baumhaus.digital/Studium Generale/Short History of the Learning Machine/Cogs, Steam, Algorithm/A Working Definition
An algorithm is a finite, well-defined sequence of steps that transforms a given input into a desired output.
Finite — it has to actually end, eventually.
Well-defined — each step is unambiguous; anyone, or anything, following it correctly gets the same result.
Input / output — it does something to something.