Algorithm: a set of instructions given to a set of input data to determine an output.
Quite simple really. It’s like math, but a bit more complicated. Are algorithms going to take over the world? Well, after listening to this TED Talk, seems like they already rule the call centers.
That’s right. The infamous:
“This call may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance purposes”
…is not a manager listening in to certain conversations when you call in to have a service issue resolved. It’s actually a machine (bot) that knows your personality and matches you to a person in the call center with the same personality. A little spooky don’t you think?
They’ve listened to over 1 billion conversations, done the math, and siloed you into a slot with a 90% chance of resolving your issue on the first call. Magic or chance you ask? Not quite. It’s math, and it is taking over everything we do, or did.
A quick 12 minute TED talk from 2012 will put the skeptics to sleep. It’s all being done right before our eyes. Stock markets crash, power grids fail, and nuclear reactor centrifuges get thrown off kilter, all because of algorithms.
Here is the TED talk:
Algorithms can now detect personalities via human language conversation. Although the technologies behind it are guiding decisions in call centers around the world, let’s imagine what else they could be tracking.
Most conversations now happen on mobile devices that use satellite triangulation for location and transmission. Imagine the ramifications of listening in on conversations for telecom companies? Will they eventually be able to detect sentiments that will lead to world changing events before they even happen?
What’s next? Will WW3 be launched via algorithm?
Comments, questions and speculation welcome. Thanks for reading.
