Science and Inquiry discussion

For May 2022, we will be reading Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'Neil.

Please use this thread to post questions, comments, or reviews, at any time.

Great choice!

Thr author is really good at explaining these programs are being used and what they are doing to society. She has some great arguments about how the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.

I enjoyed reading this book several years ago. The intention of using big data is often "fairness", but the consequence is often exactly the opposite. The book is fairly preachy at times, but it is definitely worth reading. Here is my review.

I thought this was a decent, easy to read, introductory book on how algorithms affect our lives. I see now that it was written in 2016 which is why I felt some of the references were dated but that didn't bother me. What did bother me was that a lot of her evidence was very surface level... that is anecdotal evidence...which doesn't give me much to sink my teeth into. Nevertheless, I gave it 3 stars for shining light on an important topic.