Automatons

Automatons are decision-making algorithms expressed mathematically rather than in code. These automatons commit the same “mistakes” that humans do when making decisions. An automaton may exhibit a “primacy” effect, in which it tends to pick one of the first items on a list. An automaton may also exhibit a “recency” effect, in which it goes for the last item on a list.

The ability of automatons to mimic human behavior, and the fact that they are built from mathematical first principles, means automatons can be used to formally analyze the fundamental tradeoffs that we face when making choices.