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# Automate This by Christopher Steiner
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/book-review-automate-this/
- Published: 2013-11-13T14:20:50.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-29T15:32:11.000Z
- Description: A look at one of the how algorithms have evolved and influence us today.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Big Data, Book Reviews, Healthcare, #no-crop, #not-too-tall

Now that I've joined the iPad crowd, it's easier than ever for me to peruse books and buy what looks interesting. Kindle recommended[*Automate This: How Algorithms Took Over Our Markets, Our Jobs, and the World*](https://tinyurl.com/yb3otwgw?ref=philsimon.com) (affiliate link) by Christopher Steiner, so I decided to read the sample.

Immediately, I was hooked. I bought the book and breezed through it in a little over a day.

Steiner has a gift for storytelling and he certainly did his research. I was familiar with many of the concepts and companies discussed in the book. I knew about IBM's Watson, [evidence-based medicine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence-based%5Fmedicine?ref=philsimon.com), and [high-frequency trading](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency%5Ftrading?ref=philsimon.com), so not all of the material was new to me. At the same time, though, I learned a great deal.

At the heart of many algorithms is the desire to make money–and Wall Street in particular. I also didn't know that the same aversion to new trading technologies today existed in the 1960s. The more things change ...

I can see why this book has done so well. My only regret is that I finished it. I want to see more from Steiner.