In this admirably well-researched and presented book, Christopher Steiner weaves a nuanced narrative on the incursion of algorithms. Packed with content and decked with an assortment of avenues primed for the bot revolution, Steiner takes the reader on an errand through the daunting maze of the algorithm world. Opening with a historical context, Automate This moves swiftly to covering areas being commandeered by algorithms. From bots that commendably replicate Bach to those capable of minutely demystifying the Beatles, algorithms promise to resoundingly disrupt the world of music.
Elsewhere, gaming algorithms, which have already proved their mettle in the game of chess, are being fortified to discharge greater responsibilities. Algorithms facilitate concept transportation from the recreational games to the serious, such as organ-matching, in the field of medicine. Personality-matching algorithms aim to reshape professional, and personal, interactions. The bots’ legacy bastion, finance, merits liberal mention. Implicitly, the book underscores the role played by finance in shaping the algorithm revolution.
The book espouses a balanced tenor. The subversive nature of algorithms is explored with aplomb, without projecting either a patronising or an apocalyptic tone. Steiner alludes to somewhat disquieting possibilities. Could bots that learn to converse with humans permanently amend the cultural fabric of society? More disconcertingly, the reader is introduced to the idea of algorithms mastering the ultimate frontier by mimicking human thought and behaviour.
Unemotional algorithms that seek to replicate emotional beings are pervious to fallibility. The book explores the dark side of algorithms; their capacity to destabilise markets and enslave thinking beings, who grow addictively dependent on them. Can bots be beaten? Algorithms proliferate in areas conducive for commoditisation.
This is engaging, thought-provoking and makes for a lively fiction read; except, the offering arrives in the form of scrumptious non-fiction. The book may strike a discordant note with those pausing to contemplate the position of humans in an algorithm-fuelled future, with skeptics questioning their omnipresent tendencies. Hostility may be misplaced but the bot movement is well underway; adapting seems the smartest course of action.
— hemant.sreeraman@gmail.com