MLpronto: A tool for democratizing machine learning

PLoS One. 2023 Nov 30;18(11):e0294924. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294924. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

The democratization of machine learning is a popular and growing movement. In a world with a wealth of publicly available data, it is important that algorithms for analysis of data are accessible and usable by everyone. We present MLpronto, a system for machine learning analysis that is designed to be easy to use so as to facilitate engagement with machine learning algorithms. With its web interface, MLpronto requires no computer programming or machine learning background, and it normally returns results in a matter of seconds. As input, MLpronto takes a file of data to be analyzed. MLpronto then executes some of the more commonly used supervised machine learning algorithms on the data and reports the results of the analyses. As part of its execution, MLpronto generates computer programming code corresponding to its machine learning analysis, which it also supplies as output. Thus, MLpronto can be used as a no-code solution for citizen data scientists with no machine learning or programming background, as an educational tool for those learning about machine learning, and as a first step for those who prefer to engage with programming code in order to facilitate rapid development of machine learning projects. MLpronto is freely available for use at https://mlpronto.org/.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Machine Learning*
  • Supervised Machine Learning