Genetic algorithms as a strategy for feature selection

Abstract Genetic algorithms have been created as an optimization strategy to be used especially when complex response surfaces do not allow the use of better‐known methods (simplex, experimental design techniques, etc.). This paper shows that these algorithms, conveniently modified, can also be a valuable tool in solving the feature selection problem. The subsets of variables selected by genetic algorithms are generally more efficient than those obtained by classical methods of feature selection, since they can produce a better result by using a lower number of features.