Chapter 09 · Sustainability & AISustainability & AI

Algorithm

Meaning statusEstablishedSource recordDirect document linkedWhy these are different

Definition

A finite, well-defined sequence of instructions a computer follows to solve a problem or transform data into an answer.

References

MIT PressCormen et al. — Introduction to Algorithms

This source provides part of the technical or institutional basis for the definition.

ACM US Technology Policy CommitteeStatement on Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability (2017)

This source supports the explanation of how the term is applied, measured or governed in practice.

Overview

What it means

Algorithms are the building blocks of all software, formalised in computer science long before modern AI — Cormen et al.' s Introduction to Algorithms is the canonical reference. Contemporary machine learning differs in that the algorithm learns rules from data rather than encoding them directly.

How it is used

The term appears constantly in sustainability discourse — 'the algorithm' behind a rating, a feed, a detection system — often loosely meaning an entire AI system. Precision matters: an algorithm is the procedure; the model, data and deployment context are separate components.

Why it matters

Policy instruments regulate 'algorithms' and 'automated decision systems', while technical audits examine models and data. Keeping the layers distinct helps practitioners ask the right accountability questions about each.