A review of

A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence

How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control

Kartik Hosanagar • Viking • 2019

The review below was first published in the getAbstract Journal on Jan 4, 2023.
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Algorithms Rule

by David Meyer

Professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business Kartik Hosanagar offers an overview of the pragmatic and philosophical issues algorithms incarnate.

Algorithms “nudge” you into choosing a certain movie, restaurant, song, lover or political opinion. Kartik Hosanagar – John C. Hower Professor of Technology and Digital Business and a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business – explains that algorithms are basically recipes; designers don’t always know what they cook up. But mostly, according to Hosanagar, algorithms make better decisions than humans. He argues that greater transparency and an “algorithmic bill of rights” can empower users and hold tech companies accountable.

Human Flaws and Unpredictability

Algorithms stand at the core of almost all online activity. An algorithm is a recipe, a set of instructions. However, with improvements in machine learning, algorithms aren’t only making suggestions about what to watch or whom to date, but real-world decisions, such as navigating traffic.

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