Overthecourseofageneration,algorithmshavegonefrommathematicalabstractionstopowerfulmediatorsofdailylife.Algorithmshavemadeourlivesmoreefficient,moreentertaining,and,sometimes,betterinformed.Atthesametime,complexalgorithmsareincreasinglyviolatingthebasicrightsofindividualcitizens.Allegedlyanonymizeddatasetsroutinelyleakourmostsensitivepersonalinformation;statisticalmodelsforeverythingfrommortgagestocollegeadmissionsreflectracialandgenderbias.Meanwhile,usersmanipulatealgorithmsto“game“searchengines,spamfilters,onlinereviewingservices,andnavigationapps.Understandingandimprovingthesciencebehindthealgorithmsthatrunourlivesisrapidlybecomingoneofthemostpressingissuesofthiscentury.Traditionalfixes,suchaslaws,regulationsandwatchdoggroups,haveprovenwoefullyinadequate.Reportingfromthecuttingedgeofscientificresearch,TheEthicalAlgorithmoffersanewapproach:asetofprincipledsolutionsbasedontheemergingandexcitingscienceofsociallyawarealgorithmdesign.MichaelKearnsandAaronRothexplainhowwecanbetterembedhumanprinciplesintomachinecode-withouthaltingtheadvanceofdata-drivenscientificexploration.Weavingtogetherinnovativeresearchwithstoriesofcitizens,scientists,andactivistsonthefrontlines,TheEthicalAlgorithmoffersacompellingvisionforafuture,oneinwhichwecanbetterprotecthumansfromtheunintendedimpactsofalgorithmswhilecontinuingtoinspirewondrousadvancesintechnology.
