EM is the canonical latent-variable algorithm, and a GMM is how it shows up in practice. The signal is the E-step/M-step alternation, why it is soft clustering where k-means is hard, and the honest caveat that it only finds a local optimum. Here is the answer.
Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Applied AI Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.
EM is the canonical latent-variable algorithm, and a GMM is how it shows up in practice. The signal is the E-step/M-step alternation, why it is soft clustering where k-means is hard, and the honest caveat that it only finds a local optimum. Here is the answer.
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