Paperback, 243 pages
English language
Published Sept. 6, 2018 by Transworld Publishers Limited.
Would you let an algorithm determine your fate? Hannah Fry lifts the lid on the world of algorithms, examining how they impact our future and whether they really are an improvement on the humans they replace.
You are accused of a crime? Who would you rather decides your future – an algorithm or a human?
Before making your decision, bear in mind that the algorithm will always be more consistent, and far less prone to an error of judgement. Then again, at least the human will be able to look you in the eye before determining your fate. How much fairness would you be willing to sacrifice for that human touch?
This is just one of the dilemmas we face in the age of the algorithm, where the machine rules supreme, telling us what to watch, where to go, even who to send to prison. As increasingly we rely on …
Would you let an algorithm determine your fate? Hannah Fry lifts the lid on the world of algorithms, examining how they impact our future and whether they really are an improvement on the humans they replace.
You are accused of a crime? Who would you rather decides your future – an algorithm or a human?
Before making your decision, bear in mind that the algorithm will always be more consistent, and far less prone to an error of judgement. Then again, at least the human will be able to look you in the eye before determining your fate. How much fairness would you be willing to sacrifice for that human touch?
This is just one of the dilemmas we face in the age of the algorithm, where the machine rules supreme, telling us what to watch, where to go, even who to send to prison. As increasingly we rely on them to automate big, important decisions – in crime, healthcare, transport, money - they raise questions that cut to the heart of what we want our society to look like, forcing us to decide what matters most. Is helping doctors to diagnose patients more or less important than preserving our anonymity? Should we prevent people from becoming victims of crime, or protect innocent people from being falsely accused?
Hannah Fry takes us on a tour through 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 human systems they replace.
An enjoyable read, but if you've watched any of her TV shows, especially "The Secret Genius of Modern Life", then you'll already know the contents of the book. It's not pitched at people who know it all already, but more at your ageing Mum who can't work her smartphone. The eBook also seemed to be 35% footnotes, which means you suddenly end the book without realising just how far through it you actually were.
The first thing I have to say is that I love Hannah Fry's voice; the way this was written was so easy to follow because the flow and tone made it feel like a simple but informational conversation rather than a book that talks over your head. It definitely felt like it was written for everyone, regardless of their knowledge about algorithms and how they're used in the world.
There were a lot of things I hadn't heard of (most of which being in the medicine and arts chapters), but it was all really interesting to consider.
Should have been worthy of a higher rating than I am giving. The basic story is there to identify a crisis of giving too much authority to an algorithm. This both helps, but also hinders, logical conclusions to in a messy world.
Compared to other issues going on in the world, and the fact that this will likely be the one and only book I will ever read on the subject, I feel this work is well beyond a working paper but a little light for a full fledged book.
Apologies to all who are offended by the personal opinion of some dumb guy living in a frozen land.
Nice read!
It's hard for me to say anything about this book. I find no fault with it, except that I feel meh about it. On the positive side, at times I felt I'd really like to argue with the author on minor differences of opinion.
The book is really sensible, it's written as to be gripping with human interest in there. I don't fundamentally disagree with anything. I found out new things about machine learning algorithms and their uses I didn't know before. But I still feel like I read a really good pop-sci-journalism piece. I don't know what it is that I wanted there to be to make it "a book" for me.
