Hannah Fry

When it comes to artificial intelligence, we hear either of a paradise on Earth or of our imminent extinction. It's time we stand faceto-digital-face with the true powers and limitations of the algorithms that already automate important decisions in healthcare, transportation, crime, and commerce. Hello World is indispensable preparation for the moral quandaries of a world run by code, and with the unfailingly entertaining Hannah Fry as our guide, we'll be discussing these issues long after the last page is turned. "With refreshing simplicity, Fry explains what AI, machine learning and complicated algorithms really mean." -- Guardian "Fascinating and funny. I learned something on every page." -- Tom Chivers, BuzzFeed "An action- packed read during which you will be outraged, provoked, and challenged." -- Cathy O'Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction

Being Human in the Age of Algorithms

Hello World

Fabian Beiner

In the age of the algorithm, humans have never been more important.

Please make that a thing and call it “The Fry Test.” 🙏🏻

There's a trick you can use to spot the junk algorithms. I like to call it the Magic Test. Whenever you see a story about an algorithm, see if you can swap out any of the buzzwords, like 'machine learning', 'artificial intelligence' and 'neural network', and swap in the word 'magic'. Does everything still make grammatical sense? Is any of the meaning lost? If not, I'd be worried that something smells quite a lot like bullshit. Because I'm afraid long into the foreseeable future we're not going to 'solve world hunger with magic' or 'use magic to write the perfect screenplay' any more than we are with AI.

Everywhere you look — in the judicial system, in healthcare, in policing, even online shopping — there are problems with privacy, bias, error, accountability and transparency that aren't going to go away easily. Just by virtue of some algorithms existing, we face issues of fairness that cut to the core of who we are as humans, what we want our society to look like, and how far we can cope with the impending authority of dispassionate technology.

[…] trusting a usually reliable algorithm is one thing. Trusting one without any firm understanding of its quality is quite another.

Beatričė 

Jau žinome, kad žmogus puikiai geba suprasti įvairiau- sius niuansus, analizuoti kontekstus, naudotis savo patirtimi ir atpažinti dėsningumus. Bet jam nesiseka sutelkti ir išlaikyti demesio, pasiekti tikslumo, nuoseklumo ir aiškiai suvokti aplinkos. Trumpai tariant, müsų gebéjimai - visiškai priešingi tiems, kurie büdingi algoritmams.

Juk ateitis neatsiranda savaime. Ja kuriame mes.

Kehinde Adeleke

Hannah Fry is an amazing writer. She explores how algorithms can be beneficial as well as harmful to Humans. It's a very read and I came out of it with the thought that: Algorithms can't be out forth as an objective solution to our problems.

We need to work hand in hand with algorithms to create a better world.

Emma

I would never have thought I’d find a book about algorithms fascinating but this truly was! Fry takes the reader through an investigation of how algorithms are used in various institutions, while presenting their virtues and shortcomings. She questions our relationship them and posits premises we can use to create algorithms that counteract our natural biases. Packed with stories, wonderfully insightful, and an engaging read, I highly recommend it!

If you were accused of a crime, who would you rather decide your sentence--a mathematically consistent algorithm incapable of empathy or a compassionate human judge prone to bias and error? What if you want to buy a driverless car and must choose between one programmed to save as many lives as possible and another that prioritizes the lives of its own passengers? And would you agree to share your family's full medical history if you were told that it would help researchers find a cure for cancer?These are just some of the dilemmas that we are beginning to face as we approach the age of the algorithm, when it feels as if the machines reign supreme. Already, these lines of code are telling us what to watch, where to go, whom to date, and even whom to send to jail. But as we rely on algorithms to automate big, important decisions--in crime, justice, healthcare, transportation, and money--they raise questions about what we want our world to look like. What matters most: Helping doctors with diagnosis or preserving privacy? Protecting victims of crime or preventing innocent people being falsely accused?Hello World takes us on a tour through the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us on a daily basis. Mathematician Hannah Fry reveals their inner workings, showing us how algorithms are written and implemented, and demonstrates the ways in which human bias can literally be written into the code. By weaving in relatable, real world stories with accessible explanations of the underlying mathematics that power algorithms, Hello World helps us to determine their power, expose their limitations, and examine whether they really are improvement on the human systems they replace.

How Algorithms Will Decide Our Future and Why We Should Learn to Live with It

Anthony

The book was an entertaining introduction to how our world is influenced by algorithms. A lot of the stories were interesting. I think due to my profession I wasn’t as fascinated by the whole thing (I build software).

There are definitely flaws with how our modern day algorithms work. We need to be aware of them as we continue to integrate them with our lives. I’m bullish on the use of them; they get better with time. As long as we keep emphasizing the human element, we’ll be okay.

Charlotte Dann

Too shallow for anyone who already knows a fair bit about algorithms. I felt (strongly in the Art section) that she wasn't advocating for the programmers and had the perspective of someone who hasn't thought very holistically about human computer interaction. 'Computers can't make art' is a sentiment that really bugs me, it shrouds technology in this cold deific cloak when THE COMPUTER IS THE ART. I so strongly believe that making a computer make art is an extremely artistic endeavour. Go read some McLuhan.

It was a good book, and an interesting grounding on the ways in which algorithms already govern much of our lives and will do even more of our future. For me though, it felt like it had too much fear of the machine, too much alienation, it should have been written by a computer scientist who understands the nuances of HCI, rather than a (admittedly well-researched) mathematician.

How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine

Ivan Zarea

Very much like Everybody Lies, this is a collection of anecdotes with a slight focus on technology and a somewhat ambiguous message.

It feels like a long, well-written Wired technology review article. Whether that's a bad thing, the stars will tell.

Jeremy Cote

I thought this was a pretty good book. It was a quick read, with some interesting reflections on how algorithms dominate our lives. The author is a great writer, and they include a huge number of citations, which is nice too. I found the book to be a fun read, and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy mathematics. However, the book isn't really mathematical in nature. It's more reflective, and I enjoyed it.

Robin

‘One of the best books yet written on data and algorithms. . .deserves a place on the bestseller charts.’ (The Times) You are accused of a crime. Who would you rather determined your fate – a human or an algorithm? An algorithm is more consistent and less prone to error of judgement. Yet a human can look you in the eye before passing sentence. Welcome to the age of the algorithm, the story of a not-too-distant future where machines rule supreme, making important decisions – in healthcare, transport, finance, security, what we watch, where we go even who we send to prison. So how much should we rely on them? What kind of future do we want? Hannah Fry takes us on a tour of the good, the bad and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us. In Hello World she lifts the lid on their inner workings, demonstrates their power, exposes their limitations, and examines whether they really are an improvement on the humans they are replacing. A BBC RADIO 4: BOOK OF THE WEEK SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE AND 2018 ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

Hello World Being Human in the Age of Algorithms

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