Weapons of Math Destruction Quotes by Cathy O'Neil

While we often think of terms such as “big data” and “algorithms” as being benign, neutral, or objective, they are anything but. The people who make these decisions hold all types of values, many of which openly promote racism, sexism, and false notions of meritocracy, which is well documented in studies of Silicon Valley and other tech corridors.

In principle, the math getting us in trouble could also remedy the problem by quantifying prejudice. But that could be done only by introducing the very data element that—so far—remains outside the analysis, albeit inside the eye of every profiling police officer: race.

Fourth, blind data dredging can lead to the perpetuation of obsolete social biases

Only algorithms—well drawn, efficiently executed, and based on sound data—could deliver unbiased results.