Related papers: What is an Algorithm?: a Modern View
I will survey some matters of relevance to a philosophical discussion of information, taking into account developments in algorithmic information theory (AIT). I will propose that meaning is deep in the sense of Bennett's logical depth, and…
The main deficiency of the algorithms running on digital computers nowadays is their inability to change themselves during the execution. In line with this, the paper introduces the so-called replicated algorithms, inspired by the concept…
A program is usually represented as a word chain. It is exactly a word chain that appears as the lexical analyzer output and is parsed. The work shows that a program can be syntactically represented as an oriented word tree, that is a…
Algorithmic robustness refers to the sustained performance of a computational system in the face of change in the nature of the environment in which that system operates or in the task that the system is meant to perform. Below, we motivate…
Trees or rooted trees have been generously studied in the literature. A forest is a set of trees or rooted trees. Here we give recurrence relations between the number of some kind of rooted forest with $k$ roots and that with $k+1$ roots on…
This article surveys the use of algorithmic systems to support decision-making in the public sector. Governments adopt, procure, and use algorithmic systems to support their functions within several contexts -- including criminal justice,…
Algorithms are unavoidable in our social lives, yet often perpetuate social injustices. The popular means of addressing this is through algorithmic reformism: fine-tuning algorithms themselves to be more fair, accountable, and transparent.…
To reversify an arbitrary sequential algorithm $A$, we gently instrument $A$ with bookkeeping machinery. The result is a step-for-step reversible algorithm that mimics $A$ step-for-step and stops exactly when $A$ does. Without loss of…
Algorithmic statistics has two different (and almost orthogonal) motivations. From the philosophical point of view, it tries to formalize how the statistics works and why some statistical models are better than others. After this notion of…
The framework of algorithmic knowledge assumes that agents use algorithms to compute the facts they explicitly know. In many cases of interest, a deductive system, rather than a particular algorithm, captures the formal reasoning used by…
Algorithms for continuous optimization problems have a rich history of design and innovation over the past several decades, in which mathematical analysis of their convergence and complexity properties plays a central role. Besides their…
Machine learning is increasingly used to inform decision-making in sensitive situations where decisions have consequential effects on individuals' lives. In these settings, in addition to requiring models to be accurate and robust, socially…
I think that the main reason why we do not understand the general principles of how knowledge works (and probably also the reason why we have not yet designed and built efficient machines capable of artificial intelligence), is not the…
An increasing number of decisions regarding the daily lives of human beings are being controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in spheres ranging from healthcare, transportation, and education to college admissions,…
Algorithmic bias has been the subject of much recent controversy. To clarify what is at stake and to make progress resolving the controversy, a better understanding of the concepts involved would be helpful. The discussion here focuses on…
The concept of a universal algorithm is discussed. Examples of this kind of algorithms are presented. Software implementations of such algorithms in C++ type languages are discussed together with means that provide for computations with an…
Learning to see through data is central to contemporary forms of algorithmic knowledge production. While often represented as a mechanical application of rules, making algorithms work with data requires a great deal of situated work. This…
An \emph{arithmetic read-once formula} (ROF for short) is a formula (i.e. a tree of computation) in which the operations are $\{+,\times\}$ and such that every input variable labels at most one leaf. We give a simple characterization of…
Deep learning is currently the subject of intensive study. However, fundamental concepts such as representations are not formally defined -- researchers "know them when they see them" -- and there is no common language for describing and…
A monster is an automaton in which every function from states to states is represented by at least one letter. A modifier is a set of functions allowing one to transform a set of automata into one automaton. We revisit some language…