Algorithms and You

You have probably heard about algorithms, have you ever wondered what they are? Well, it is a little fuzzy, you can read about it on Wikipedia if you wish; but, it says that there are no firm rules. It is math, if A occurs then B is the answer. Okay, that still may be a bit obscure.

Algorithms are nothing more than mathematical formulas and depending on what numbers you put in them you get a different answer. Now you might wonder why you should care, let me give you a few examples of how they are used. Amazon uses algorithms to determine what you like, your preferences. You bought seven things from Amazon this year, the computer will look for everyone else who bought the same seven things this year and then predict that whatever one of you likes, the rest of you might like. It sounds harmless enough.

What they also do is allow someone to profile you, to predict what you will do in the future. There are those who would like to use them to predict who will be a sexual predator or a criminal. Problem is that these assumptions are not perfect. People who don't fit in with the algorithms, those are outliers. The computers don't know how to predict them and therefore cannot predict true paradigm shifts. They don't know what the next big thing will be, they cannot only look at what is already known. They cannot be used to predict fundamental changes to the world or how to respond to them, they can only look to the past.

Algorithms are great for helping a market determine what to store for it's customers, that is why they have rewards cards. There are also times when they should not be used, for instance would you want a jury by algorithms? The worst problem is that we can rely on them rather than our own mental abilities, that is a recipe for disaster.

BBC News and Technology had a interesting article on it that I think is worth a read. It is "When Algorithms Control the World.

I am still working on my discussion points for the people who are starting a new church; but, I still think about the rest of my readers. Please understand that I may write some more things on religion, it helps me to prepare. I may use all or none of it, you can never tell with me. Once, I gave a two day seminar in Vegas, I wrote everything up a month or so in advance and as I was giving the seminar, I changed the whole thing on the spot while talking. It isn't so much about knowing what I am going to say as it is about knowing my subject and being able to pick an issue at a moment's notice.

I could have written this post from a spiritual point of view as it has many implications; but, I chose not to. For all I know this is what I may talk about.