Weapons of Math Destruction

From criminal justice to consumer credit to the job market and beyond, opaque computer systems make life altering decisions every day.

The White House has recognized that these new systems pose a risk to civil rights and has identified key challenges: How can we harness data in a way that improves society without reinforcing the histories of bias and discrimination that are often reflected in such data? What’s the right way to measure the impact of algorithms that are increasingly shaping our behavior and decisions, and that we don’t fully understand?

In her new book, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, data scientist and activist Cathy O’Neil shows how statistical models can bring an imprimatur of objectivity to decisions that often remain all too human.

In conversation with David Robinson, Cathy will describe the challenges introduced by these “weapons of math destruction” and what we can do to address them. A panel of experts will then respond, offering a range of perspectives on Cathy’s book and the issues it raises.

A live webcast is also available.