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Hello World

The essential book for understanding AI - from the prizewinning mathematician and The Rest is Science host

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Hello World

By: Hannah Fry
Narrated by: Hannah Fry
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Random House presents the audiobook edition of Hello World, written and read by Hannah Fry.

You are accused of a crime. Who would you rather determined your fate – a human or an algorithm?
An algorithm is more consistent and less prone to error of judgement. Yet a human can look you in the eye before passing sentence.
You need a liver transplant to save your life. Who would you want in charge of organ allocation?
An algorithm can match organ donors with patients, potentially saving many more lives. But it may send you to the back of the queue.
You’re buying a (driverless) car. One vehicle is programmed to save as many lives as possible in a collision. Another promises to prioritize the lives of its passengers. Which do you choose?
Welcome to the age of the algorithm, the story of a not-too-distant future where machines rule supreme, making important decisions – in healthcare, transport, finance, security, what we watch, where we go even who we send to prison. So how much should we rely on them? What kind of future do we want?

Hannah Fry takes us on a tour of the good, the bad and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us. In Hello World she lifts the lid on their inner workings, demonstrates their power, exposes their limitations, and examines whether they really are an improvement on the humans they are replacing.

'Wise, sharp and witty, the definitive guide to living in the age of social media, algorithms and automation.' Adam Rutherford

Law Popular Culture Programming & Software Development Science Social Sciences
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Critics' reviews

A stylish, thoughtful, and scrupulously fair-minded account of what the software that increasingly governs our lives can and cannot do ... A beautifully accessible guide that leaps lightly from one story to the next without sparing the reader hard questions... deserves a place in the bestseller charts. (Oliver Moody)
With refreshing simplicity, Fry explains what AI, machine learning and complicated algorithms really mean, providing some succinct explanations of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, driverless cars and many other unnerving modern phenomena…This book illustrates why good science writers are essential. (Katy Guest)
Brilliantly clear...Fry succinctly outlines the ethical issues that beset AI (James McConnaiche)
Hello World is a gem of accessible science writing. With eloquence and charm, Hannah Fry outlines the maths of computer algorithms and explains how they are transforming fields such as health, justice, transport and the arts. She is a wise guide to the benefits - and horrors of our increasingly data-driven world. (Alex Bellos, author of Alex's Adventures in Numberland)
Expertly told, wise and with a lightness of touch, Hannah Fry's brilliant exploration of how we live our lives in the age of AI will prompt arguments in pubs and over dinner tables for years to come. (Adam Rutherford)
Computers used to be tools, then they were toys, and now they're all around us. You couldn't ask for a better guide to this bewildering new world than Hannah Fry, who fills Hello World with wit, storytelling and superbly clear insight. Bravo! (Tim Harford, author and presenter of The Undercover Economist and more recently Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy.)
Hannah Fry's masterful and entertaining call to arms needs to be read by every last human who unthinkingly entrusts our destiny to algorithms. Because, what do you know, the machine-determined future may just work against our best interests, people. (David Rowan, Founder editor of WIRED UK)
Hello World is an action-packed, quick read during which you will be outraged, provoked, and challenged. The numerous, meticulously researched examples reveal the astonishing new world we're living in, one where secret decisions with ambiguous goals are deciding our individual and collective fates. Welcome to the modern world of big data, you're quite possibly screwed. (Cathy O'Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction)
Hello World is a brisk and friendly guidebook to the algorithms all around us (Jordan Ellenberg)
Editor's Choice: consistently illuminating (Caroline Sanderson)
All stars
Most relevant
Hannah empowers women and emotional intelligence. Understanding the limits of AI is key to ensure peace in this crazy world. Let's be human first.

Great book from a smart peace activist

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Very prescient overview of the promise and threats of algorithms in society from just before the LLM genie was let out of the bottle. Memorable anecdotes for and against many AI use cases give an idea of the threats and challenges we face. Since the publishing of the book stakes have only become higher,

The day before yesterday

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Absolutely fantastic, inspiring, logical and intriguing stroy line. Beautifully presented important implications of Algorithms and its limitations in every aspect of human life.
From algorithms aiding in logical jail sentence to helping cops in finding crime hotspots in city.
from helping surgeons detecting cancer to level 6 driver less cars ,All with its downsides which you might forget to consider..
I loved it !!

The power of Algorithms and its limitations.

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Der Schwerpunkt dieses Buches liegt nicht in einem Informatik Kurs wie man Programme schreibt oder einer theoretischen Beschreibung von Software sondern ist eine Beschreibung was Programme können und wo sie eingesetzt werden. Und Programme können so viel das man es kaum glauben kann. Die Autorin diskutiert verschiedene Anwendungen von Justiz über Krebsdiagnosen über selbstfahrende Autos, verbrechensfahndung, Prognosen von Filmerfolg bis zu dieser zutiefst menschlichen Sphäre von Kunst und Musik. Die schildert auch einige Katastrophen und es geht sehr um die ethische Bewertung von Programmen. Sie schreibt klar und argumentiert nachvollziehbar. Was am ehesten ihr Konklusio ist: Man soll sich von Maschinen nicht das Denken abnehmen lassen sondern eher umgekehrt. Mit hat das Buch gut gefallen.

Mensch und\oder Maschine

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Gute Zusammenfassung verschiedener Aspekte, insbesondere der Stärken und Schwächen von Algorithmen und Machine Learning. Sehr viele anschauliche Beispiele. Insgesamt aber wenig Neues.

Gute Zusammenfassung

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