My last book for 2022. This book is about true powers and limitations of algorithms in the age of artificial intelligence. The author adresses the issues under the topics of power, data, justice, crime and art.
Power
We should take algorithms off their pedestal, examine them a bit more carefully and ask if they're really capable of doing what they claim. That's the only way to decide if they deserve the power they've been given. Unfortunately, we'll have little say over the power and reach of the algorithms that surround us, even when it comes to those that affect us directly.
Data
The algorithms that silently follow us around the internet, the ones that are harvesting our personal information, invading our privacy and inferring our character with free rein to subtly influence our behaviour. In that perfect storm of misplaced trust, power and influence, the consequences have the potential to fundamentally alter our society. Data and algorithms don't just have the power to predict our shopping habits. They also have the power to rob someone of their freedom.
Justice
Designing an algorithm for use in the criminal justice system demands that we sit down and think hard about exactly what the justice system is for. Rather than just closing our eyes and hoping for the best, algorithms require a clear, unambiguous idea of exactly what we want them to achieve and a solid understanding of the human failings they're replacing. It forces a difficult debate about precisely how a decision in a courtroom should be made. That's not going to be simple, but it's the key to establishing whether the algorithm can ever be good enough.
Cars
We're going to need to throw away the idea that cars should work perfectly every time, and accept that, while mechanical failure might be a rare event, algorithmic failure almost certainly won't be any time soon. So, knowing that errors are inevitable, knowing that if we proceed we have no choice but to embrace uncertainty, the conundrums within the world of driverless cars will force us to decide how good something needs to be before were willing to let it loose on our streets.
Crime
The urgent need for algorithmic regulation is never louder or clearer than in the case of crime. Somehow, we're going to have to confront these difficult dilemmas. Do we dismiss any mathematical system with built-in biases, or proven capability of error, knowing that in doing so we'd be holding our algorithms to a higher standard than the human system we're left with? And how biased is too biased? At what point do you prioritize the victims of preventable crimes over the victims of the algorithm? What is our priority? Is it keeping crime as low as possible? Or preserving the freedom of the innocent above all else?
Art
True art can't be created by accident. There are boundaries to the reach of algorithms. Limits to what can be quantified. Among all of the staggeringly impressive, mind- boggling things that data and statistics can tell, how it feels to be human isn't one of them.
Conclusions
In the future, we should stop seeing this arrogant and dictatorial machines as objective masters and start treating them as we would any other source of power. By questioning their decisions; scrutinizing their motives; acknowledging our emotions; demanding to know who stands to benefit; holding them accountable for their mistakes; and refusing to become complacent. The net overall effect of algorithms should be a positive force for society. And it's only right that it's a job that rests squarely on our shoulders. In the age of the algorithm, humans have never been more important.
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