Hello world : how to be human in the age of the machine / Hannah Fry.
Material type: TextPublisher: London, England : Black Swan, 2019Copyright date: ©2018Edition: Black Swan editionDescription: xiii, 299 pages : illustrations ; 20 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 1784163066
- 9781784163068
- How to be human in the age of the machine
- T14.5 .F788 2019
Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-Fiction | Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction | 303.483 FRY | Available | T00812159 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
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'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
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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.