It's no accident that the word algorithm sounds a bit like algebra because both originate from Arabic around the 9th century. During this time, Europe was in decline while the Middle East supported a vibrant culture of enquiry.
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Algebra originally referred to the surgical treatment of bonesetting before a Persian writer used it to describe a method of writing and solving mathematical equations.
Around 825, Iranian Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm wrote the first known book about algorithms (the "Book of Indian computation"). Since then it's morphed through a few variations and now refers to the steps required to solve a problem.
Whenever you follow a recipe you're following a kind of algorithm, however that's a crude example because recipes do not include logic such as IF-THEN-ELSE or DO-WHILE.
While the concept is really simple, formulating an algorithm can be very difficult, taking years of training by computer programmers.
Consider for example the steps you'd need to fetch a newspaper off the front lawn. Superficially, it's really simple: walk outside, pick it up.
But did you consider some things that might happen along the way? The front door is locked. The sprinkler is on, or it's raining. The paper hasn't actually arrived yet.
Or, worse, there's a large dog that isn't much concerned whether it grabs the paper or your ankle.
While most people never write algorithms, we interact with them every day. They have infiltrated every aspect of our lives, from the mundane to the significant.
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Algorithms help operate your microwave oven, and your car harangues you for any perceived misdemeanor.
With the rise of social media, they insinuate themselves into our personal relationships and interests with the aim of tempting you to buy things.
Now, big tech companies are increasingly mediating your access to information. Search engines and social media use your personal information to feed you the things that their algorithms choose for you.
In doing so, they bypass human decisions, handing control to a few people in businesses whose primary motive is to monetise your world. The veracity and quality of that information is secondary to that goal.
Now we have AI in the mix, but whether we'd say they use algorithms is debatable because the way they formulate their output is fundamentally different.
Then, for all its remarkable achievements, AI is not like human intelligence which remains deeply mysterious.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is on 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM. Send your questions to AskFuzzy@Zoho.com; Podcast: FuzzyLogicOn2xx.Podbean.com
