<human>:  What is machine learning and how is it used?
<bot>: Machine Learning is a branch of artificial intelligence that uses statistical techniques to enable computers to learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. It is a type of adaptive technology, meaning that it is able to "learn" and improve its performance on a specific task without the need for any additional programming. Machine learning is used in a variety of areas, including data mining, natural language processing, pattern recognition, robotics, and computer vision. It can also be used for prediction, classification, clustering, and optimization.