We don’t realize the extent to which Algorithms run our lives until you’ve been tossed around by one. An article by a BBC technology reporter entitled, “When Algorithms Rule the World” sheds some light on this.
Our experience in the publishing world has been the ups and downs of the search engine algorithms; however, they go well beyond this, from Friend finding to recommended items at our favorite shopping sites, algorithms control much of what we see. This is particularly acute on two main thoroughfares, Madison Avenue and Wall Street.
Jane Wakefield, the BBC technology reporter who wrote the story talks of the threats to these computer calculations make including an algorithmic glitch on Amazon that caused the book "The Making of a Fly" -- about the molecular biology of a fly –to be priced at $23.6 million.
The influences are far reaching. Some are benign for the average individual, for example, the Netflix algorithm is responsible for 60% of movie rentals, a group called Epagogix uses it’s algorithm on the other end of the spectrum as it predicts what movies will be a hit.
Google is the king of all algorithms as its code powers what we see and find when we search. And while the impact is big for consumers and marketers, a broader concern comes from the financial markets where computer code runs up to 70% of Wall Street trading on its algo-trading.
“The algorithms of Wall Street may be the cyber-equivalent of the 80s yuppie, but unlike their human counterparts, they don't demand red braces, cigars and champagne. What they want is fast pipes,” article says.
Learn about our company and the services and products we offer: http://www.marketresearch.com
No comments:
Post a Comment