A thought-provoking and wide-ranging exploration of machine learning and the race to build computer intelligences as flexible as our own.

In the world"s top research labs and universities, the race is on to invent the ultimate learning algorithm: one capable of discovering any knowledge from data, and doing anything we want, before we even ask.

In The Master Algorithm, Pedro Domingos lifts the veil to give us a peek inside the learning machines that power Google, Amazon, and your smartphone. He assembles a blueprint for the future universal learner - the Master Algorithm - and discusses what it will mean for business, science, and society. If data-ism is today"s philosophy, this book is its bible.

One of the world’s greatest mysteries is how a pound of gray jelly in the head of a newborn can eventually produce a stream of consciousness, able to perceive the world and interact with it. Maybe more astounding is how little teaching the brain requires while it’s undergoing this transformation.

No machine in the history of mankind has a learning capacity comparable to the human brain. But things are changing. Our ability to create ever more sophisticated machines means that, in the future, they may be able to challenge the brain.

Machines may even surpass human ability. They can learn from the enormous amounts of data that we encounter and ignore every day. So let’s put on our thinking caps and explore the fascinating world of algorithms and machine learning.