Machine learning is a technical self-explanatory subset of data science and an application of artificial intelligence (AI). It specializes in conditioning the machine by designing the ability to auto-learn and improve in order to execute tasks that it is not programmed to do so.
It may sound totally otherworldly but essentially it is not. A machine can actually automatically learn to perform without human intervention. Because for the most part, machine learning is about developing computer programs that enable data accession in terms of direct experience, examples, or instructions to deduce certain patterns which can be used as future reference.