23 | Algorithmic Game Theory - “When Algorithms Play Games”

Here’s a Spotify-ready episode description for Algorithmic Game Theory — When Algorithms Play Games:What happens when thousands of algorithms compete, adapt, and optimize at the same time? Chaos—and some surprisingly powerful insights.In this episode of Need to Know Nuggets, host Ahmet Baysal is joined by Aden Emre Ünal to explore the strange and fascinating world of algorithmic game theory. From online ad auctions and multiplayer games to traffic routing, cloud computing, and financial markets, we break down how “selfish” algorithms interact—and why rational decisions at the individual level can lead to irrational outcomes for the system as a whole.You’ll learn about bidding wars you never see, why smarter systems don’t always behave better, paradoxes like selfish routing and Braess’s paradox, and how mechanism design helps keep algorithmic chaos under control. If you’ve ever wondered why systems glitch, spike, or collapse in unexpected ways, this episode reveals the hidden game being played behind the scenes.A must-listen for programmers, gamers, economics fans, and anyone curious about how modern digital systems really work.