# Machine Learning as Ecology

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.00868 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.00868/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 2 Aug 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Neural Succession: A Mesoscopic Theory of Invasion, Coexistence, and Stabilization in Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.36375/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Machine learning methods have had spectacular success on numerous problems. Here we show that a prominent class of learning algorithms - including Support Vector Machines (SVMs) -- have a natural interpretation in terms of ecological dynamics. We use these ideas to design new online SVM algorithms that exploit ecological invasions, and benchmark performance using the MNIST dataset. Our work provides a new ecological lens through which we can view statistical learning and opens the possibility of designing ecosystems for machine learning. Supplemental code is found at https://github.com/owenhowell20/EcoSVM.