The Algorithm

The Algorithm delivers a shocking and illuminating exposé on one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time: how Al has quietly, and mostly out of sight, taken over the world of work. Hilke Schellmann takes readers on a journalistic detective story, where she meets job applicants and employees who have been subjected to these technologies, plays Al-based video games that companies use for hiring, and investigates algorithms that sean our online activity to construct personality profiles including if we are prone to self-harm. She convinces whistleblowers to share the results of faulty Al-tools, and she tests algorithms that analyze job candidates’ facial expressions and tools that can predict emotion from employees' voices if they are anxious or depressed. The Algorithm tells an even bigger story of systemic discrimination of women and people of color, which may have already harmed thousands of job seekers and employees. It advocates that we more thoughtfully consider how we hire, promote, and treat human beings—with or without Al—and what protections we need to put in place to treat people humanely in an Al-driven world.