Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

de Cathy O'Neil

272 pages

Publié 6 septembre 2016 par Crown Pub.

ISBN :: 978-0-451-49733-8

(6 critiques)

A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life — and threaten to rip apart our social fabric

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives—where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insurance—are being made not by humans, but by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated.

A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life — and threaten to rip apart our social fabric

But as Cathy O’Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. The models being used today are opaque, unregulated, and uncontestable, even when they’re wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination: If a poor student can’t get a loan because a lending model deems him too risky (by virtue of his zip code), he’s then cut off from the kind of education that could pull him out of poverty, and a vicious spiral ensues. Models are propping up the lucky and punishing the downtrodden, creating a “toxic cocktail for democracy.” Welcome to the dark side of Big Data.

Tracing the arc of a person’s life, O’Neil exposes the black box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society. These “weapons of math destruction” score teachers and students, sort résumés, grant (or deny) loans, evaluate workers, target voters, set parole, and monitor our health.

O’Neil calls on modelers to take more responsibility for their algorithms and on policy makers to regulate their use. But in the end, it’s up to us to become more savvy about the models that govern our lives. This important book empowers us to ask the tough questions, uncover the truth, and demand change.

— Longlist for National Book Award (Non-Fiction) — Goodreads, semi-finalist for the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards (Science and Technology) — Kirkus, Best Books of 2016 — New York Times, 100 Notable Books of 2016 (Non-Fiction) — The Guardian, Best Books of 2016 — WBUR’s “On Point,” Best Books of 2016: Staff Picks — Boston Globe, Best Books of 2016, Non-Fiction

8 éditions

Aaron a publié une critique de Weapons of Math Destruction par Cathy O'Neil

Weapons of Math Destruction

5 étoiles

O'Neil is an excellent guide to the world of algorithms and how they impact our lives in ways large and small. To me one of the most depressing lessons of the book was that the people creating these systems which analyze data have almost no interest in the knock-on effects that their work has on people's lives. They are so focused on whatever particular goal they have that they have total blinders as to the damaging effects that their work might have. As with any book about technology the companies have changed a bit since O'Neil wrote the book, but the underlying problems have not changed; thus this continues to be a worthy guide to the challenges that our society will face as we continue to be enmeshed in algorithms which may not have our best interests at heart.

Johnny a publié une critique de Weapons of Math Destruction par Cathy O'Neil

An excellent demonstration of the devastating pervasiveness of Big Data

4 étoiles

This book takes you on a journey through all areas of life and shows how Big Data systems cause harm in all of them. Through the examination of these case studies, it also gets to the fundamental issues with Big Data and proposes ways to change our perspectives on it.

This book is really good. It is clear, understandable for a layperson and very well-rounded. I would give it a 5/5 if there weren't these two points:

it is completely US-centric. The case studies are all domestic. This weakens its explaining power for the rest of the world, imo. (this isn't to say that it doesn't make sense or that it's wrong for a US citizen to only write about the US)
it's 8 years old now, and while it's analyses are not at all outdated, the world of Big Data has evolved since 2016. I often wondered what ended …

This book is really good. It is clear, understandable for a layperson and very well-rounded. I would give it a 5/5 if there weren't these two points:

it is completely US-centric. The case studies are all domestic. This weakens its explaining power for the rest of the world, imo. (this isn't to say that it doesn't make sense or that it's wrong for a US citizen to only write about the US)
it's 8 years old now, and while it's analyses are not at all outdated, the world of Big Data has evolved since 2016. I often wondered what ended up happening to some of the real-world cases discussed in the book. I would be super curious to read a "follow up", maybe a "10 years later" kind of addendum or revision.

Autiste à Vaud L'eau a publié une critique de Weapons of Math Destruction par Cathy O'Neil

An absolut must-read for a world emprisoned in a golden cage

5 étoiles

If you wish to understand better what is at stakes with the algorithms and the global digital maze we seem to be prisoner of, then, this is a must read. Cathy O'Neil very clearly unravel the intricate technical, philosophical, political and socioeconomic logic at play. She shows how they work together to force an even more violent neoliberalism in every area of our daily lives, whether social, cultural, professional, judiciary, educational or political and economic. It is both quite scary and at the same time empowering, as it gives us the basics to look for collective ways to progressively get out of the maze we've lost ourselves in. As the say goes, knowledge is power, and I believe it has never been more true than today.

I would recommend to read it along Shoshana Zuboff's (bookwyrm.social/author/39159/s/shoshana-zuboff) "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" (bookwyrm.social/book/260163/s/the-age-of-surveillance-capitalism). They nicely complement each …

loppear a publié une critique de Weapons of Math Destruction par Cathy O'Neil

Soon to feel dated, yet plenty to shock.

4 étoiles

The misuse of mathematical models to punish mostly the poor through opaque and ubiquitous scoring, built on proxied data and mushy questions without feedback or recourse or oversight. Thorough examples across life, with consequential analysis.

b bennett a publié une critique de Weapons of Math Destruction par Cathy O'Neil

Review of 'Weapons of Math Destruction' on 'Goodreads'

5 étoiles

My greatest Twitter achievement is that I raved about this book in a tweet and Cathy O'Neil liked it. Maybe I was easily persuaded by O'Neil's writing because I'm an aspiring data scientist hell bent on working for social good. Maybe it's because I've spent years in social justice activism. Or maybe it's because this is just a damn good book. O'Neil walks us through several algorithms wreaking havoc on society -- from hiring to scheduling to performance evaluations. Even if you, like me, were craving more technical material, O'Neil name drops the algorithms and you can simply do a quick Google search on them. This is the kind of popular data science book we need.

Autiste à Vaud L'eau

l’a noté

Jan 9

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