Machine learning is concerned with developing algorithms that enable programs to use data to evolve new behavior. Calling it a meme seems to put it in the same

Machine learning is concerned with developing algorithms that enable programs to use data to evolve new behavior. Calling it a meme seems to put it in the same category as advice animals and Old Spice ads. Still, I see what you're saying--- it is really "in" right now, which is probably because: (1) There's a lot more data now for people to use it with (2) Infrastructure for doing it is cheap and scalable (3) Automation is a key driver of progress, and ML algos are now getting good enough to automate a lot of stuff that humans used to have to do.