Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality

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

Longlisted for the National Book Award
New York Times Bestseller

A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern lifeÂ â€” and threaten to rip apart our social fabric

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our livesâ€”where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insuranceâ€”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.

But as Cathy Oâ€™Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. The models being used today are opaque, unregulated, and uncontestable, even when theyâ€™re wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination: If a poor student canâ€™t get a loan because a lending model deems him too risky (by virtue of his zip code), heâ€™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 â€œtoxic cocktail for democracy.â€ Welcome to the dark side of Big Data.

Tracing the arc of a personâ€™s life, Oâ€™Neil exposes the black box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society. These â€œweapons of math destructionâ€ score teachers and students, sort rÃ©sumÃ©s, grant (or deny) loans, evaluate workers, target voters, set parole, and monitor our health.

Oâ€™Neil calls on modelers to take more responsibility for their algorithms and on policy makers to regulate their use. But in the end, itâ€™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.

â€” Longlist for National Book Award (Non-Fiction)
â€” Goodreads, semi-finalist for the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards (Science and Technology)
â€” Kirkus, Best Books of 2016
â€” New York Times, 100 Notable Books of 2016 (Non-Fiction)
â€” The Guardian, Best Books of 2016
â€” WBUR's "On Point," Best Books of 2016: Staff Picks
â€” Boston Globe, Best Books of 2016, Non-Fiction
Country USA
Manufacturer Crown
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-09-06
Format Kindle eBook
EANs 9780553418828

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Crown
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-09-06
Format	Kindle eBook
EANs	9780553418828

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

You might also like...