Automated machines are taking over our lives. They're not the scary robots you see in movies, but more and more of today's technology - from smart phones to airplanes - is automated. And some of the world's biggest companies are racing to come up with a "master algorithm" - a formula that will let machines learn anything. This could lead to self-driving cars and even a cure for cancer. But do we want to give machines so much control? The Quest for the Master Algorithm; App Intelligence; Is Automation Ruining Our Lives?; They Had Androids in the Enlightenment?; Stephen Wolfram on Computer Creativity; Garth Hallberg's "City on Fire".