Automate This

How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World

By: Christopher Steiner

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The rousing story of the last gasp of human agency and how today’s best and brightest minds are endeavoring to put an end to it.

It used to be that to diagnose an illness, interpret legal documents, analyze foreign policy, or write a newspaper article you needed a human being with specific skills - and maybe an advanced degree or two. These days, high-level tasks are increasingly being handled by algorithms that can do precise work not only with speed but also with nuance. These "bots" started with human programming and logic, but now their reach extends beyond what their creators ever expected.

In this fascinating, frightening audiobook, Christopher 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, often silently, without our knowledge. The May 2010 "Flash Crash" exposed Wall Street’s reliance on trading bots to the tune of a 998-point market drop and $1 trillion in vanished market value. But that was just the beginning. In Automate This, we meet bots that drive cars, pen haikus, and write music mistaken for Bach’s. They listen in on our customer service calls and figure out what Iran would do in the event of a nuclear standoff. There are algorithms that can pick out the most cohesive crew of astronauts for a space mission or identify the next Jeremy Lin. Some can even ingest statistics from baseball games and spit out pitch-perfect sports journalism indistinguishable from that produced by humans.

The interaction of man and machine can make our lives easier. But what will the world look like when algorithms control our hospitals, our roads, our culture, and our national security? What happens to businesses when we automate judgment and eliminate human instinct? And what role will be left for doctors, lawyers, writers, truck drivers, and many others? Who knows - maybe there’s a bot learning to do your job right this minute.

©2012 Christopher Steiner (P)2012 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

"Algorithms are affecting every field of human endeavor, from markets to medicine, poker to pop music. Listen to this audiobook if you want to understand the most powerful force shaping the world today and tomorrow." (Andrew McAfee, principal research scientist, MIT; coauthor of Race Against the Machine)

Very well narrated...

Good and very motivational reading / hearing for all engineers. Hope to pursue more on the same line for more and more ...

Great examples of bots

Great examples of how far the world already is by implementing bots. I do not share the opinion that there is only a future for engineers. I think to be able to program is a valuable skill, but to be able to innovate current systems is even more valuable and this requires different skills to learn. The world will change a lot the coming years and this book provides a nice intro to think about it.

Spectacular

If you have any interest in computer science or programming I highly recommend you give this a listen. It's as enthralling as non fiction gets.

Loved it! Fascinating! Listening a second time.

Where does Automate This rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Non-fiction story line about how math and computers have put us into space-age living environment. This is for everybody, not just math savants and quants.

ALGORITHM

With the sub-title—"How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World", Christopher Steiner’s "Automate This" is hyperbolic. Tech geeks are trending toward rule of the world but humans remain too complicated and diverse for this generation of code hackers to dominate the world. Social and political science have not reached a state of measurement and predictable outcome that reaches Karl Popper’s criteria for science. Popper’s requirement for empirical falsification is not true with social and political algorithms; at least, not as reliable, reproducible experiments. Social and political analysis, even with the use of algorithms, is not science.

Of particular interest is Steiner’s explanation of algorithm impact on jobs. Like the industrial revolution, the world’s work force will dramatically change with continued automation. More product production will be automated through algorithms that manipulate machines to do the work formerly done by humans. Steiner believes primary growth industries will be ruled by technology. No jobs will be unaffected by algorithms. Steiner notes that even medical services for common colds and routine visits will be served by algorithmic analysis and drug prescription services. Code hackers will be offered the greatest job opportunities. Call centers will become bigger employers but even those jobs will be increasingly handled by algorithms that minimize employee involvement. A conclusion one may draw from Steiner’s book is that middle managers of call centers, sales people for algorithmic products, teachers, personal service providers, and organization executives will be in demand but many traditional labor positions will disappear.

Steiner’s book is a recruitment tool for today’s and tomorrow’s code hackers. That is where jobs will be. Steiner suggests that young and future populations should plan to acquire basic math skills, learn to code, and plan for a future of automation and exploration.

Automated Review

Would you try another book from Christopher Steiner and/or Walter Dixon?

Yes, I would try another book by the author or one narrated by Walter Dixon.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Made it sound less like a history text book.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

Was Automate This worth the listening time?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

N/A

Interesting, but not magnetic.

If you could sum up Automate This in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, slow, boring

Would you recommend Automate This to your friends? Why or why not?

It depends on their interests. If you are in to automation, you would probably find it interesting. However, it you dislike technology, you would not like the book.

What aspect of Walter Dixon’s performance would you have changed?

His performance was fine.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Well Done

This is a deep and complete book. I am a programmer and I was very inspired by what this book covers.

The Human Side of Tech

If you could sum up Automate This in three words, what would they be?

This book is about technology but it's told from the human side. The stories of the people that make it all happen are both interesting and encouraging. As much as the theme of this book can have scary implications I came away hopeful for the future.

Excellent, much more interesting than expected

this book is loaded with real world examples that challenge you to think about so many things in a different way.