The simplest AI algorithm!
Imagine you're new at school. You meet two groups of kids:
🍎 One group loves sports
📚 One group loves reading
You talk to both groups. Which one will you probably join?
The one closest to your interests!
That's nearest neighbor - finding what's most similar!
We can put things on a "map" based on their traits:
🎮 If you like video games AND sports → closer to the "sports kids"
📚 If you like reading AND math → closer to the "nerd group"
The computer just measures the distance between points!
📺 Netflix: "People who liked what you liked also liked..."
🛒 Amazon: "Customers who bought this also bought..."
🎵 Spotify: Finding songs similar to what you like
🔍 Google: Finding web pages similar to your search
🏥 Medical: Finding similar patient cases
Imagine plotting animals on a chart:
🐱 Cats: More "cuddly" (high) vs "energetic" (low)
🐕 Dogs: More "energetic" (high) vs "cuddly" (high)
When you see a new furry creature, just find the closest point!
✅ Easy to understand and explain
✅ Fast to calculate
✅ Works with any type of data
❌ Can be slow with millions of data points
❌ Sensitive to noisy data