Lesson 1: Introduction to Algorithms

Today, we use technology in almost every part of our daily lives, from buying our groceries online to selecting music on Spotify to using Google Maps when we are looking for directions. All these situations use predefined “recipes” that are embedded in technology such as smartphones or computers. These recipes are known as algorithms.

Let’s look at two examples of common algorithms.

The first example is social media. From an early age, people are aware of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. At first, these websites appear to provide just a way to keep in touch with your friends. However, these social media sites are driven by powerful algorithms that force a user to keep scrolling (indefinitely!) while being introduced to advertisements. Every new post on these websites is presented by the algorithm that computes a score in the background on how likely the user would be to interact with the post. It is almost as though the algorithm is reading the user’s mind!

Another common example is facial recognition. This can be seen when you log in to your iPhone or play with a Snapchat filter. These devices are running algorithms that use biometric maps to recognize our faces and compare our facial features to a database to match our identity. One would not imagine that all these mechanics are taking place in the background when you are Facetiming your friend!