to my understanding, a bunch of nested if-else statements is an algorithm, and if you change all the conditions in the if statements, you get a different algorithm.
so e.g. ID3 is an algorithm, designed by a human, that produces new algorithms, only indirectly designed by a human. we may be talking past each other, though. i just think it's reasonable to apply the word "algorithm" to things that are simple/stupid enough to be generated automatically, and so it's no big deal to talk about algorithms writing algorithms.
> to my understanding, a bunch of nested if-else statements is an algorithm
A bunch of nested if-else statements can be reduced to a boolean expression and a boolean expression is hardly an algorithm. If you change the conditions you simply get a different result not a new algorithm.
so e.g. ID3 is an algorithm, designed by a human, that produces new algorithms, only indirectly designed by a human. we may be talking past each other, though. i just think it's reasonable to apply the word "algorithm" to things that are simple/stupid enough to be generated automatically, and so it's no big deal to talk about algorithms writing algorithms.