Feature Selection Using Artificial Neural Networks

Machine learning is useful for building robust learning models, and it is based on a set of features that identify a state of an object. Unfortunately, some data sets may contain a large number of features making, in some cases, the learning process time consuming and the generalization capability of machine learning poor. To make a data set easy to learn and understand, it is typically recommended to remove the most irrelevant features from the set. However, choosing what data should be kept or eliminated may be performed by complex selection algorithms, and optimal feature selection may require an exhaustive search of all possible subsets of features which is computationally expensive. This paper proposes a simple method to perform feature selection using artificial neural networks. It is shown experimentally that genetic algorithms in combination with artificial neural networks can easily be used to extract those features that are required to produce a desired result. Experimental results show that very few hidden neurons are required for feature selection as artificial neural networks are only used to assess the quality of an individual, which is a chosen subset of features.