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Author: Christopher Steiner
ISBN : B0064W5UAS
New from $7.99
Format: PDF, EPUB
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How the rise of computerized decision-making affects every aspect of business and daily life These days, high-level tasks—such as diagnosing an illness or interpreting legal documents—are increasingly being handled by algorithms that can do precise work with speed and nuance.
In this fascinating book, Steiner tells the story of how algorithms took over and shows why the “bot revolution” is about to spill into every aspect of our lives. We meet bots that are driving cars, penning haikus, and writing music mistaken for Bach’s. They listen in on customer service calls and figure out what Iran would do in the event of a nuclear standoff.
But what will the world look like when algorithms control our hospitals, our roads, and our national security? And what role will be left for doctors, lawyers, writers, truck drivers, and many others?
Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation Free Automate This: How Algorithms Took Over Our Markets, Our Jobs, and the World
- File Size: 675 KB
- Print Length: 256 pages
- Publisher: Portfolio (August 30, 2012)
- Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B0064W5UAS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,914 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #21
in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Information Theory - #22
in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Modeling & Simulation - #38
in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Management > Manager's Guides to Computing
- #21
in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Information Theory - #22
in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Modeling & Simulation - #38
in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Management > Manager's Guides to Computing
Free Automate This: How Algorithms Took Over Our Markets, Our Jobs, and the World
For a book that is heavily publicized and garnered reviews in major business magazines, this book flatters only to deceive. Unless you are a total novice in this space, a reader is unlikely to find any new examples or insights from the author's treatment of algorithms. Most examples have been discussed ( in terms of technical content and impact on business models, society, behaviors) in magazines like Wired, PopSci and NYT technology pages many years ago. The dated references to recommendation engines like dating websites, those focused on music (Pandora, etc) are all superficial and provide no new insights or a critical appraisal of where those technologies are headed.
The author also overly focuses on Wall Street based scenarios to explain algorithms - he does a particularly bad job in representing algorithms as nothing more than fast calculators - that too, with a fundamentally flawed example based on option trading (I sincerely hope that the author never tried the trade he has mentioned in the book). That misguided example reflects poorly on author's understanding of algorithms and inadvertently proves one thing - algorithms are only as good as the thought that went behind its design.
Despite the superficial treatment, the author makes a few important points in the last two chapters on the need for more skill development in "STEM" disciplines and makes an argument that medical diagnostics is the next main area where algorithms are poised to expand. The discussion is very rushed and provides no meaningful action plan. Moreover, the author fails to acknowledge the vast amount of data that an individual is generating on a daily basis - and concepts of "big data" that could shape how new avenues for algorithms can evolve.
Length: ~220pp
Contents:
Introduction
1. Wall Street, The First Domino - this chapter tells the story of Thomas Peterffy, who was apparently the major innovator in the last 40 years in algorithmic trading. The guy is now a billionaire. It's a VERY interesting story.
2. A Brief History of Man and Algorithms - This spends a lot of time discussing mathematicians of the past, and how their innovations led to
3. The Bot Top 40 - Talks about how algorithms can be used to detect which songs are likely to be hits. Some great stories.
4. The Secret Highways of Bots - The main idea of this chapter is that the SPEED of algorithms is what makes them so valuable. The majority of the chapter is spent telling the story of how two guys spent $200 million building a new communications line between Chicago and NYC so that they could shave 4 milliseconds off the amount of time it took to communicate between the two cities, which gave a HUGE advantage in algorithmic trading. The plan worked and the guys made a ton of money off it.
5. Gaming the System - Algorithms in gaming (poker, etc.)
6. Paging Dr. Bot - Gives examples of companies that are using computers to replace a LOT of the work now done by doctors.
7. Categorizing Humankind - Tells the story of how NASA used algorithms to detect which astronauts would work well together during the 1960s/70s missions, and how this same idea is now being used to create algorithms that can detect your personality over the phone and connect you with a customer service representative whose method of communication matches yours. Very interesting.
8. Wall Street Versus Silicon Valley - Talks about how Silicon Valley and Wall St. compete for talent
9. Wall Street's Loss is a Gain for the Rest of Us
10.