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AI Explorers 3-5 / Week 05 / Explorer Quest
6/6
Week 05 · Rules or Learning?

Explorer Quest

Explorer Quest: Secret rule game
// Two ways to build a helper
⏱ about 15 min

Explorer Quest: Secret Rule Game

Raven lines up objects in two groups. "These fit my secret rule. These do not."

Rocket stares at the groups. "A spoon, a key, a ring... all metal?" he guesses.

"What do you notice?" Raven asks. "Look at every example."

Nova hovers above the table. "Each example is a clue," she hints. "Find the pattern they share."

  1. A programmer can write if-then rules. The computer follows them exactly.
  2. A computer can also learn patterns from examples. That is machine learning.
  3. Machine learning needs a huge number of examples, usually given by people.
  4. We compare both ways on the same job and pick the one that fits.
◇ SECRET RULE GAME
One person thinks of a secret rule, like "things that are round."
They make two piles: things that fit the rule and things that do not.
Add one example at a time.
Everyone else guesses the rule. Say your guess as an if-then rule.
If the guess is wrong, add more examples.
Take turns. Count how many examples it took to guess each rule.
For a grown-up
Use safe household objects only. Nothing sharp or breakable.
Ask: did more examples help you find the pattern?
Ask: when is it easier to just be told the rule?
QUEST CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Your family guessed a rule after 6 examples. With 2 examples, would it be easier or harder?
Saying "If it is round, then it fits" is which kind of thing?
Finding patterns in examples is called machine ____.
WHY THIS EXERCISEMachine learning finds patterns in data, just like you did in the game.
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