Don’t trust that algorithm
Whether we know it or not, complex algorithms make decisions that affect nearly every aspect of our lives, determining whether we can borrow money or get hired, how much we pay for goods online, our TV and music choices, and how closely our neighborhood is policed. Thanks to the technological advances of big data, businesses tout such algorithms as tools that optimize our experiences, providing better predictive accuracy about customer needs and greater efficiency in the delivery of goods and services. And they do so, the explanation goes, without the distortion of human prejudice because they’re calculations based solely on numbers, which makes them inherently trustworthy. Sounds good, but it’s simply not true, says Harvard-trained mathematician Cathy O’Neil, Ph.D. ’99. In her new book, “Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy,” the data scientist argues that the mathematical models underpinning these algorithms aren’t just flawed, they...