1. Google Search
There was a time not too long ago when search engines battled it out for Internet supremacy. But along came Google and its innovative PageRank algorithm.
2. Facebook's News Feed
As much as we may be loathe to admit it, the Facebook News Feed is where many of us love to waste our time. And unless your preferences are set show all the activities and updates of all your friends in chronological order, you're viewing a pre-determined selection of items that Facebook's algorithms have chosen just for you.
3. OKCupid Date Matching
Online dating is now a $2 billion industry. Thanks to the growth of such sites as Match.com, eHarmony, and OKCupid, the industry has expanded at 3.5% a year since 2008. Analysts expect this acceleration to continue over the next five years — and for good reason: It's an extremely effective way for couples to meet. Not only do dating sites result in more successful marriages, they do an excellent job matching prospective couples based on their various preferences and tendencies. And of course, all this matching is done by algorithms.
4. NSA Data Collection, Interpretation, and Encryption
We are increasingly being watched not by people, but by algorithms. Thanks to Edward Snowden, we know that the National Security Agency (NSA) and its international partners have been spying on millions upon millions of unsuspecting citizens. Leaked documents have revealed the existence of numerous surveillance programs jointly operated by the Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance comprised of the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Together, they've been monitoring our phone calls, emails, webcam images, and geographical locations. And by "they" I mean their algorithms; there is far too much data for humans to collect and interpret.
There was a time not too long ago when search engines battled it out for Internet supremacy. But along came Google and its innovative PageRank algorithm.
2. Facebook's News Feed
As much as we may be loathe to admit it, the Facebook News Feed is where many of us love to waste our time. And unless your preferences are set show all the activities and updates of all your friends in chronological order, you're viewing a pre-determined selection of items that Facebook's algorithms have chosen just for you.
3. OKCupid Date Matching
Online dating is now a $2 billion industry. Thanks to the growth of such sites as Match.com, eHarmony, and OKCupid, the industry has expanded at 3.5% a year since 2008. Analysts expect this acceleration to continue over the next five years — and for good reason: It's an extremely effective way for couples to meet. Not only do dating sites result in more successful marriages, they do an excellent job matching prospective couples based on their various preferences and tendencies. And of course, all this matching is done by algorithms.
4. NSA Data Collection, Interpretation, and Encryption
We are increasingly being watched not by people, but by algorithms. Thanks to Edward Snowden, we know that the National Security Agency (NSA) and its international partners have been spying on millions upon millions of unsuspecting citizens. Leaked documents have revealed the existence of numerous surveillance programs jointly operated by the Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance comprised of the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Together, they've been monitoring our phone calls, emails, webcam images, and geographical locations. And by "they" I mean their algorithms; there is far too much data for humans to collect and interpret.
5. "You May Also Enjoy..."Sites and services like Amazon and Netflix monitor the books we buy and the movies we stream, and suggest related items based on our habits.
6. Google AdWords
Similar to the previous item, Google, Facebook, and other sites track your behavior, word usage, and search queries to deliver contextual advertising. Google's AdWords — which is the company's main source of revenue — is predicated on this model, while Facebook has struggled to make it work (when's the last time you clicked on an ad while in Facebook?).
7. High Frequency Stock Trading
The financial sector has long used algorithms to predict market fluctuations, but they're also being used in the burgeoning practice of high-frequency stock trading. This form of rapid-fire trading involves algorithms, also called bots, that can make decisions on the order of milliseconds. By contrast, it takes a human at least one full second to both recognize and react to potential danger. Consequently, humans are progressively being left out of the trading loop — and an entirely new digital ecology is evolving.
8. MP3 Compression
Algorithms that squeeze data are an indelible and crucial aspect of the digital world. We want to receive our media quickly and we want to preserve our hard drive space. To that end, various tricks have been designed to compress and transmit data.
Similar to the previous item, Google, Facebook, and other sites track your behavior, word usage, and search queries to deliver contextual advertising. Google's AdWords — which is the company's main source of revenue — is predicated on this model, while Facebook has struggled to make it work (when's the last time you clicked on an ad while in Facebook?).
7. High Frequency Stock Trading
The financial sector has long used algorithms to predict market fluctuations, but they're also being used in the burgeoning practice of high-frequency stock trading. This form of rapid-fire trading involves algorithms, also called bots, that can make decisions on the order of milliseconds. By contrast, it takes a human at least one full second to both recognize and react to potential danger. Consequently, humans are progressively being left out of the trading loop — and an entirely new digital ecology is evolving.
8. MP3 Compression
Algorithms that squeeze data are an indelible and crucial aspect of the digital world. We want to receive our media quickly and we want to preserve our hard drive space. To that end, various tricks have been designed to compress and transmit data.
9. IBM's CRUSH
This one doesn't dominate our world yet, but it could very soon. An increasing number of police departments are utilizing a new technology known as predictive analysis — a tool that most certainly brings a Minority Report-like world to mind.
This one doesn't dominate our world yet, but it could very soon. An increasing number of police departments are utilizing a new technology known as predictive analysis — a tool that most certainly brings a Minority Report-like world to mind.
10. Auto-Tune
Lastly, and just for fun, the now all-too-frequent auto-tuner is driven by algorithms. These devices process a set of rules that slightly bends pitches, whether sung or performed by an instrument, to the nearest true semitone. Interestingly, it was developed by Exxon's Any Hildebrand who originally used the technology to interpret seismic data.
source and more details:
http://io9.com/the-10-algorithms-that-dominate-our-world-1580110464?imm_mid=0bd168&cmp=em-strata-na-na-newsltr_20140528_elist
Lastly, and just for fun, the now all-too-frequent auto-tuner is driven by algorithms. These devices process a set of rules that slightly bends pitches, whether sung or performed by an instrument, to the nearest true semitone. Interestingly, it was developed by Exxon's Any Hildebrand who originally used the technology to interpret seismic data.
source and more details:
http://io9.com/the-10-algorithms-that-dominate-our-world-1580110464?imm_mid=0bd168&cmp=em-strata-na-na-newsltr_20140528_elist
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