The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World

by Pedro Domingos

In the early days of AI, the common view was that computers would replace blue-collar workers before white-collar ones, because white-collar work requires more brains. But that’s not quite how things turned out. Robots assemble cars, but they haven’t replaced construction workers. On the other hand, machine-learning algorithms have replaced credit analysts and direct marketers. As it turns out, evaluating credit applications is easier for machines than walking around a construction site without tripping, even though for humans it’s the other way around. The common theme is that narrowly defined tasks are easily learned from data, but tasks that require a broad combination of skills and knowledge aren’t.