Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence that allows systems to learn and improve automatically through experience without being explicitly programmed. There are two main types: supervised learning requires human-labeled training data, while unsupervised learning identifies patterns in unlabeled data. Current business uses of machine learning include marketing analytics, predictive maintenance of machinery, and facial recognition. The future holds potential for machine learning to provide more customized products and accurate marketing based on consumer trends by analyzing vast historical data sets.