Items related to Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases...

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

 
9780141985411: Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller

'Fascinating and deeply disturbing' - Yuval Noah Harari, Guardian Books of the Year

'A manual for the 21st-century citizen... accessible, refreshingly critical, relevant and urgent' - Federica Cocco, Financial Times

A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life - and threaten to rip apart our social fabric

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives - where we go to school, whether we get a loan, how much we pay for insurance - are being made not by humans, but by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated.

And yet, as Cathy O'Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. The models being used today are opaque, unregulated, and incontestable, even when they're wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination. Tracing the arc of a person's life, O'Neil exposes the black box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society. These "weapons of math destruction" score teachers and students, sort CVs, grant or deny loans, evaluate workers, target voters, and monitor our health.

O'Neil calls on modellers to take more responsibility for their algorithms and on policy makers to regulate their use. But in the end, it's up to us to become more savvy about the models that govern our lives. This important book empowers us to ask the tough questions, uncover the truth, and demand change.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review

Fascinating and deeply disturbing (Yuval Noah Harari Guardian Books of the Year)

This is a manual for the 21st-century citizen, and it succeeds where other big data accounts have failed - it is accessible, refreshingly critical and feels relevant and urgent (Federica Cocco Financial Times)

Well-written, entertaining and very valuable (Danny Dorling Times Higher Education)

O'Neil has become a whistle-blower for the world of Big Data... Her work makes particularly disturbing points about how being on the wrong side of an algorithmic decision can snowball in incredibly destructive ways (Time)

Cathy O'Neil has seen Big Data from the inside, and the picture isn't pretty. Weapons of Math Destruction opens the curtain on algorithms that exploit people and distort the truth while posing as neutral mathematical tools. This book is wise, fierce, and desperately necessary (Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not To Be Wrong)

Weapons of Math Destruction is a fantastic, plainspoken call to arms. Cathy O'Neil's book is important precisely because she believes in data science. It's a vital crash course in why we must interrogate the systems around us and demand better (Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother and co-editor of Boing Boing)

Often we don't even know where to look for those important algorithms, because by definition the most dangerous ones are also the most secretive. That's why the catalogue of case studies in O'Neil's book are so important; she's telling us where to look (Guardian)

In today's world, if you want to change your fate you've got to pray at the altar of the algorithm... As math guru Cathy O'Neil argues in her newest book, these models are just the latest way America's institutions perpetuate bias and prejudice to reward the rich and keep the poor, well, poor. It's a nuanced reminder that big data is only as good as the people wielding it (Wired)

Not math heavy, but written in an exceedingly accessible, almost literary style; her fascinating case studies of WMDs fit neatly into the genre of dystopian literature. There's a little Philip K. Dick, a little Orwell, a little Kafka in her portrait of powerful bureaucracies ceding control of the most intimate decisions of our lives to hyper-empowered computer models riddled with all of our unresolved, atavistic human biases (Chris Jackson Paris Review)

O'Neil is an ideal person to write this book... She is one of the strongest voices speaking out for limiting the ways we allow algorithms to influence our lives and against the notion that an algorithm, because it is implemented by an unemotional machine, cannot perpetrate bias or injustice... While Weapons of Math Destruction is full of hard truths and grim statistics, it is also accessible and even entertaining. O'Neil's writing is direct and easy to read - I devoured it in an afternoon (Evelyn Lamb Scientific American)

From the Back Cover

'A manual for the 21st-century citizen ... accessible, refreshingly critical, relevant and urgent' Federica Cocco, Financial Times

'O'Neil's book offers a frightening look at how algorithms are increasingly regulating people ... masterly' Clay Shirky, The New York Times Book Review

'Opens the curtain on algorithms that exploit people and distort the truth while posing as neutral mathematical tools. This book is wise, fierce, and desperately necessary' Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong

'A vital crash course in why we must interrogate the systems around us and demand better' Cory Doctorow

'Cathy O'Neil has a story to tell, and it is a story about you ... what she reveals is fascinating' Danny Dorling, Times Higher Education

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherPenguin
  • Publication date2017
  • ISBN 10 0141985410
  • ISBN 13 9780141985411
  • BindingPaperback
  • LanguageEnglish
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages272

Buy Used

Condition: Very Good
The book has been read, but is... View this item

Shipping: £ 5.60
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Add to basket

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

Search results for Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases...

Stock Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by PENGUIN, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Paperback

Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom

Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars 4-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR008753206

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 2.16
Convert currency
Shipping: £ 5.60
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 10 available

Add to basket

Seller Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by Penguin, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Softcover

Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: Very Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # wbs5405927352

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 2.62
Convert currency
Shipping: £ 7.85
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Seller Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by PENGUIN, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Softcover

Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.

Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars 4-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition. Seller Inventory # 28832259

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 9.99
Convert currency
Shipping: £ 2.10
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 6 available

Add to basket

Stock Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by PENGUIN, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Softcover

Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: Fair. Acceptable/Fair condition. Book is worn, but the pages are complete, and the text is legible. Has wear to binding and pages, may be ex-library. 0.79. Seller Inventory # 353-0141985410-acp

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 13.14
Convert currency
Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Seller Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by PENGUIN, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
New Softcover

Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.

Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars 4-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 28832259-n

Contact seller

Buy New

£ 11.14
Convert currency
Shipping: £ 2.10
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 6 available

Add to basket

Seller Image

Cathy O'Neil
Published by Penguin Books Ltd, London, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
New Paperback

Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Fairfield, OH, U.S.A.

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A former Wall Street data scientist sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life - and threaten to rip apart our social fabricWe live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives - whether we get a job or a loan, how much we pay for insurance - are being made by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness- everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated. But as Cathy O'Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. The models being used today are opaque, unregulated, and incontestable, even when they're wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination, creating a toxic cocktail for democracy.Tracing the arc of a person's life, Cathy O'Neil exposes the black box models that shape our future as individuals and as a society. These "weapons of math destruction" score teachers and students, sort CVs, grant or deny loans, evaluate workers, target voters and monitor our health. O'Neil calls on modellers to take more responsibility for their algorithms and on policy makers to regulate their use. But in the end, it's up to us to become more savvy about the models that govern our lives. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780141985411

Contact seller

Buy New

£ 13.29
Convert currency
Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Stock Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by Penguin Books, Limited, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Softcover

Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 17956592-20

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 5.38
Convert currency
Shipping: £ 8
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Stock Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by Penguin Books, Limited, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Softcover

Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: Very Good. Ships from the UK. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 18955235-20

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 5.38
Convert currency
Shipping: £ 8
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Stock Image

O'Neil, Cathy
Published by PENGUIN, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Softcover

Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). 0.79. Seller Inventory # 353-0141985410-vrg

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 13.59
Convert currency
Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Stock Image

O'Neil, C.
Published by Penguin Books, 2017
ISBN 10: 0141985410 ISBN 13: 9780141985411
Used Softcover

Seller: Anybook.com, Lincoln, United Kingdom

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. Clean from markings. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,300grams, ISBN:9780141985411. Seller Inventory # 9241050

Contact seller

Buy Used

£ 2.50
Convert currency
Shipping: £ 11.88
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

There are 20 more copies of this book

View all search results for this book