Book review: The Master Algorithm by Pedro Domingos

I first came across this book when I was reading analysts' review of President Xi Jinping's New Years' address during the turn of the year and this book was apparently one of the two books on AI and robotics that was on the Chinese President's bookshelf. Piqued by this revelation, I then subsequently learnt that this book was also on Bill Gates' recommended reading list. The book's full title, "The Master Algorithm – How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine will Remake our World," provided the necessary hyperbole that helped me make my decision to read it. Whilst I had some rudimentary of what algorithms do, how AI will impact the world we live in, and how machine learning is being used across various industries from healthcare, to education to security. At the heart of machine learning is the ability of learners to use algorithms to collate data, create meaningful and actionable insights from the data and determine or execute next steps or tasks.