Where did the phrase "Train on cats" come from? - briefly
The phrase "Train on cats" originated from early computer vision and machine learning experiments, where simple algorithms were tested on images of cats to develop pattern recognition techniques.
Where did the phrase "Train on cats" come from? - in detail
The phrase "Train on cats" has its origins in the early days of computer vision and machine learning, particularly in the field of image recognition. In 2012, a groundbreaking project by Google, known as the "Google Brain," utilized a neural network to analyze millions of unlabeled images from YouTube videos. The network was designed to learn and identify patterns without explicit human supervision. During this experiment, the neural network famously learned to recognize cats, as they were one of the most common subjects in the dataset. This led to the phrase "Train on cats" becoming a colloquial expression, symbolizing the process of teaching algorithms using large, unstructured datasets. The phrase also highlights the sometimes unexpected or humorous outcomes of machine learning, where models may develop an affinity for certain patterns or subjects, like cats, due to their prevalence in training data. Over time, it has been used metaphorically to describe the process of training AI systems on diverse or unconventional datasets to achieve specific learning outcomes.