Frank Pasquale, “The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money and Information” (Harvard UP, 2015)

New Books in Technology · Dec 24, 2014 · 52m

Hidden algorithms make many of the decisions that affect significant areas of society: the economy, personal and organizational reputation, the promotion of information, etc. These complex formulas, or processes, are thought by many to be unbiased and impartial and, therefore, good for automated decision-making. Yet, recent scandals, as well as information uncovered by researchers and investigative reporters have uncovered that these algorithms may not be as neutral as believed. At the same time, there is no mechanism, legal or otherwise, that would force organizations to make these hidden…