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Hello World

byHannah Fry, Hannah Fry (Read by)

How to be Human in the Age of the Machine

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Hello World, written and read by Hannah Fry.

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.
You need a liver transplant to save your life. Who would you want in charge of organ allocation?
An algorithm can match organ donors with patients, potentially saving many more lives. But it may send you to the back of the queue.
You’re buying a (driverless) car. One vehicle is programmed to save as many lives as possible in a collision. Another promises to prioritize the lives of its passengers. Which do you choose?
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.

'Wise, sharp and witty, the definitive guide to living in the age of social media, algorithms and automation.' Adam Rutherford

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

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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Details
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • ISBN: 9781473562424
  • Length: 411 minutes
  • Price: £12.00
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