Being Human with Algorithms
Understanding the impact of algorithm based solutions
Although already some months ago, driven by some very intensive recent conversations, I put some thoughts together on the ACM symposium “Being Human with Algorithms” in Heidelberg on September 20th and 21st, 2018.
From the originator’s webpage:
“To promote dialogue between algorithm creators – often computer scientists – and users, the German Chapter of the ACM created the Forum Being Human with Algorithms on the occasion of its 50th anniversary under the leadership of Marc-Oliver Pahl and Gerhard Schimpf.”
I had the pleasure to visit the symposium, not only getting a rare view on the haute volée of computer science represented by three Touring Award winners, but also getting an out of the box view on the development and impact of algorithms from various and sometimes oppositional angles. It was impressive to learn how many scientific and even artistic disciplines can and need to contribute to get a holistic approach on what today is mostly called (and hyped) as Artificial Intelligence. A lot of details can be found on the webpage linked above.
Why I am writing this short article?
Well, it is simply because these topics, even though to some degree very scientific, must find its way into our practical approaches to really understand the impact of algorithm driven solutions, be it Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Automation or any other derivate, from a holistic view to make it work for humans in its best possible way.
The good thing is, that the idea of digging deeper is starting to get more and more relevant in a lot of discussions, which are very practical based, but now and then coming to some point, where questions around impact, security, reliability, needfulness and plausibility take more space. As soon as you get there, it is also getting clear, that discussing and understanding such more fundamental topics, is not only a fire chat activity for philosophers, but will imply concrete economic and organisational facts and positive impacts.
The discussion is immediately not only focused on a tool-based solution i.e. around applying a chat bot but is respecting what the algorithm (or even in this case the natural language processing algorithm) implies as input, processing, and output, putting much more than just a digital result on the table. For me this twist is a really great opportunity to support people and organizations in more than just applying a process methodology or an organizational assessment for digital business transformation readiness.
I truly believe we need much more discussions on the fundamentals of algorithm-based solutions to decide for the best economic solution as well as for the best solutions for the human beings on the front end and back end to these solutions. So, I am excited to see what’s coming up next from ACM and the team around Marc-Oliver Pahl and Gerhard Schimpf in 2019 and beyond, and I am also very optimistic, that I can use and utilize this kind of observation and approach more and more in my daily advice, consulting, and coaching work.
Fotos:
Florian Freundt/ GChACM/ mensch-sein-mit-algorithmen.org




