Q&A Cathy O’Neil, author of ‘Weapons of Math Destruction,’ on the dark side of big data by Christine Zhang.
From the post:
Cathy O’Neil calls herself a data skeptic. A former hedge fund analyst with a PhD in mathematics from Harvard University, the Occupy Wall Street activist left finance after witnessing the damage wrought by faulty math in the wake of the housing crash.
In her latest book, “Weapons of Math Destruction,” O’Neil warns that the statistical models hailed by big data evangelists as the solution to today’s societal problems, like which teachers to fire or which criminals to give longer prison terms, can codify biases and exacerbate inequalities. “Models are opinions embedded in mathematics,” she writes.
…
Great interview that hits enough high points to leave you wanting to learn more about Cathy and her analysis.
On that score, try:
Read her mathbabe blog.
Follow @mathbabedotorg.
Read Weapons of math destruction : how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy.
Try her new business: ORCAA [O’Neil Risk Consulting and Algorithmic Auditing].
From the ORCAA homepage:
…
ORCAA’s mission is two-fold. First, it is to help companies and organizations that rely on time and cost-saving algorithms to get ahead of this wave, to understand and plan for their litigation and reputation risk, and most importantly to use algorithms fairly.The second half of ORCAA’s mission is this: to develop rigorous methodology and tools, and to set rigorous standards for the new field of algorithmic auditing.
…
There are bright line cases, sentencing, housing, hiring discrimination where “fair” has a binding legal meaning. And legal liability for not being “fair.”
Outside such areas, the search for “fairness” seems quixotic. Clients are entitled to their definitions of “fair” in those areas.