Articles about Algorithms

Elon Musk -- or his company, X, at least -- has been given until mid-February to provide the European Commission with details of how its recommendation algorithm works.

The request is part of a wider investigation by the EC to ensure that X is complying with the Digital Services Act (DSA). Many would be interested to learn something about how the recommendation system of this and other social media platforms works, and the Commission has further demands as well.

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A huge proportion of what you encounter on social media platforms is selected by algorithms (this should be news to very few people), and algorithms are problematic.

The content that is pushed to you is supposed to be based on your past interactions, the people you are connected to, the things you like, and so on, but it is easily polluted and corrupted. And this is why Instagram’s current test that gives users a way to reset their recommendations and start afresh is so welcome.

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Begin your journey into the fascinating world of computational thinking with Introduction to Algorithms. Starting with a comprehensive guide to the basics, you will learn about pseudocode and flowcharts, the fundamental tools for representing algorithms.

As you progress, you'll delve into the efficiency of algorithms, understanding how to evaluate and optimize them for better performance. The course will also cover various basic algorithm types, providing a solid foundation for further exploration. You will explore specific categories of algorithms, including search and sort algorithms, which are crucial for managing and retrieving data efficiently.

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Fresh out of college and with just a year of self-study behind him, Cory Althoff was offered a dream first job as a software engineer for a well-known tech company, but he quickly found himself overwhelmed by the amount of things he needed to know, but hadn’t learned yet. This experience combined with his personal journey learning to program inspired his widely praised guide, The Self-Taught Programmer.

Now Cory's back with another guide for the self-taught community of learners focusing on the foundations of computer science.

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The ability to use algorithms to solve real-world problems is a must-have skill for any developer or programmer.

This book will help you not only to develop the skills to select and use an algorithm to tackle problems in the real world but also to understand how it works. You'll start with an introduction to algorithms and discover various algorithm design techniques, before exploring how to implement different types of algorithms, with the help of practical examples.

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There is a great deal to be said in favor of making software, apps and code available on an open source basis. And this is particularly true of the algorithms that influence so many aspects of life, and control what is seen online.

Now Elon Musk has suggested that Twitter's own algorithm could be made open source -- perhaps as soon as next week.

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The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, has announced the formation of a new task force to examine the fairness of the algorithms used in the city's automated systems.

The Automated Decision Systems Task Force will review algorithms that are in use to determine that they are free from bias. Representatives from the Department of Social Services, the NYC Police Department, the Department of Transportation, the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, the Administration for Children's Services, and the Department of Education will be involved, and the aim is to produce a report by December 2019.

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