There is Algorithm and then there is a self-learning Algorithm

There is a lot of noise about the importance and how machine learning is changing the world of business and thereby world around us. There is a lot of examples being shared about the success of recommendation engines of Amazon or Netflix or even some retail giants.

But is that really machine learning at work or is it still the work of some really smart and savvy programmers who have created an even smarter algorithm? Is the algorithm learning and creating a better algorithm than the one writ...