System and Method to Enable Training a Machine Learning Network in the Presence of Weak or Absent Training Exemplars

A method, comprising:

• initializing at least one of (i) nodes in a first machine learning network and (ii) connections between nodes, to a predetermined strength value, wherein the nodes represent factors determining an output of the network;
• providing a first set of questions to a plurality of users, the first set of questions relating to at least one of the factors;
• receiving guesstimates from the users in response to the first set of questions;
• and
• adjusting the predetermined strength value as a function of the guesstimates.

A system, comprising:

• a host computing device including a machine learning network, the host computing device initializing at least one of i) nodes in the network and ii) connections between the nodes, to a respective predetermined strength value, the host computing device outputting questions, each question corresponding to at least one of the connections;
• and
• a plurality of client computing devices receiving the questions, the client computing devices transmitting guesstimates from users thereof in response to the questions,
• wherein the host computing device adjusts the predetermined strength value as a function of the guesstimates.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for execution by a processor to perform a method comprising:

• initializing at least one of i) nodes in a machine learning network and ii) connections between the nodes, to a predetermined strength value, wherein the nodes represent factors determinative of an output of the network;
• providing at least one question to a plurality of users, the at least one question relating to at least one of the factors;
• receiving guesstimates from the users in response to the at least one question;
• applying a weight to the guesstimates of a particular user as a function of a user information including a level of expertise of the user;
• and
• adjusting the predetermined strength value as a function of the guesstimates.