Listen in: Algorithms for the People

Listen in: Algorithms for the People

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Artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping our world. Police forces use them to decide where to send police officers, judges to decide whom to release on bail, welfare agencies to decide which children are at risk of abuse, and Facebook and Google to rank content and distribute ads. In these spheres, and many others, powerful prediction tools are changing how decisions are made, narrowing opportunities for the exercise of judgment, empathy, and creativity. In Algorithms for the People, Josh Simons flips the narrative about how we govern these technologies. Instead of examining the impact of technology on democracy, he explores how to put democracy at the heart of AI governance.

Listen to Chapter 1.
 

About the Author

Josh Simons is a research fellow in political theory at Harvard University. He has worked as a visiting research scientist in artificial intelligence at Facebook and as a policy advisor for the Labour Party in the UK Parliament.