Lecture: "Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy"
Author of the New York Times bestseller, Weapons of Math Destruction, mathematician and data skeptic, Cathy O’Neil, uncovers the dark secrets of big data, showing how our “objective” algorithms could in fact reinforce human bias. Algorithms can embed bias, they can propagate or even exacerbate inequality, or they can just be plain inaccurate. How do we keep track of all the potential problems? How do we make sure the algorithms we build “work well”? What do we even mean by that? In this talk Cathy O’Neil will introduce the ethical matrix, a construction borrowed from moral philosophy, as a way of organizing our thoughts around important and urgent questions like these. In her thought provoking and humorous way, Cathy will discuss how big data and analytics impact all aspects of life, from scoring teachers and students, sorting résumés, granting (or denying) loans, evaluating workers, targeting voters, setting parole, and monitoring our health.
Originally published at conductorshare.nd.edu.