What is an algorithm and where do you encounter one daily?
An algorithm is a sequence of instructions that transforms data into a result. You encounter dozens daily: news feed, GPS, ticket prices, applicant sorting, university admissions. Understanding their logic is the first step to not being subject to them.
An algorithm is a finite sequence of instructions that transforms input data into a result. A recipe is an algorithm. A route is too. In computing, algorithms decide, sort, classify, recommend at massive scale. You encounter dozens every day, often without knowing it: in your news feed, your navigation app, the price of a ticket, the sorting of a file. Understanding their logic is the first step to not passively undergoing them.
Where they act in your life
On social media, an algorithm chooses the order of posts you see, based on what makes you react. You are not seeing a neutral feed.
In navigation, an algorithm calculates your route by integrating real-time traffic.
In commerce, algorithms adjust prices based on demand, time of day, sometimes your history.
In employment, systems screen applications before any human review.
In government and higher education, algorithmic processing is involved in allocating places or processing files, within a specific legal framework.
Algorithm and AI, what is the link
Not every algorithm is AI. A classical algorithm follows rules written by humans. An AI system learns its own rules from data. AI is therefore a particular category of algorithms — those that infer their behavior instead of receiving it fully written.
Why this concerns you
An algorithm is never neutral: it reflects choices — those of its designers and those contained in its data. A news feed optimized for engagement favors certain content. A resume screener trained on the past can reproduce past discrimination.
The law gives you rights regarding algorithmic processing that concerns you, including a right to information and, in some cases, a right to human intervention. But you first need to know that an algorithm is at work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an algorithm be unfair?
Yes, if its rules or data are. The unfairness does not come from the machine but from the choices and data that feed it.
Can I know which algorithms affect me?
For administrative decisions, the law requires information. For private services, privacy policies must describe how personal data is processed.
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