Machine Learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to learn and make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed. It involves the study of pattern recognition and computational learning.

In traditional programming, a programmer writes explicit instructions for a computer to follow. In contrast, in machine learning, the computer learns from data and examples to improve its performance on a specific task. It uses statistical techniques to automatically identify patterns, extract meaningful insights, and make predictions or decisions based on the given data.