Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The Master Algorithm summary
Pedro Domingos
How The Quest For The Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World
21 mins
Topics
Table of Contents
The Master Algorithm
Summary of 8 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 8
Machine learning can solve important problems by looking at data and then finding an algorithm to explain it.
Have you ever been frustrated by recipes with imprecise instructions, like, “cook at medium heat for 15-20 minutes”? If so, you might be someone who prefers a good algorithm.
Unlike recipes, algorithms are sequences of precise instructions that produce the same result every time.
Though you might not be aware of their presence, algorithms are used everywhere. They schedule flights, route the packages you send and make sure factories run smoothly.
These standard algorithms are designed to accept information as an input, then perform a task and produce an output.
Let’s say an algorithm’s task is to give directions. When you input two points, the output would then be the shortest route between these two points.
But machine learning, or ML, algorithms are one step more abstract: they are algorithms that output other algorithms! Given lots of examples of input-output pairs to learn from, they find an algorithm that seems to turn the inputs into the outputs.
This comes in handy for finding algorithms for tasks that human programmers can’t precisely describe, such as reading someone’s handwriting. Like riding a bike, deciphering handwriting is something we do unconsciously. We would have trouble putting our process into words, let alone into an algorithm.
Thanks to machine learning, we don’t have to. We just give a machine learning algorithm lots of examples of handwritten text as input, and the meaning of the text as the desired output. The result will be an algorithm that can transform one into the other.
Once learned, we can then use that algorithm whenever we want to automatically decipher handwriting. And, indeed, that’s how the post office is able to read the zip code you write down on your packages.
What’s great is that ML algorithms like this one can be used for many different tasks, and solving emergent problems is only a matter of collecting enough data.
This means that the initial underlying algorithm is often the same and requires no adjustments in order to solve seemingly unrelated problems.
For example, you might think that making a medical diagnosis, filtering spam from your email and figuring out the best chess move might all need completely different algorithms. But, actually, with one ML algorithm and the right kind of data, you can solve all these problems.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Master Algorithm?
Key ideas in The Master Algorithm
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The Master Algorithm about?
Though you might not be aware of it, machine learning algorithms are already seeping into every aspect of human life, becoming more and more powerful as they continue to learn from an ever-increasing amount of data. The Master Algorithm (2016) provides a broad overview of what kind of algorithms are already out there, the problems they face, the solutions they can provide and how they’re going to revolutionize the future.
Best quote from The Master Algorithm
Its even been said that data mining means torturing the data until it confesses.
—Pedro Domingos
Who should read The Master Algorithm?
- Entrepreneurs who want to connect producers and customers
- Tech junkies interested in the next big technological evolution
- Anyone concerned about how their personal data is being used
Categories with The Master Algorithm
Books like The Master Algorithm
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
Start growing with Blinkist now
28 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers