Figuring she wasn't alone, she approached friend and computer whiz Garrett Berg about building an algorithm to convert apparel sizes from one retailer to another.

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It would be as if an algorithm could generate blueprints for a building that ideally should be informed in part by the preferences of those who commissioned it, as well as the topography of the space and the surroundings, but instead of a rich variety of products it becomes routine to get a Frank Gehry-inspired building on every block.

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