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Title details for The Formula by Luke Dormehl - Wait list

The Formula

How Algorithms Solve all our Problems... and Create More

by Luke Dormehl
Daniel Weyman
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A fascinating guided tour of the complex, fast-moving, and influential world of algorithms—what they are, why they're such powerful predictors of human behavior, and where they're headed next.
Algorithms exert an extraordinary level of influence on our everyday lives - from dating websites and financial trading floors, through to online retailing and internet searches - Google's search algorithm is now a more closely guarded commercial secret than the recipe for Coca-Cola. Algorithms follow a series of instructions to solve a problem and will include a strategy to produce the best outcome possible from the options and permutations available. Used by scientists for many years and applied in a very specialized way they are now increasingly employed to process the vast amounts of data being generated, in investment banks, in the movie industry where they are used to predict success or failure at the box office and by social scientists and policy makers.
What if everything in life could be reduced to a simple formula? What if numbers were able to tell us which partners we were best matched with – not just in terms of attractiveness, but for a long-term committed marriage? Or if they could say which films would be the biggest hits at the box office, and what changes could be made to those films to make them even more successful? Or even who is likely to commit certain crimes, and when? This may sound like the world of science fiction, but in fact it is just the tip of the iceberg in a world that is increasingly ruled by complex algorithms and neural networks.
In The Formula, Luke Dormehl takes readers inside the world of numbers, asking how we came to believe in the all-conquering power of algorithms; introducing the mathematicians, artificial intelligence experts and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are shaping this brave new world, and ultimately asking how we survive in an era where numbers can sometimes seem to create as many problems as they solve.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 1, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781469091105
      • File size: 214484 KB
      • Duration: 07:26:50

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Daniel Weyman assumes a conversational style in this wide-ranging and timely investigation into the expanding role of algorithms in our daily lives. For the unfamiliar, an algorithm is a set of instructions, a formula, used to solve a specific problem. Despite their frequent invisibility, these formulas are constantly at work shaping choices and outcomes in a variety of sectors--from entertainment to business to law and beyond. While presenting the case studies, Weyman maintains a clear, well-modulated voice and a neutral delivery, echoing the author's intent to raise questions rather than argue a position. Though Weyman's British diction may periodically confuse some American listeners, pithy ideas like "nothing is safe from a few well-designed algorithms" will not go unnoticed, making for a provocative listen. A.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 13, 2014
      Dormehl (The Apple Revolution), a journalist and technology writer for Fast Company, provides relevant insight into the algorithms that shape our world, how they benefit us, and what they might mean for the future. The author focuses on four main areas generally thought of as being very human—personal data, love and romance, society, and art. The use of anecdotes, history, and examples of existing algorithms makes this information-rich narrative fascinating for experts and laymen alike. The author even broaches deeper questions about whether everything can be described by algorithms, whether we should even try, and what problems and ethical issues might arise from the increasingly widespread use of algorithms. Unsettling consequences of increased data collection and reliance on computers are discussed, such as the close monitoring of employee efficiency, the “filter bubble” that determines which search results an individual will see, and use of algorithms to profile people likely to commit crimes or children likely to misbehave in school. This book thoroughly explores the idea that “technology is neither good nor bad—nor is it neutral” and makes a great resource for anyone seeking to understand the intersection of technology and humanity in the 21st century. Agent: Maggie Hanbury, Hanbury Agency, U.K.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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