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The Age of Algorithms

The Age of Algorithms

The Age of Algorithms

Serge Abiteboul, Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA), Rocquencourt
Gilles Dowek, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris
April 2020
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Adobe eBook Reader
9781108655941
$20.99
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    Algorithms are probably the most sophisticated tools that people have had at their disposal since the beginnings of human history. They have transformed science, industry, society. They upset the concepts of work, property, government, private life, even humanity. Going easily from one extreme to the other, we rejoice that they make life easier for us, but fear that they will enslave us. To get beyond this vision of good vs evil, this book takes a new look at our time, the age of algorithms. Creations of the human spirit, algorithms are what we made them. And they will be what we want them to be: it's up to us to choose the world we want to live in.

    • The authors, both eminent computer scientists, avoid simplistic analysis, avoiding both technophile enthusiasm and apocalyptic technophobia
    • Examines issues raised by algorithms, in particular work, property, government and privacy, from technical, philosophical, and societal perspectives
    • Explains complex and technical issues in terms everyone can understand

    Reviews & endorsements

    ‘... written by two computer scientists offering a most accessible view on both what algorithms are (the book starts with a clearest analogy between algorithms and recipes) and how algorithms are severely changing human life.’ Simona Chiodo, Metascience

    ‘This short and interesting book provides a non-technical introduction to the age of algorithms. The book is worth reading many times even by those unfamiliar with algorithms or computer science.’ S.V. Nagaraj, The SIGACT News

    See more reviews

    Product details

    April 2020
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9781108655941
    0 pages
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • 1. Algorithms intrigue, algorithms disturb
    • 2. What is an algorithm?
    • 3. Algorithms, computers, and programs
    • 4. What algorithms do
    • 5. What algorithms don't do
    • 6. Computational thinking
    • 7. The end of employment
    • 8. The end of work
    • 9. The end of property
    • 10. Governing in the age of algorithms
    • 11. An algorithm in the community
    • 12. The responsibility of algorithms
    • 13. Personal data and privacy
    • 14. Fairness, transparency, and diversity
    • 15. Computers and ecology
    • 16. Computer science education
    • 17. The augmented human
    • 18. Can an algorithm be intelligent?
    • 19. Can an algorithm have feelings? 20. Time to choose.
      Authors
    • Serge Abiteboul , Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA), Rocquencourt

      Serge Abiteboul is a member of the Board of Arcep and a computer scientist at Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA), Rocquencourt. He has been visiting professor at Stanford University, California, and is a founder of the Xyleme company. He is fascinated by and likes to write about societal issues related to the digital world.

    • Gilles Dowek , Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris

      Gilles Dowek is a researcher in computer science. He has published several popular science books, as well as books on epistemology of computer science and ethics in the digital world. His book Computation, Proof, Machine (Cambridge, 2015) has received the French Academy philosophy award.