Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms

One where the arrogant, dictatorial algorithms that fill many of these pages are a thing of the past. One where we stop seeing 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; h

Here’s how Kasparov puts it: ‘When playing with the assistance of computers, we could concentrate on strategic planning instead of spending so much time on calculations. Human creativity was even more paramount under these conditions.’2

As computer algorithms increasingly control and decide our future, ‘Hello world’ is a reminder of a moment of dialogue between human and machine. Of an instant where the boundary between controller and controlled is virtually imperceptible. It marks the start of a partnership – a shared journey of possibilities, where one cannot exist without the o

This is all Bayes’ theorem does: offers a systematic way to update your belief in a hypothesis on the basis of the evidence.30 It accepts that you can’t ever be completely certain about the theory you’re considering, but allows you to make a best guess from the information available.