If you’ve ever been stuck in an endlessly time-wasting automated telephone tree (“Press One for…”) you know the limits of pre-programmed decision-making systems. Somebody must have thought this was a good idea.

They’re supposed to save resources, but often have people tearing out their hair. Welcome to the world of algorithms. They’re the computer formulas that, for example, show you ads for the last thing you bought on Amazon—the very thing you don’t need to buy now.