Hello World

August 1, 2018
London-based mathematician Fry (The Mathematics of Love: Patterns, Proofs, and the Search for the Ultimate Equation, 2015, etc.) ponders thinking machines, the trust we put in them, and the implications for the future.Forget about the singularity: The thinking machines are already upon us, and they make extraordinarily complex decisions, from how to battle cancer to whether to send someone to jail. The central question about artificial intelligence and the algorithms that drive it is whether we can trust them to do the right thing, especially if we are ceding decision-making power to mathematical constructs and probabilities. As Fry notes, algorithms alone can push us into some uncomfortable territory--e.g., the sentencing of criminal defendants, a process that, though perhaps driven by an altruistic wish for truly blind justice, puts members of ethnic minorities at a distinct disadvantage: The poorer and less educated a person, in many instances, the more a risk for nonappearance or flight he or she is judged to be. There may be reasons for that failure to show up in court; for one thing, as Fry asks, "do they have access to suitable transport to get there?" Programming the algorithm to account for "societal imbalances" may be one solution, and AI may be able to get around some of the discrimination that would bias a human judge. Still, programmers are people, too. In theory, technology is morally neutral--a drone can be used to take photographs or to kill people--so what really unfolds is what Fry describes at the outset: "Each [algorithm] is inextricably connected to the people who build and use it." The author writes ably and accessibly of some of the thornier problems, not just in the administration of justice and health care but also in matters like the Bayesian inferences that go into operating driverless cars safely and using algorithms to revise film scripts to "make a movie more profitable at the box office."A well-constructed tour of technology and its discontents--timely, too, given the increasing prominence of AI in our daily lives.

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August 13, 2018
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.

Starred review from September 1, 2018
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from September 1, 2018

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 Journal, LLC Used with permission.