Cathy O'Neil on Weapons of Math Destruction

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4.7 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2016

⏱️ 71 minutes

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Summary

Cathy O'Neil, data scientist and author of Weapons of Math Destruction talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in her book. O'Neil argues that the commercial application of big data often harms individuals in unknown ways. She argues that the poor are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Examples discussed include prison sentencing, college rankings, evaluations of teachers, and targeted advertising. O'Neil argues for more transparency and ethical standards when using data.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:09.3	I'm your host, Russ Roberts, of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
0:13.8	Our website is econtalk.org, where you can subscribe, comment on this podcast, and find
0:18.9	links and other information related to today's conversation.
0:21.7	You'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done
0:25.9	going back to 2006.
0:28.3	Where you may address his mail.org, we'd love to hear from you.
0:34.4	Today is August 26, 2016, and my guest is Cathy O'Neill.
0:38.5	She's a data scientist trained as a mathematician with a stint on Wall Street.
0:42.8	Early in her career, she blogs at math babe, and she is back on e-contalk to discuss
0:47.5	her book, Weapons of Math Destruction.
0:50.9	How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy.
0:54.0	Cathy, welcome back to e-contalk.
0:55.7	Thanks so much.
0:56.7	Glad to be here.
0:57.9	One of the great titles of all time, Weapons of Math Destruction.
1:01.9	What are they?
1:05.2	There are algorithms that I think are problematic.
1:08.8	And I can tell you, I can define them for you.
1:11.4	They have three properties.
1:13.0	The first is that they're widespread, which is to say they're being deployed on many,
1:18.4	many people to make very important decisions about those people's lives.
	...

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