Ideas change everything

The era of blind faith in big data must end

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Cathy O'Neil |

TED2017

• April 2017

Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance and much more -- but they don't automatically make things fair. Mathematician and data scientist Cathy O'Neil coined a term for algorithms that are secret, important and harmful: "weapons of math destruction." Learn more about the hidden agendas behind the formulas.

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Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance and much more -- but they don't automatically make things fair. Mathematician and data scientist Cathy O'Neil coined a term for algorithms that are secret, important and harmful: "weapons of math destruction." Learn more about the hidden agendas behind the formulas.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

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Learn more about Data & Society, a research institute that covers a wide range of topics related to social issues posed by big data.

Attend Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in Machine Learning, an annual event that brings together researchers and practitioners dedicated to ensuring “non-discrimination, due process, and understandability in decision-making” in machine learning.

Learn more about AI Now, a multi-disciplinary NYC-based initiative working to understand the social impacts of artificial intelligence.

About the speaker

Mathematician, data scientist

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Data skeptic Cathy O’Neil uncovers the dark secrets of big data, showing how our "objective" algorithms could in fact reinforce human bias.

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

Cathy O'Neil | Broadway Books (2017)

Cathy O'Neil - *Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy*

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Learn more about Data & Society, a research institute that covers a wide range of topics related to social issues posed by big data.

Attend Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in Machine Learning, an annual event that brings together researchers and practitioners dedicated to ensuring “non-discrimination, due process, and understandability in decision-making” in machine learning.

Learn more about AI Now, a multi-disciplinary NYC-based initiative working to understand the social impacts of artificial intelligence.