"This book is a relief, a breath of fresh air clearing out the smoke and foggy fantasy that comprise too much of our discussions about tech and AI. In accessible and generous prose, Recht puts computation and data back in their rightful place, showing how they are tools in our toolbox to be used selectively to understand our shared world, not magical oracles to which we should cede authority." --Meredith Whittaker, President of the Signal Foundation "Rationalist pundits tell us that humans are predictably irrational and that we should become more like computers. But what do we do in a world where the most powerful machines are irrational and even when they work, we don't really understand why or what they're doing? Benjamin Recht has shaped the AI techniques that are reshaping the world. In this wise, deeply sophisticated, and beautifully written book, he explains how machine learning is what we do when we don't understand, and why human judgment remains indispensable." --Henry Farrell, coauthor of Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy "Recht takes us on an entertaining and refreshingly insightful journey, explaining why we should use mathematical marvels as mechanisms and not masters. He reminds us that we humans are not computers, and that our lives are not there to be optimized, experimented with, strategized over, or reduced to an amalgamation of data points. At a time when AI's momentum is blazing hot, The Irrational Decision is a cool-headed call to arms for us to take back control, one we should all heed and act on.

" --Matt Jones, Chief Operating Officer, Responsible AI UK "Our world is speedily turning upside down as the technology maelstrom reshapes everything to please our computer overlords. Benjamin Recht gives us a stylish and gripping account of the key ideas and personalities driving the 'rationality' revolution that exposes everything to computer-driven decision. A sparkling reveal of the inner logic transforming so many aspects of our daily lives." --David L. Donoho, Stanford University.