“Algorithms dictate to us how to live”: Will it be possible to find a compromise with information technology?

Retelling the book “If ... then” is a thorough attempt to understand what algorithms are and how to coexist with them

Photo: KACPER PEMPEL / Reuters

Retelling of the book “If ... then” (if ... then. Algorithmic Power and Politics) Taina Bucher , an expert on media and information technology from the University of Oslo. The book published in 2018 received mainly positive reviews : “The real pleasure of hearing the voice of a young scientist who really understands how the culture of algorithms affects everyday life,” this is what her colleague from Utrekhtsky University Jose Van Dike evaluates work. According to Benjamin Jacobsen from the University of York, this work will be "very useful for those scientists and researchers who will want to understand the whole power of algorithms."

Context

The modern world is filled with algorithms. They indicate what we read, what to look at and even with whom to communicate. They are able to make mistakes and call people with the dark skin of “monkeys”. Do they help or harm from algorithm errors are much stronger than benefit? Do we know what an algorithm is? The author of the book “If ..., then” Taina Bucher is trying to answer these and other questions.

What is an algorithm

There are many definitions of the algorithm. The most common: the algorithm is a recipe, that is, a step -by -step guide to achieve a specific goal. As the confectioner produces a cupcake, following a step -by -step instruction, so the program or the system processes information on a special algorithm. Without this knowledge and recommendations on how to mix eggs or when to add flour, the ingredients will remain only in separate products; So the set of information, not systematized and not processed by the algorithm, remains only a set of numbers. First of all, the algorithm determines what and when should happen.

Creating an algorithm to solve the problem often implies its simplification. From a technical point of view, operations are limited not only by capacities, efficiency and time, but also by the elegance of the written code.

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