--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because, ultimately, we can't just think…" description: "\"Because, ultimately, we can't just think of algorithms in isolation. We have to think of the failings of the people who design them - and the danger to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/hannah-fry-11411_danger_because-ultimately-we-can-t-just-think-o_2155355.jpg" --- # Because, ultimately, we can't just think of algorithms in… ![“Because, ultimately, we can't just think of algorithms in isolation. We have to think of the failings of the people who design them - and the danger to those they are supposedly designed to serve.” quote by Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/hannah-fry-11411_danger_because-ultimately-we-can-t-just-think-o_2155355.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/hannah-fry-11411_danger_because-ultimately-we-can-t-just-think-o_2155355.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/hannah-fry-11411_danger_because-ultimately-we-can-t-just-think-o_2155355.jpg) > “Because, ultimately, we can't just think of algorithms in isolation. We have to think of the failings of the people who design them - and the danger to those they are supposedly designed to serve.” [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Designers must consider human flaws and societal impact, not just algorithmic performance, to avoid harming those they aim to serve. **In simple terms:** Tech must account for human error. Key Takeaway Design responsibly, think of users. Themes ethics technology humanity Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - product design - policy making - education - public discourse Key Concepts algorithmic bias responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent misuse? - How do we measure algorithmic fairness? A Different Perspective Complex systems can still produce unintended harm despite good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Algorithms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/algorithms/) [Algorithms Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/algorithms-isolation-4549571/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Design Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design-danger-4549570/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Think Algorithms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-algorithms-4549569/) [Think Failings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-failings-4549572/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [Once you see the problems that algorithms can introduce, people can be quick to want to throw them away altogether and think the situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/once-you-see-the-problems-that-algorithms-can-introduce-people-can-be/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [Algorithms and data should support the human decision, not replace it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/algorithms-and-data-should-support-the-human-decision-not-replace-it/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [But for me, true art can't be created by accident. There are boundaries to the reach of algorithms. Limits to what can be quantified.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/but-for-me-true-art-can-t-be-created-by-accident-there-are-boundaries/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [Imagine life without any algorithms at all, you wouldn't be able to do anything. This is already completely encompassing. We have a habit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/imagine-life-without-any-algorithms-at-all-you-wouldn-t-be-able-to-do/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [The invisible pieces of code that form the gears and cogs of the modern machine age, algorithms have given the world everything from social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/the-invisible-pieces-of-code-that-form-the-gears-and-cogs-of-the/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [I don't like the algorithms that don't do what they claim they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/i-don-t-like-the-algorithms-that-don-t-do-what-they-claim-they-do/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [All around us, algorithms provide a kind of convenient source of authority: an easy way to delegate responsibility, a short cut we take without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/all-around-us-algorithms-provide-a-kind-of-convenient-source-of/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [We have this imbalance where the people who are making algorithms aren't talking to the people who are using them. And the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/we-have-this-imbalance-where-the-people-who-are-making-algorithms/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [You can't assess the value of an innovation in isolation, you have to consider whose hands it's in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/you-can-t-assess-the-value-of-an-innovation-in-isolation-you-have-to/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [No one knows what the right algorithm is, but it gives us hope that if we can discover some crude approximation of whatever this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ng/no-one-knows-what-the-right-algorithm-is-but-it-gives-us-hope-that-if/) [Andrew Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ng/) > [ The classes of problems which are respectively known and not known to have good algorithms are of great theoretical interest. \[...\] I conjecture that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-edmonds/the-classes-of-problems-which-are-respectively-known-and-not-known-to/) [Jack Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-edmonds/) > [Google has - at least at this point - maintained the line where it keeps organic results separate from the advertisements. But over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/google-has-at-least-at-this-point-maintained-the-line-where-it-keeps/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [“no matter how much tech companies talk about algorithms like they’re nothing but advanced math, they always reflect the values of their creators:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-wachter-boettcher/no-matter-how-much-tech-companies-talk-about-algorithms-like-they-re/) [Sara Wachter-Boettcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-wachter-boettcher/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [ With recidivism algorithms, for example, I worry about racist outcomes. With personality tests \[for hiring\], I worry about filtering out people with mental health… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/with-recidivism-algorithms-for-example-i-worry-about-racist-outcomes/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) ## More by Hannah Fry > [At some point in the future - possibly the very near future - Britain will be hit by a deadly pandemic, and its impact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/at-some-point-in-the-future-possibly-the-very-near-future-britain/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [There's barely any aspect of our modern lives that hasn't had a mathematical contribution at some point and yet, if you asked the average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/there-s-barely-any-aspect-of-our-modern-lives-that-hasn-t-had-a/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [When it comes to love, making long-term decisions is a risky business. Sooner or later, most of us decide to leave our carefree bachelor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/when-it-comes-to-love-making-long-term-decisions-is-a-risky-business/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [If we permit flawed machines to make life-changing decisions on our behalf - by allowing them to pinpoint a murder suspect, to diagnose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/if-we-permit-flawed-machines-to-make-life-changing-decisions-on-our/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [In our urge to automate, in our eagerness to adopt the latest innovations, we appear to have developed a habit of unthinkingly handing over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/in-our-urge-to-automate-in-our-eagerness-to-adopt-the-latest/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [All around us, algorithms provide a kind of convenient source of authority: an easy way to delegate responsibility, a short cut we take without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/all-around-us-algorithms-provide-a-kind-of-convenient-source-of/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [You can't assess the value of an innovation in isolation, you have to consider whose hands it's in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/you-can-t-assess-the-value-of-an-innovation-in-isolation-you-have-to/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [Curating our data is valuable. Like 23andMe - while selling us the chance to know whether we're Vikings or whatever, they're amassing these huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/curating-our-data-is-valuable-like-23andme-while-selling-us-the/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [A century ago the Spanish flu confounded scientists and devastated whole regions, but while today's society has air travel and an enormous, heterogeneous population,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/a-century-ago-the-spanish-flu-confounded-scientists-and-devastated/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [We have this imbalance where the people who are making algorithms aren't talking to the people who are using them. And the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/we-have-this-imbalance-where-the-people-who-are-making-algorithms/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [On average, the higher the novelty score a film had, the better it did at the box office. But only up to a point.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/on-average-the-higher-the-novelty-score-a-film-had-the-better-it-did/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [Wind depends on temperature. Temperature depends on pressure. And pressure depends on wind. It's an intricate mathematical tapestry that is far too intertwined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/wind-depends-on-temperature-temperature-depends-on-pressure-and/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [I don't like the algorithms that don't do what they claim they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/i-don-t-like-the-algorithms-that-don-t-do-what-they-claim-they-do/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [Everything we're doing online is being not just monitored, but that information is being packaged up and sold and resold to manipulate us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/everything-we-re-doing-online-is-being-not-just-monitored-but-that/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [Our long-range predictions - especially those which anticipate extreme-weather events - rely on an assumption that the future will be similar to the past.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/our-long-range-predictions-especially-those-which-anticipate-extreme/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) [Explore all 60 Hannah Fry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) ## More Algorithms quotes > [ With recidivism algorithms, for example, I worry about racist outcomes. With personality tests \[for hiring\], I worry about filtering out people with mental health… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/with-recidivism-algorithms-for-example-i-worry-about-racist-outcomes/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“no matter how much tech companies talk about algorithms like they’re nothing but advanced math, they always reflect the values of their creators:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-wachter-boettcher/no-matter-how-much-tech-companies-talk-about-algorithms-like-they-re/) [Sara Wachter-Boettcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-wachter-boettcher/) > [Google has - at least at this point - maintained the line where it keeps organic results separate from the advertisements. But over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/google-has-at-least-at-this-point-maintained-the-line-where-it-keeps/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [ The classes of problems which are respectively known and not known to have good algorithms are of great theoretical interest. \[...\] I conjecture that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-edmonds/the-classes-of-problems-which-are-respectively-known-and-not-known-to/) [Jack Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-edmonds/) > [No one knows what the right algorithm is, but it gives us hope that if we can discover some crude approximation of whatever this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ng/no-one-knows-what-the-right-algorithm-is-but-it-gives-us-hope-that-if/) [Andrew Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ng/) > [“Data Scientists should recall innovation often times is not providing fancy algorithms, but rather value to the customer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-mingle/data-scientists-should-recall-innovation-often-times-is-not-providing/) [Damian Mingle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-mingle/) > [I don't think anybody's ever notified that they were sentenced to an extra two years because their recidivism score had been high, or notified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/i-don-t-think-anybody-s-ever-notified-that-they-were-sentenced-to-an/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) > [ Object-oriented programming aficionados think that everything is an object… this \[isn't\] so. There are things that are objects. Things that have state and change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stepanov/object-oriented-programming-aficionados-think-that-everything-is-an/) [Alexander Stepanov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-stepanov/) > [ \[The Euclidean algorithm is\] the granddaddy of all algorithms, because it is the oldest nontrivial algorithm that has survived to the present day. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-knuth/the-euclidean-algorithm-is-the-granddaddy-of-all-algorithms-because/) [Donald Knuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-knuth/) > [I like to think our brains are a bit like algorithms. Whatever you give it and feed it, you get out the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/i-like-to-think-our-brains-are-a-bit-like-algorithms-whatever-you/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [Bitcoin is not “unregulated”. It is regulated by algorithm instead of being regulated by government bureaucracies. Un-corrupted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-antonopoulos/bitcoin-is-not-unregulated-it-is-regulated-by-algorithm-instead-of/) [Andreas Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-antonopoulos/) > [It took me 1057 pages to describe the hundreds of mathematical equations, algorithms and programming techniques that I invented and used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-emeagwali/it-took-me-1057-pages-to-describe-the-hundreds-of-mathematical/) [Philip Emeagwali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-emeagwali/) > [“We will start by sketching the recursive algorithm and then add details to get to a full description of the algorithm. Footnote : Translation:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sariel-har-peled/we-will-start-by-sketching-the-recursive-algorithm-and-then-add/) [Sariel Har-Peled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sariel-har-peled/) > [The emphasis on mathematical methods seems to be shifted more towards combinatorics and set theory - and away from the algorithm of differential equations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/the-emphasis-on-mathematical-methods-seems-to-be-shifted-more-towards/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) [Browse all 154 Algorithms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/algorithms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Because, ultimately, we can't just think of algorithms in isolation. 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