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1. Well Worth Reading
   The author addresses a subclass of Algorithms (defined p.7ff) and their effects, and potential effects, on society. The subclass of algorithms addressed, which could reasonable be called computer programs, are those that can have a significant effect on people’s lives. What she is not talking about are things like the algorithm used to calculate a tangent or to multiply two matrices. The algorithms address range from the massive data collected about people, used for advertising and other purposes, to potential design issues with self-driving cars, medical diagnosis, determining risk in the judicial system or the challenges in facial recognition. These are big tasks and, for the most part, usually considered human functions. Many of the algorithms involved are classed as ‘machine-learning’.The author does a good job of pointing out some of the benefits and problems with these algorithms and provides some suggestions for the future. She did, however, miss one of the most important things to warn against: Do not allow Microsoft to provide any life critical programs.The best part of the book is the extensive end-notes. Although the author does not go into great details about the algorithms of interest, she does provide plenty of references which are useful for further research.From reading the book, and my own 40+ years in the computer field, the author appears to be more of a researcher about algorithms than an implementer of algorithms. This results, I think, in a little bit of a lack of understanding about how some algorithms actually work, and what information can be gleaned from their operation (I am especially concerned with the machine-learning programs).I also strongly recommend the author’s other book, The Mathematics of Love: Patterns, Proofs, and the Search for the Ultimate Equation (TED Books)

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2. A good start to discussions of algorithms & their role in our lives
   This was a good read.It’s thoughtful & insightful about how we need algorithms in modern society but also points out their pitfalls and suggests how we might do better to manage them (& people).My only wish is there was a bit more. This book is a great start to a very needed discussion and then ends off with a nice frame of the discussion.The reader is left to fill in the picture with other books or resources.

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3. Best book on AI. Well documented. Many examples. I’ve been involved in AI since 1978, only in those
   Times we talked automation, I developed many algorithms for telecommunications systems and call centers and many of examples given on this book are same experiences I had on those days,

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4. New world challenges
   Although the cat may already be out of the bag, this book shows the alternatives still available to us for controlling A I in our daily lives. The author gives a worthy analysis and reasonable solutions which are not too late to deploy

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5. Some agreements and some disagreements
   I really enjoyed this book for the wide variety of algorithm applications it showed! As a software engineer, I loved seeing a layman’s overview of how algorithms are useful in so many fields.I disagree with the author’s viewpoint in several places though. Especially when it came to choices of not using algorithms.I was also surprised to see no reference to some things I expected to find in the book. Like Asimov’s laws of robotics or a reference to Star Trek Lt. Cmd. Data in the art chapter or even the Coded Bias studies and documentary in the crime chapter. If I read this book with a book club, I look forward to discussing these connections in the book context!Overall a great read!

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6. An enjoyable and informative read!
   I got this book as a gift and I very much enjoyed the humor and information provided here. Its a neat look at how Machine Learning can impact our lives and would reccomend this and Weapons of Math destruction to anyone wanting to get an overview to the field

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7. Good Read
   Good read….if you are interested in broaden your thinking about mathematics.

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8. Excellent wake-up call for non-techies
   Although I’ve used computers since the 1980s, I am nothing near tech-savvy when it comes to understanding how they work. But I found this discussion of algorithms to be informative and down to earth. She discusses what algorithms are and why they are useful in many areas, including policing & criminal justice, healthcare, entertainment, retail sales, self-driving cars, etc. She devotes a chapter to the now-well-known truism that “if you are not paying for the data, you ARE the data,” and how the info we volunteer so readily is used and monetized. But the most important take-away from her book is her warning that algorithms will NEVER be perfected — it’s impossible — and anyone who thinks they can be is setting up unrealistic expectations which, she says, are already rampant in the general public. She documents a number of mishaps and errors, some amusing but others downright terrifying (up to and including ruining peoples’ lives), resulting from from our over-dependence on and misplaced trust in the infallibility of algorithms. Though software is an inevitable part of everyday life now, I’ll never again think of any “smart” technology the same way.

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9. This book clearly shows that algorithms are definitely not the finished product, rather a work in progress. Hannah Fry explains, nicely and sometimes with humour, how all the good work that an algorithm may do (and how it’s genuinely helpful and beneficial at times) can be undermined by the losses we may suffer to our privacy and even our humanity (as in compassion, empathy etc). An interesting read.

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10. Es un libro genial. Me fascina la simplicidad de las leyes y métodos matemáticos que se describen; por lo tanto, son muy fáciles de comprender.En cuanto al producto en sí, éste es muy bueno. La pasta dura es genial (aunque lo es en todos los libros) y la calidad de las hojas es buena, me resulta agradable al leerlo.

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11. Interesante libro lleno de ejemplos. He encontrado información útil en cuanto a nuestra relación con los algoritmos y la convivencia entre la IA y los humanos.

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12. I thought this book was well written and anyone should be able to get through some of the more complicated concepts discussed since the author explains them quite thoroughly. The topics discussed are also quite interesting and very current.This is the second book by Hannah Fry I have read and have to say she writes quite well. I never felt like details were left out, except when topics that I knew something about were discussed (though I suspect the level of detail she would have to go into for that would cause many readers to stop reading).

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13. Physics 101 taught me actions have equal and opposite reactions. So if you think you can create and control algorithms, you should be okay with the reactionary corollary of that. The book is must read for anyone who considers him/herself professional in any field, but uses just some tools/programs/computers to reach his/her conclusions/decisions/actions.

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