Weapons of Math Destruction

"Publicists for a Judd Apatow movie, for example, could target males from age eighteen to twenty-eight in the fifty richest zip codes, perhaps zeroing in on those who have clicked or 'liked' Apatow's hit movie Trainwreck, have mentioned him on Twitter, or are friends with someone who has."

"But for many direct marketers, when they're operating on the Internet or through the mail, a 1% response rate is the stuff of dreams. After all, they're working with huge numbers. One percent of the US population is more than three million people."

Interesting look at how algorithms have become a part of our daily lives.