The Formula: How Algorithms Solve all our Problems … and Create More by Luke Dormehl

The Formula: How Algorithms Solve all our Problems … and Create More Reviews

• 
  Rob Kitchin

  The Formula provides an overarching account of how algorithms are increasingly being used to mediate, augment and regulate everyday life. There’s much to like about the book -- it’s an engaging read, full of interesting examples, there’s an attempt to go beyond the hyperbole of many popular books about technology and society, and it draws on the ideas of a range of critical theorists (including Baudrillard, Deleuze, Marx, Virilio, Foucault, Descartes, Sennett, Turkle, etc). It’s clear that the discussion is based on a number of interviews with algorithm developers and academics. However, there are also some notable gaps in the analysis and the analysis itself generally lacks depth. There is no detailed discussion about the nature of algorithms or its formulation into pseudo-code or code, or even a brief potted history of the development of algorithms. There is a very short discussion concerning the negative side of algorithms and how they are used to socially sort, underpin anticipatory governance, regulate and control, which really needed to be expanded. The analysis points to various issues and suggests some interesting lines of enquiry but then skims over them, with one or two points from the varied selection of theorists being used to illustrate an idea but often in quite a superficial way. Given the book is designed to be a popular science text aimed at a lay readership getting the balance between accessibility, depth and critical reflection is tricky. Dormehl does a better job of balancing the two than some others I’ve read recently, but I would have still have preferred deeper analysis, especially on the nature of algorithms and the effects and consequences of algorithmic governance and automation.
  
• 
  Stan Lanier

  My interest stayed low but steady until the penultimate and ultimate chapters where Dormehl raised philosophical interests.
• 
  Terry Pearce

  There's some good content in here, and some good writing, but it gets hopelessly lost in poor structure and unevenness. One minute it's talking about algorithms that are possible, maybe, in the future, the next talking about ones in use. One minute talking about algorithms that don't work, the next about ones that are misused or support poor policy. There's no clarity about the term algorithm or formula, no real message beyond 'they can be good and bad'... It reads like a book written by somebody who's good at writing short articles but never really figured out how to string them together.
  
  Edit: Do yourself a favour, if you're thinking of reading this, read AIQ instead: it covers a lot of the same ground much, much better.
  
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
• 
  Prabhu R.

  Very interesting and thought-provoking book about the internet-age where everything that surrounds the humans in the form of computer one way or the other is an algorithm that changes the way we have been interacting with the world, right from shopping to day-day activities. These algorithms have permeated to the depths of everyone's lives and has become mostly inseparable or essential. These algorithms that have become the inevitable have also shown their problematic face. Where many are landed into problems including the companies that created them. The author has done a wonderful and an in-depth research to gather all the interesting pieces of information.
• 
  Gary Beauregard Bottomley

  Algorithms are a systematic set of rules for handling complex processes often using a recursive methodology (the routine calls itself). The author doesn't really define algorithm this way but he mostly appeals to examples that involve pattern recognition or some kind of sorting of subsets into their most common elements and associates the correlations between those subsets.
  
  He gives good examples on the state of algorithms in use today and how they aid us in our decision making (just think Google's search engine). He gives an example how the programmers got it wrong in creating an algorithm for social aid in Colorado. The program thought only homeless people deserved medical coverage for the poor and other such poor interruptions of policy.
  
  The author seems to think that "human intuition" can trump an algorithm. That just seems too naive and his examples in the book were never really convincing. Poor programming of misunderstood policy will lead to bad results, but the algorithm can be improved. A good algorithm can save lives and make better decisions (often with human interaction).
  
  Google knows what I want to search for before I do, and Amazon recommends books better than I can, their algorithms are very good. Humans have there place with their intuitions, but a good tool can be a priceless aid. They're not perfect, but they continually get better. Watson beat the best Jeopardy contestants in the country using its algorithm. As Ken Jennings said "I, for one, welcome our computer overlords" as he answered the final question while losing badly.
  
  A book about Algorithms should be keeping the listener on the edge of his seat. This book did no such thing. There wasn't really one thing in the book that I didn't already know (I lie. Will Smith uses patterns of recent Hollywood Blockbusters to determine his next movie is something I did not know. I don't care for Hollywood Blockbusters and that fact had escaped me).
  
  If you have any interest in Algorithms (and who among us doesn't?), I would recommend one of these three recent Audbile books that I have listen to instead, "Dataclysm", a book on big data, and big data allows for the pattern recognition and sorting that's mentioned in this book; "The Second Machine Age", tells what's really going on with algorithms now and how society is changing because of it; and one of my favorites, "Superintelligence", tells where we will end up because of the recursive algorithm.
• 
  Charlene

  The highlight of the book was the chapter about online dating. Fantastic.
  
  I cannot say the same for the rest of this book. While the author did seem to understand some of the biases inherent to algorithms, he seemed wholly unaware of the biases in criminology research. His chapter on predicting crime was horrible, truly horrible. His critical thinking ability seemed to have been on hold. In a different section, he wrote about the biases of judges when sentencing but never quite seemed to connect how bias affects predicting criminality. In America (or elsewhere), we don't do a very good job of predicting crime. If we don't know who the criminals are and we base algorithms on our faulty data, then those algorithms are faulty. If we use faulty algorithms to arrest and cage people, the outcome is not crime reduction. Instead it serves only make ourselves feel better. In America, we disproportionately target, arrest, convict, and cage black people. We label and treat them like criminals when, at the same time, we allow many white people to go free, even though they have engaged in the same actions. It is unjust. People like Dormehl contribute to the legitimacy of the awful and non-scientific practice of targeting, labeling, and taking the life (but execution, locking in a cage, or robbing them of an opportunity to seek employment, housing, or education) of a disproportionate number of black people and poor people in general. That is not ok. The worst part is, data about biases in crime prediction and prevention are *easily* found. Every intro to criminology/criminal justice textbook is clear on the problem of measuring crime. To be unaware of these very common problems is simply sloppy research. Dormehl chose to ignore the myriad data available. For that reason, I have to question his critical thinking ability in general. This makes me wonder about all of the research in this book, even the bits I enjoyed.
• 
  Sarah

  I glowingly recommend The Formula. This book is for people who are concerned about the philosophical implications of computer algorithms being applied to those most human endeavors as love, law, art and autonomy of self. It is well written and researched. If you are interested in human rights, future work, and your shrinking sphere of information despite the information revolution then read this book. Certainly the potentials for systemic inadvertent discrimination should be widely, openly and publicly discussed. To be "informed" everyone should be aware of the way recommender algorithms are shaping our lives right now.
  
  I believe this book has an artificially low star rating because many people rate it based on their own mistaken ideas of what the book was intended to be about. Perhaps the publisher should find a way to indicate that this is a sociological book about human / technology interaction and not a technology guidebook, which seems to be the main cause of people's disappointment. I would usually not give a 5 star review, but I consider this book sufficiently eye opening and important to try and increase its appeal (according to those recommender algorithms of human behavior).
• 
  Kirsten Zirngibl

  This was a good overview for people wondering about the implications of Big Data in our society, especially how formulas for prediction can become self-fulfilling prophesies and about what it means to find meaning.
  
  However, I found it disappointing that the author didn't even try to properly describe algorithms beyond "a series of step by step instructions" or categorize them in any meaningful way. Yes, he warned that this is not "a computer science textbook" but the basics could still be explained using plain language, and I don't understand the author's unwillingness to do so. Give the laymen some credit!
  
  He also calls this a "history book" but doesn't spend much time on the pre-digital history of algorithms.
  It was still entertaining overall, at least.
• 
  Colleen

  It reads like someone took an undergraduate statistics class and drew some obvious comparisons. The phenomena of data mining and data analysis isn't shocking or surprising to anyone involved with that sort of thing. Sure, it can be done faster with computers and sure, there are a lot of practical applications. It's like the author was one of those people who thought math class was a waste of time and became shocked. SHOCKED! that it was everywhere. Also, the author's attempt to make "The Formula" a catch-phrase annoyed me. I fully admit to skimming big chunks in the back half of this book, mostly to see if it ever came around to a point. It didn't.
• 
  Rick

  It is not really a technical book and does not describe how algorithms work. Instead, the writer gives brief examples, and explains what impact algorithms are having in society; both in a negative and positive way.
  The writer quotes many scientists, philosophers, politicians, and academics, so it is a useful source of references.
• 
  Mackie

  Some reviewers are concerned by the use of the word "algorithm," but if you ignore that, this is a fascinating book could provoke thousands of discussions ethical, historical, theoretical, and mathematical.
• 
  BLACK CAT

  mix between algorithms, data science, internet of things, ethics and interesting applications: movie hit predictor, face recognition, medical diagnosis software, etc...
• 
  Lloyd Downey

  I've found that this is not an easy book to review. It is fairly dense with information....so much so that I've found it a bit difficult to draw out the main ideas. I guess the main ideas are that Algorithms are being used extensively already ...some of them with remarkable accuracy.......but they are not foolproof and individuals who don't fit the algorithmic profile might be greatly disadvantaged. Steven J Gould, in his book "The Mismeasure of Man" warned about the dangers of converting concepts such as "intelligence" into simplified measures such as IQ. Apparently objective truths can be used to back up human biases rather than exposure genuine insights.
  Amazon and Google use their data on previous purchases to decide the sort of things you might like to buy and henceforth that is what you will see. There is an obvious danger hater of course that there might be other things you would like to see but the inputs are being filtered by an algorithm. A lot of algorithmic effort has been devoted to partner matching; finding the perfect date or partner....or the perfect hospital to do your internship etc. Apps have even been developed that will beep when a compatible partner is nearby.
  AI is also being used to predict where crimes might be expected to occur and policing resources are focused on those areas. Apparently predictions made by algorithm were 2x as accurate as human experts. They have also been used to profile criminals and predict their likelihood of committing a crime. So, for example, if a person commits an armed robbery at age 14 that is a good predictor of further crime. If they committed the same crime at age 30 that doesn't predict very much. In a sense these are kind of black box systems with very little in the way of real understanding in the system. I must say that I worry about this sort of AI. The fact that a 14 year old committed an armed robbery might relate to their poor environment, exposure to violence and weapons. It probably also relates to the way their brain has developed. (My note: Early exposure to fear and violence shapes the reactions in the brain, and some behaviour patterns are because of genetic differences in their brain.......so if we knew about this brain differences we could probably also make predictions about future criminal activity....but maybe we could also take remedial measures).
  There is a company in the UK called Epagogix that purports to be able to predict how much money a fil will make ...smnd it appears to be remarkable accurate. With music attempts have been made to quantify quality but the pundits have had to fall back on the concept of appeal. Apparently quality in the arts is pretty much a social construct. And a danger of producing a film that appeals to the masses is that you get the lowest common denominator. Lior Shamir has built an automated art critic algorithm and says that at first it will not be possible for algorithms to move forward in a meaningful way rather than just aping what has come before ...but ultimately hje "would be very careful in saying there are things that machines can not do".
  Nothing, it seems is safe from a few well designed algorithms offering speed efficiency and value for money. A number of experts are predicting that there will be 10-40% fewer lawyers a decade from now as there are today 2012.
  As Steven Pinker writes in "The Language Instint" ..."The main lessons of 35 years of AI research is that the hard problems are easy and the easy problems are hard......as the new generation of intelligent devices appears, it will be the stock analysts and petrochemical engineers and parole board members who are in danger of being replaced by machines. The gardeners, receptionists and cooks are secure...." (Though I'm not even sure about the latter).
  Where 5 or 10 years ago people would be happy with any recommendations coming from an algorithm....now they are wanting to know why these recommendations have been made.
  Some poor guy was pulled up 80 times in one year as a potential terrorist...based on an algorithm. They certainly don't always get things right and individual rights seem to be overridden in the belief that if the algorithm gets it right 95% of the time then that is good enough and society has to accept the collateral damage.
  On the whole a bit of a grab bag of hundreds of examples of AI and Algorithms being used and a warning about a future where our freedoms were being eroded by such algorithms....because they (most times) didn't reflect the real human world exactly but were using a black box approach. I would have preferred a more structured approach, personally.
• 
  K.A. Ashcomb

  Like it or not, algorithms are an integral part of our lives. They govern our systems, influence our behavior and use of time, better our health and relationships, and make us spend our money on things we might not need or want. Here we are stuck with them despite what our personal opinions might be. They are not going away anytime soon because they have their use, making processing information a lot easier, efficient, and useful. So what to think about them?
  
  The Formula briefly describes how algorithms impact our lives: their part in finding a partner, measuring health, and making movies. And when I say briefly, I mean it. The book jumps from one topic to another, discussing how algorithms have helped better our lives by letting us understand our personal medical data, giving better information than doctors can, and stating how algorithms have devastating and unintended consequences due to poor programming. The writer shows the success and failures of algorithms and how they are used in our modern society case by case, giving no clear answer if to be for or against them. But it would be a fool’s errand to make such a statement, as the issue is not if to be for or against algorithms. The question is more about how they are made, how their quality should be monitored, and what part of our lives they should influence. Important questions I think the book should have asked.
  
  Unfortunately, it doesn’t. This is a lost opportunity to take a deep dive into the issue. This book is more of a curiosity or introduction to the topic. So this is not a book for someone who has already read about algorithms, is interested in how they are made, the history of the subject, or reading about detailed arguments for and against them. That said, I found the book entertaining even when I would have liked a more thorough analysis. It still provoked me to consider again what I know about algorithms, how I see them, and how we should handle the issue that they do govern our world and behavior; crucial questions to consider as independent companies and coders make them for a paycheck, and they are not exactly experts in love, societal issues, or healthcare. We as a society will have to ask how to ensure the algorithms do what they are intended to do, how to monitor them, who can make them and govern them, and what subjects are off limits.
  
  All of us should be more aware of how algorithms are used and made and how they function. It is not an issue we can shrug off. 
  
  Thank you for reading, and have a great day <3
• 
  Fuzzy Cow

  Algorithms have gained increased importance in our lives. With advances in big data, it seems like there is a race to find the "solution" to macro and micro problems. This book talks about all the different people trying to discover something, using... technology in general.
  
  Was that last sentence a little non-committal? Well that's how I feel about this book. It is fairly pessimistic about a future ruled by algorithms, though Luke is pretty certain it's going to happen. Also, there's no clear distinction between an algorithm, data collection and pseudo-AI. This makes it kind of difficult to judge the progress made on the defined front. I don't know the "The Formula" he's talking about means, because it doesn't seem to stand for anything specific.
  
  If you're looking for crazy ways technology is becoming part of our lives, this book is probably for you. It's a brief overview of all the fields that you'd expect to get hits on: politics, entertainment, sex and emotional support. I'm surprised there's not a sports section, honestly. For all of these subjects, there's a few people highlighted. A few of their technological creations are detailed. Then we're kind of told what Luke things about this whole thing, and what the implications are, in his opinion, on our culture in general. He definitely has thought about some of the implications this tech will cause. But he doesn't really care about the "how."
  
  I know this was not the book that I wanted it to be. I was hoping for something more technical. I was hoping someone would walk me through some of these "tricks" mentioned. Nope, Luke isn't really technically minded, se la vie. With a nebulous term of "The Formula" and no real project break downs, this is more a think piece. Not exactly a book that belongs in the "Mathematics" section of my local library.
  
  I'm honestly disappointed in this book. I don't think it's offensive (some of his similes are seriously drawn out), but I'm not sure it's really informative or transformational. I think this could be good for a kid who wants to "program an AI that will do my homework" or someone who's curious about the state of technology, without actually engaging in it.
• 
  Kathryn

  I finished reading this non-fiction book about algorithms last night. It is about how algorithms are now being used for all kinds of uses, and how some of those uses are very problematical, and I very much enjoyed reading the book.
  
  An algorithm is defined as "a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer". As such, an algorithm is neither good or bad; it is the use made of them that can aid our lives immensely, or cause problems. In this book, the author explains how Wall Street uses algorithms to teach the computers when to buy or sell, how dating websites use algorithms to match up prospective suitors, how Facebook uses algorithms to determine what shows up in "Trending" for a given person, and how Google uses algorithms to tailor one's search request. Algorithms have also been used for frivolous purposes, as one developed to predict how long a given celebrity marriage might last.
  
  The major problems with algorithms is the concept of the "black box"; the part of the algorithm that is kept more or less secret (either for proprietary reasons, or because the computations are hideously complex), so that all one knows is that one puts input at one end and gets an output at the other end. There have been cases where bringing up a person's name on Google brings up only negative answers, or only positive answers, which raises the question of how the algorithm actually works; and Facebook recently tweaked its algorithms to limit the reach of people known to frequently blast out links to clickbait stories, sensationalist websites and misinformation. And anyone who shops online knows that if one buys green carmel widgets online (or shops for green caramel widgets), one will get a plethora of advertising mail or advertising on their usual sites related to green carmel widgets. The author quotes former Vice President Al Gore as saying, "The ability to code and understand the power of computing is crucial to success in today's hyper-connected world."
  
  I enjoyed reading this book, and recommend it to anyone wondering just how algorithms are affecting our everyday life.
• 
  Jim Razinha

  Seems like a lifetime ago, but there used to be a computer language called
  ALGOL...short for Algorithm Language (language names meant something back then). And mearly a lifetime ago, programmers - that's what coders where called, in the day - had to develop algorithms to generate pseudo-random numbers, quickly sort lists, compile programs (code) into the most efficient space given memory and operations per second limitations. This is not about those kinds of algorithms.
  
  What Dormehl does do is pull together - using at least one external reference, be it book or article, per page, and more than a smattering of pop culture drops - what big and little data mining are doing for and to your world. Online dating? Matching algorithms. Shopping? Please. Some Big Brothers aren't even trying to hide - surely you've noticed that if you hop over to social media after searching on Amazon that coincidentally, precisely what you were just searching for is right there! And less obvious, you feed is what BB thinks it should be sending you...not necessarily what you would be actually interested in.
  
  I don't use a Kindle, or the Kindle app, to read ebooks because I don't like the interface. But I also don't want Amazon trying to figure out how much time I spend reading a page, or whether I even bother with the Introduction. I have no allusions that CrApple is not sending my data to their payers, but theirs is not the only app I use.
  
  Where we need to worry, other than being herded to buy what they want us to buy, is whether entities and agencies are relying on these revolving, and artificially tweaked algorithms to make decisions that affect our lives and rights. Get tagged on a "no fly" list? The burden of proof is on the innocent.
  
  Good stuff that could have been lightened with less lightening. Use foot or end notes...it's okay, and gratuitous pop refs in an attempt to moisture the topics are distracting. Trust that your readers are a bit sharper than a news channel viewer.
• 
  Kimball

  2.5 stars, almost 3. I love the cover because it's a Birdlett. But the book was just alright.
  
  
  Notes:
  
  
  The 3rd week of January is the most depressing week of the year.
  
  A thing that can't be measured can't be improved. Maybe this is why spirituality is so tricky. Or we just need to try harder.
  
  As a person invests more psychic energy in an object, they attach more meaning to it. Thus making the object more important to them. Which makes their attachment grow all the stronger. Disclosure is both fast acting and powerful as a device to increase personal attraction.
  
  A computer algorithm might be unbiased in its execution, but embedded in its code might be biased.
  
  Will Smith's key to his movies success is seeing which movies were most successful. He learned that they were those with special effects and aliens.
  
  Nonfiction books are less likely to be finished than fiction. I hate that. Stop giving up on non-fiction books so easily, idiots.
• 
  Jim Beilstein

  Algorithms and Implications
  
  A solid read on how pervasive algorithms are becoming in our lives and the broad implications to society. I found the author to be very balanced in his view, showing both pros and cons of our society is becoming more and more algorithm-based over time. There are real and sometimes unpredictable implications of trusting our information to search algorithms and the author has done a very nice job exploring this space and what is seemingly an increased reliance on "black boxes" in our everyday lives. I doubt we're ever going to go back to the way things were, so opening your eyes to this modern reality is critical.
• 
  Goose

  A work of pop sociology. Easy to read and digest. It consists of the author pointing out examples of scientific materialism and listing algorithms which influence/have the potential to influence the modern world. It's at its best when describing these algorithms, many of which are quite interesting, though not very in-depth. The between the author himself contributes little commentary of value. Here's an example of something he says:
  
  "In a post-9/11 age in which our own sense of impermanence is heightened, past and present are flattened in the manner of a Facebook timeline, and the future is an uncertain prospect, what relevance do traditional beginnings, middles and ends have?"
  
  Lol.
• 
  Alexander Hult

  A great signal to noise ratio if you're looking for a plethora of short anecdotes and stories about how algorithms (mostly statistics with some basic coding in these scenarios) have altered areas as wide-ranging as crime, medicine, dating, and so forth. It's 100% philosophy and ethics, no math involved. Structurally, it could've been organized better, but it's an understandable challenge to organize this field. Don't be disheartened from the lower reviews, unless you're looking for a book that delves into the actual algorithms (this one won't) rather than their consequences and the relevant questions to be asked.
• 
  Justin Blount

  Great book: this gives a good landscape overview of algorithms and methods mostly in data mining and machine learning concerning big data. While he explains a little about how the methods work, his main intentions are to give examples of real world applications using these methods: familiar and more obscure stories within data tech are given. Dormehl attempts to get into a large number of anecdotes, while he is sufficient in his explanations, he gives little advanced information beyond one or two minor-to-moderate insights per point. Four stars rather than five because there I find no reason to return to this book for a future reread. -J.B. 6/4/2021
• 
  Craig Wanderer

  I tend to read boring non fiction books and I thought yesterday I would take a break and read a fictional book "Blade Runner" I had the Audio Version and it honestly was terrible.
  I had also downloaded this book so I instantly switched to it.
  Well there you have it, in two days I finished it, to make it even more interesting I learned of Female Companion Programs similar to those in Blade Runner! How crazy is that right?
  Lots of great info in this book on how search engines work, buying online works on and on.
  Plenty of history put into a short incredibly interesting book.