Algorithms increasingly run our lives. They find books, movies, jobs, and dates for us, manage our investments, and discover new drugs. More and more, these algorithms work by learning from the trails of data we leave in our newly digital world. Like curious children, they observe us, imitate, and experiment. And in the world’s top research labs and universities, the race is on to invent the ultimate learning algorithm: one capable of discovering any knowledge from data, and doing anything we want, before we even ask.

Machine learning is the automation of discovery—the scientific method on steroids—that enables intelligent robots and computers to program themselves. No field of science today is more important yet more shrouded in mystery. Pedro Domingos, one of the field’s leading lights, lifts the veil for the first time to give us a peek inside the learning machines that power Google, Amazon, and your smartphone. He charts a course through machine learning’s five major schools of thought, showing how they turn ideas from neuroscience, evolution, psychology, physics, and statistics into algorithms ready to serve you. Step by step, he assembles a blueprint for the future universal learner—the Master Algorithm—and discusses what it means for you, and for the future of business, science, and society.

If data-ism is today’s rising philosophy, this book will be its bible. The quest for universal learning is one of the most significant, fascinating, and revolutionary intellectual developments of all time. A groundbreaking book, The Master Algorithm is the essential guide for anyone and everyone wanting to understand not just how the revolution will happen, but how to be at its forefront.

算法越来越多地掌管着我们的生活。它们为我们寻找书籍、电影、工作和约会，管理我们的投资，并发现新药。越来越多地，这些算法通过从我们在新的数字世界中留下的数据痕迹中学习来工作。像好奇的孩子一样，他们观察我们，模仿和实验。在世界顶级的研究实验室和大学里，发明终极学习算法的竞赛正在进行：一个能够从数据中发现任何知识的算法，并在我们提出要求之前做任何事情。

机器学习是发现的自动化，是类固醇的科学方法，使智能机器人和计算机能够自我编程。今天，没有哪个科学领域比它更重要，但却更笼罩在神秘之中。该领域的领军人物之一佩德罗-多明戈斯（Pedro Domingos）首次揭开面纱，让我们一窥为谷歌、亚马逊和你的智能手机提供动力的学习机器内部。他描绘了机器学习的五个主要学派，展示了它们如何将神经科学、进化论、心理学、物理学和统计学的思想转化为准备为你服务的算法。他一步步为未来的普遍学习绘制了蓝图，并讨论了它对你以及对商业、科学和社会的未来意味着什么。

如果数据主义是当今崛起的哲学，这本书将是它的圣经。对普遍学习的追求是有史以来最重要、最迷人和最具革命性的智力发展之一。作为一本开创性的书，《算法大师》是任何人和每个人的基本指南，他们不仅想了解革命将如何发生，而且想了解如何站在革命的最前沿。