Hello World

How to be Human in the Age of the Machine

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'One of the best books yet written on data and algorithms. . .deserves a place on the bestseller charts.' (The Times)

You are accused of a crime. Who would you rather determined your fate - a human or an algorithm?
An algorithm is more consistent and less prone to error of judgement. Yet a human can look you in the eye before passing sentence.
Welcome to the age of the algorithm, the story of a not-too-distant future where machines rule supreme, making important decisions - in healthcare, transport, finance, security, what we watch, where we go even who we send to prison. So how much should we rely on them? What kind of future do we want?

Hannah Fry takes us on a tour of the good, the bad and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us. In Hello World she lifts the lid on their inner workings, demonstrates their power, exposes their limitations, and examines whether they really are an improvement on the humans they are replacing.

A BBC RADIO 4: BOOK OF THE WEEK
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE AND 2018 ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

A stylish, thoughtful, and scrupulously fair-minded account of what the software that increasingly governs our lives can and cannot do ... A beautifully accessible guide that leaps lightly from one story to the next without sparing the reader hard questions... deserves a place in the bestseller charts.
Oliver Moody, The Times

Hello World is an action-packed, quick read during which you will be outraged, provoked, and challenged. The numerous, meticulously researched examples reveal the astonishing new world we're living in, one where secret decisions with ambiguous goals are deciding our individual and collective fates. Welcome to the modern world of big data, you're quite possibly screwed.
Cathy O'Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction

About Hannah Fry

Hannah Fry is Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics at Cambridge University. She is loved for her joyful ability to bring complex ideas to life with her signature sass, wit and warmth. Her broadcasting work includes The Rest is Science (Goalhanger) AI Confidential with Hannah Fry (BBC Two) The Future With Hannah Fry (Bloomberg - Emmy winning) The Secret Genius of Modern Life (BBC Two) Infinite Explorer (Nat Geo) and Curious Cases (BBC Radio 4) as well as the Grierson winning Making Sense of Cancer (BBC Two). She has written numerous articles for The New Yorker and is the author of multiple bestsellers including A Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything, The Mathematics of Love and the critically acclaimed Hello World. In 2026 she was selected as one of Time magazine's top 100 Creators and was awarded the Leelavati Prize for outstanding contributions to increasing public understanding of mathematics.

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