
Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine (Paperback)
Hannah Fry (author)Published: 28/03/2019

Shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2018, mathematician and presenter Hannah Fry’s engaging book is a sharp and insightful guide to the age of the algorithm.
Shortlisted for The Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2018
Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2018
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.
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9781784163068
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 220 g
Dimensions: 198 x 127 x 19 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'With refreshing simplicity, Fry explains what AI, machine learning and complicated algorrithms reallly mean.' - The Guardian
'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, The Times
'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
'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
'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
'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
'Hello World is a brisk and friendly guidebook to the algorithms all around us' - Jordan Ellenberg
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“Witty, engaging and warm!”
If you know Fry from Numberphile or or YouTube channels, you will be no stranger to the witty, charming inspiration of Hannah Fry. Hello World is well written, easily read and doesn't so much provide answers, as... More
“Certainly gets you thinking!”
Thank you to the publishers for the review copy!
Having previously read the sampler this was my review then
'I had the great privilege to meet Hannah Fry last night at a Transworld Publishing event.
I then read...
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“BASED on Sampler (97 pages)”
I had the great privilege to meet Hannah Fry last night at a Transworld Publishing event.
I then read this sampler on the train home and you guessed it - I now need the entire book.
Brilliantly interesting and thought...
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