Communicators fail at explaining what an algorithm is

<p> The world moves fast, and communicators are failing at doing their jobs. We entered a time when a lot of people is talking about <a class="wikilink" href="/artificial_intelligence/"> artificial intelligence </a> and <a class="wikilink" href="/machine_learning/"> machine learning </a> , but few even understand what an <a class="wikilink" href="/algorithm/"> algorithm </a> is. I even found a book about <a class="wikilink" href="/machine_learning/"> machine learning </a> (in Spanish: " <a class="wikilink" href="/las_máquinas_no_pueden_soñar/"> Las máquinas no pueden soñar </a> ") written by someone who defines himself as <em> an expert </em> in which the word <em> statistics </em> is not mentioned only once. </p> <p> If a journalist can manage to get funding to write a book with that kind of content, where are we going? </p> <p> Communicators are transmitting information from a highly biased position without ever acknowledging it. I don't even know whether they acknowledge it at least privately. </p>