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Bharath Prasad
Bharath Prasad

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Perceptron Algorithm in Machine Learning: The Building Block of AI

Ever come across the term Perceptron while reading about machine learning and felt a little lost? Don’t worry—it’s not as intimidating as it sounds. In fact, the perceptron is one of the simplest and most essential concepts in the AI world.

The perceptron is a type of artificial neuron. Think of it as a decision-maker—it takes multiple inputs, processes them, and produces a binary output (yes/no, 1/0). It was introduced by Frank Rosenblatt in 1958 and laid the foundation for more advanced neural networks.

Here’s how it works: each input is multiplied by a weight, the results are added together, and passed through an activation function. If the result crosses a certain threshold, it outputs 1; if not, it outputs 0. Over time, the algorithm learns by adjusting the weights based on mistakes during training.

There are two main types:

Single Layer Perceptron: Best for simple, linearly separable problems.

Multilayer Perceptron (MLP): Capable of solving complex, non-linear tasks like voice or image recognition.

Despite its simplicity, the perceptron is behind many everyday applications—from spam filters to recommendation systems.

Want to go beyond theory? Zenoffi E-Learning Labb offers beginner-friendly, hands-on courses that teach you how to apply machine learning models like the perceptron in real-world projects.

Whether you’re starting your AI journey or upskilling for your next role, the perceptron is the perfect place to begin.

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