The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems—And Create More

This is a timely read for today's computerized and marketing-driven society. British journalist Dormehl (The Apple Revolution) tackles real-world applications of algorithms and their long-term potential in our lives. Using examples from various fields—including business, movies, law enforcement, and art—the author makes a potentially dry topic interesting. Some of the applications are more social or fun in nature (such as those used in online dating or to predict celebrity divorce rates) while others are serious (algorithms to help with law enforcement or diagnose illness). In addition to showing how calculations cover virtually every aspect of modern human life, Dormehl delves into whether everything should, in fact, be subject to "algorithmization." On this point, the answer is not cut and dried. While Dormehl concludes that the answer, at least right now, is "no," he leads an intriguing discussion on how the power of algorithms will cause more jobs to be done by computers rather than humans. As he puts it, "fewer and fewer workers will be needed to produce the goods and services for the global population." This book gives readers much to think about.