A human's guide to machine intelligence : how algorithms are shaping our lives and how we can stay in control / Kartik Hosanagar.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Part one. The rogue code. Free will in an algorithmic world -- The law of unanticipated consequences -- Part two. Algorithmic thinking. Omelet recipes for computers : how algorithms are programmed -- Algorithms become intelligent : a brief history of AI -- Machine learning and the predictability-resilience paradox -- The psychology of algorithms -- Part three. Taming the code. In algorithms we trust -- Which is to be master : algorithm or user? -- Inside the black box -- An algorithmic bill of rights -- Conclusion : the games algorithms play.

Through the technology embedded in almost every major tech platform and every web-enabled device, algorithms and the artificial intelligence that underlies them make a staggering number of everyday decisions for us, from what products we buy, to where we decide to eat, to how we consume our news, to whom we date, and how we find a job. We've even delegated life-and-death decisions to algorithms--decisions once made by doctors, pilots, and judges. In his new book, Kartik Hosanagar surveys the brave new world of algorithmic decision-making and reveals the potentially dangerous biases they can give rise to as they increasingly run our lives. He makes the compelling case that we need to arm ourselves with a better, deeper, more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon of algorithmic thinking. And he gives us a route in, pointing out that algorithms often think a lot like their creators--that is, like you and me.