juniorNeural Networks
What is a loss function?
Updated May 17, 2026
Short answer
A loss function measures the difference between predicted and actual values.
Deep explanation
It quantifies model error. Common loss functions include MSE for regression and cross-entropy for classification.
Real-world example
Used in training image classifiers.
Common mistakes
- Choosing wrong loss function for the task.
Follow-up questions
- What is cross entropy loss?
- Why not use MSE for classification?