Online Learning?? You mean like Coursera?

What?

Online learning is a method of machine learning where data flows in over time rather than being available all at once.

Why?

Imagine this: it's been a month since you've ~binged~ watched Stranger Things at a healthy pace and you want to find your next show to watch (it's Breaking Bad). In the dystopia without online learning, you'd have to wait a whole month* for Netflix engineers to train their ML Model based on your input data from the previous month before you they had an updated recommendation list for you.

Online learning algorithms allow them dynamically provided updates over time based on your engagement with shows and movies on the platform.

*The timespan of a month was chosen arbitrarily, the point is that it would likely be slower.