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Summary
Summary
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.
Author Notes
Hannah Fry is an Associate Professor in the mathematics of cities from University College London. In her day job she uses mathematical models to study patterns in human behaviour, and has worked with governments, police forces, health analysts and supermarkets. Her TED talks have amassed millions of views and she has fronted television documentaries for the BBC and PBS; she also hosts the long-running science podcast, 'The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry' with the BBC.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fry, a University College London math professor, invites readers to examine how algorithms affect their lives. She guides her audience through understanding what algorithms are-"simply a series of logical instructions that show how to accomplish a task"-and thoughtfully commends on how they are used, such as in the fields of medicine, criminal justice, art, and transportation, to help people make more consistent decisions and to improve public safety. Fry maintains that the most important consideration isn't the technical sophistication and complexity of an algorithm, but the reliability and trustworthiness of the people in charge of it. She cautions that "data and algorithms don't just have the power to predict our shopping habits" but also to "rob someone of their freedom." To this end, she describes instances in which the use of algorithms has gone awry, such as when an FBI expert's confidence in facial recognition technology led to a man being held in a maximum security cell for a crime he didn't commit. These case studies are coupled with difficult questions about how algorithms should be used: for instance, is society willing to give up individualized justice for consistency in sentencing? Throughout, Fry counsels the use of algorithms to complement and enhance human performance, not replace it. This is an intriguing take on a timely topic. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Denver police acted quickly and violently when facial-recognition software identified financial advisor Steve Talley as the perpetrator of two area bank robberies. But precisely because that computerized identification proved erroneous and costly and painful for Talley Fry highlights this episode as symptomatic of a problem growing ever more inescapable in a world remade by computer algorithms. No Luddite, Fry recognizes the immense benefits of relying on computers in diagnosing cancer, assessing parole risks, protecting drivers, and marketing entertainment: she hopes that society continues to find new ways to employ algorithmic servants. But in Talley's traumatic experience and in many similar ones Fry recounts she sees reasons for caution. Indeed, she reminds readers that the world avoided nuclear war in 1983 only because a Russian military officer defied protocol by ignoring a computer algorithm mistakenly signaling an American missile attack. Even when their algorithms deliver completely accurate results, Fry warns, computer networks can imperil personal privacy and individual autonomy. To optimize the benefits of using algorithms while reducing the dangers, Fry calls for a complementarity wedding computer efficiency with human wisdom, a complementarity already emerging in medicine. Fry further endorses measures making algorithms more transparent to the public and easing appeals to human authority by those adversely affected by their use. A lucid and timely analysis.--Bryce Christensen Copyright 2018 Booklist
Choice Review
In today's world, many important aspects of life depend on algorithms--step-by-step procedures for solving problems and making decisions--which are implemented on computers. Robots, automation, medical diagnosis, decisions on sentencing in the justice system, identification of serial murderers, design of driverless cars, face recognition … the list of applications of algorithms is long, and it increases continually. Fry (University College London) gives understandable accounts of various algorithms in various areas, stressing their value as well as their potential to lead to disaster if relied on too heavily. Her conclusion is that this negative potential is not a reason for downplaying their fundamental importance. But it is a compelling cause for making sure that human control is not abandoned completely. To borrow a famous line from the French statesman Clémenceau about war and generals, life is too serious a business to be left to algorithms; even so, algorithms are going to play a growing role in daily life. This thought-provoking book conveys important lessons for an algorithm-driven world. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --R. Bharath, emeritus, Northern Michigan University
Library Journal Review
This latest book from Fry (The Mathematics of Love) explores the potential for algorithms used in automated systems for everything from finding patterns in criminal activity to diagnosing cancer. While not as serious in tone as Safiya Noble's Algorithms of Oppression, it nonetheless raises hard questions on the ethics and hidden dangers of relying too heavily on artificial intelligence. Fry shares a view of data science in action from marketing to police work to medicine. The beauty of this book is how easily she defines the complicated processes behind current developments in tech today. The neural networks for image recognition and autonomous cars, along with machine learning algorithms is conveyed using everyday examples. Anglophiles will appreciate the British spellings and writing voice that is sometimes cynical, semipolitical, and evangelistic. VERDICT A readable work of complicated computer science and mathematical treatments of data that engages, delights, and informs. Fry incites readers to consider both the strengths and weaknesses of human and machine, science and the scientist before we render full control to algorithms to run our daily lives.-Nancy Marksbury, Keuka Coll., Keuka Park, NY © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.