Algorithms power the modern world, but many people don't understand them. Here's the definition of an algorithm and how they're affecting our world.

For better accountability, we should shift the focus from the design of these systems to their impact. Describing a decision-making system as an “algorithm” is often a way to deflect ...

So, an algorithm is the process a computer uses to transform input data into output data. A simple concept, and yet every piece of technology that you touch involves many algorithms.

“An algorithm, written in code, does all its work invisibly,” software developer Danilo Campos explained in an email. “The implementation of an algorithm is hidden from view.

“To me, an algorithm is any piece of automated code that accepts some number of variables and data, [then] uses those variables and data to make decisions. But that’s the boring computer science ...

Facebook, Google, Amazon. Their algorithms are everywhere. But do they really control our lives?