Beyond the Algorithm

The fear-mongering or advertising AI books flooding the market are aiming for your money. It is rare to find a book that aims to have a more rational discussion. That is where this book stands out. Beyond the Algorithm is not strictly about AI. It’s about people, their response to change, what they are afraid to lose, and what they stubbornly refuse to do. Aey Nopakraw starts with the story of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis where Aey Nopakraw sits in a debt restructuring office and watches a grandfather weep at the end of the business his family built in three generations, while people seek growth, unmitigated by risk. That story has nothing to do with AI, yet it's exactly what the book is about. It sets the entire tone - this is not someone who read about disruption, they have seen it devour people. The most brilliant thought in the entire book is the smallest. While driving, and missing a turn, not following the satnav, bypassing a private driveway she has known about for years and arriving somewhere nearly on time. The AI never recommended it. It was not on any database. She had just driven through it once and therefore it existed only in her mind. She is identifying something silent and real that our most treasured possessions are not in any training statistics, and they never will be. Maria, the accountant, holds the belief that collaborating with AI would be considered cheating, essentially equating it with having a fast first-draft assistant who occasionally commits errors. The procurement manager who had overlooked an AI recommendation because she remembered how a supplier had saved them during a crisis five years ago. Nothing in the data, everything in the relationship. The second part is a bit more instructive, and is missing some of that warmth. But you're already with her by this point. Genuine, pleasant, and quite supportive. I would rate it 4 out of 5.

Okay, so I was little skeptical while picking this up. I was thinking this is another AI book telling me everything is changing. Turns out I was wrong. And I will tell you why I say that. The author has 20 years experience in banking and insurance in Thailand. The Author's background (being a business person who had to figure AI the hard way) and the subject matter is what makes the whole thing work. I liked the book as it is not about how to use AI. The author, however, explains how to think about AI. What works for me is the writing style which is clean and simple. I noticed that big corporate words are not used while writing the book. It is written in simple language by avoiding confusing tech talk. There is a very helpful story in which author explained how we can cut research time from 3 hours to under 1 hour. Beyond the Algorithm has definitely corrected my mindset about AI. It has helped me change the way I used to think about it. If you are also feeling skeptical just like me, just go for it.