Weapons of Math Destruction

How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

By: Cathy O'Neil

Narrated by: Cathy O'Neil

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A former Wall Street quant sounds the alarm on Big Data and the mathematical models that threaten to rip apart our social fabric—with a new afterword

“A manual for the twenty-first-century citizen . . . relevant and urgent.”—Financial Times

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Boston Globe • Wired • Fortune • Kirkus Reviews • The Guardian • Nature • On Point

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives—where we go to school, whether we can get a job or a loan, how much we pay for health insurance—are being made not by humans, but by machines. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules.

But as mathematician and data scientist Cathy O’Neil reveals, the mathematical models being used today are unregulated and uncontestable, even when they’re wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination—propping up the lucky, punishing the downtrodden, and undermining our democracy in the process. Welcome to the dark side of Big Data.

©2016 Cathy O'Neil (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“O’Neil’s book offers a frightening look at how algorithms are increasingly regulating people. . . . Her knowledge of the power and risks of mathematical models, coupled with a gift for analogy, makes her one of the most valuable observers of the continuing weaponization of big data. . . . [She] does a masterly job explaining the pervasiveness and risks of the algorithms that regulate our lives.”—The New York Times Book Review

"Weapons of Math Destruction is the Big Data story Silicon Valley proponents won't tell. . . . [It] pithily exposes flaws in how information is used to assess everything from creditworthiness to policing tactics . . . a thought-provoking read for anyone inclined to believe that data doesn't lie.”—Reuters

“This is a manual for the twenty-first century citizen, and it succeeds where other big data accounts have failed—it is accessible, refreshingly critical and feels relevant and urgent.”—Financial Times

interesting read

very interesting. this woman's view on the world and how big data affects us are very compelling.

Eye-opening research!

This book is a must read for data scientists, students, policy makers and others who need a balanced view of the implications of our increasingly data-driven world.

Intriguing

While intriguing and insightful, in some instances the author may suffer from her own confirmation bias (an issue she attacks in the book). It's worth the listen, do not treat this book, or it's biases, as doctrine.

Not bad, but...

I found it tiresome to listen to the narrator say WMDs so many times. I get the arguments, but perhaps she could've dug deeper on the ethics analysis rather than just on poverty and race variables.

Raises great questions and gives context

A valuable overview of the impact of our obsession with trying to predict the future through quantification.

A must-read (listen) for anyone who uses big data to make determinations about how others get to live, work or thrive. A must-read for anyone who’s applied for an education, a loan, a mortgage or a job. (Almost everyone?)

great story, poor performance

The story is great, but the narrator sucks. She speaks so fast and sometimes mumbles the words it is hard to catch for non native speakers

Math Gone Wrong

Important look at how mathematical models can create injustice. Well written and spoken. Not too long.

Thought provoking

While I don’t agree with every stance the author takes, she sheds a lot of light on how big data has crept into our lives. We should all be aware of the issues this book illustrates and then make our own decisions on what to do about them. Great read!

the author exposes a threat to our society

This book was a real eye-opener and explained a lot of the things in the background that are controlling what people think and have opinions about. America should be about protecting the most vulnerable. A lot of bad gets exposed.

Educated and essential

As a single mother about to graduate from college, this information sinks deep. It’s as if I already knew it, but not the whole picture. The history, present state, and future predictions related to analytics, algorithms and how it affects all of our lives is essential for anyone interested in breaking free of the cycles of racism, poverty, unemployment, and poor financial decisions.