised Learning<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The future of unsupervised learning is being driven by an increasing volume of unlabeled data and the need for more data to train the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/34948\/large-language-model-llm\">large language models<\/a> (LLMs) that power <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/ai\/best-free-ai-content-generator\">AI content generators<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/ai\/best-ai-writing-tools\">AI writing<\/a> tools.<\/p>\n<p>Important trends include a greater focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/33240\/explainable-artificial-intelligence-xai\">explainability<\/a>, more integration with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/30325\/deep-learning\">deep learning<\/a>, and ethical considerations regarding both the unauthorized use of data for training purposes and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/big-tech-goes-nuclear-to-cover-ai-energy-costs\">environmental impact of AI power requirements<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While unsupervised learning is readily available today through machine learning frameworks and platforms like Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Keras, this type of machine learning still requires expertise to select the right models, tune <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/34625\/hyperparameter-ml-hyperparameter\">hyperparameters<\/a>, and interpret results.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"the_bottom_line\">The Bottom Line<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Unsupervised learning, by definition, is a type of machine learning that can discover patterns, relationships, and anomalies in large datasets without human supervision. Unsupervised learning algorithms are especially useful in scenarios where manually labeling data would be impractical or impossible.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"faqs\">FAQs<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"man_faq_sec\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\"><\/time><section class=\"ms_faq ms_card \" ><div itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><div class=\"accordionButton\"><h3 itemprop=\"name\">What is unsupervised learning in simple terms?<\/h3> <\/div>\n<div class=\"accordionContent\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"display:none;\"><p itemprop=\"text\">Unsupervised learning, meaning a type of machine learning that doesn&#8217;t require human supervision, can analyze unlabeled data autonomously to find patterns and group similar data points together.<\/p>\r\n                <\/div><\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"ms_faq ms_card \" ><div itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><div class=\"accordionButton\"><h3 itemprop=\"name\">What is the difference between supervised and unsupervised learning?<\/h3> <\/div>\n<div class=\"accordionContent\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"display:none;\"><p itemprop=\"text\">Supervised learning requires training data to be labeled data. Unsupervised learning does not require training data to be labeled.<\/p>\r\n                <\/div><\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"ms_faq ms_card \" ><div itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><div class=\"accordionButton\"><h3 itemprop=\"name\">Is ChatGPT supervised or unsupervised?<\/h3> <\/div>\n<div class=\"accordionContent\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"display:none;\"><p itemprop=\"text\">ChatGPT is semi-supervised. It was initially trained on large amounts of unlabeled data and then fine-tuned with labeled data and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/reinforcement-learning-from-human-feedback-rlhf\">reinforcement learning from human feedback<\/a> (RLHF).<\/p>\r\n                <\/div><\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"ms_faq ms_card \" ><div itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\"><div class=\"accordionButton\"><h3 itemprop=\"name\">What are examples of how unsupervised learning is used?<\/h3> <\/div>\n<div class=\"accordionContent\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\" style=\"display:none;\"><p itemprop=\"text\">Examples of unsupervised learning include finding communities or groups in large social networks and anomaly detection for fraud.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n                <\/div><\/div><\/section>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Unsupervised Learning? Unsupervised learning is a type of machine learning (ML) that allows an artificial intelligence (AI) model to learn from data without any human guidance. Unsupervised learning algorithms can discover patterns and detect anomalies in unstructured and structured data without the need for training data to be labeled. Examples of Unsupervised Learning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":348359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[269],"class_list":["post-13653","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","definitioncat-machine-learning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.2 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is Unsupervised Learning? Definition, How It Works &amp; Use Cases<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unsupervised learning is a type of machine learning that does not require training data to be labeled. Learn more about unsupervised learning\u2019s meaning here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unsupervised Learning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unsupervised learning is a type of machine learning that does not require training data to be labeled. 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