• Weapons of Math Destruction

  • How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
  • By: Cathy O'Neil
  • Narrated by: Cathy O'Neil
  • Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,928 ratings)

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Weapons of Math Destruction

By: Cathy O'Neil
Narrated by: Cathy O'Neil
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Editorial reviews

"Though terrifying, it's a surprisingly fun read: O'Neil's vision of a world run by algorithms is laced with dark humor and exasperation - like a modern-day Dr. Strangelove or Catch-22." (Steven Strogatz, Cornell University, author of The Joy of x)

Publisher's summary

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 GlobeWired 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 failedit is accessible, refreshingly critical and feels relevant and urgent.”—Financial Times

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What listeners say about Weapons of Math Destruction

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    3 out of 5 stars

More are US social problems that WMD

A WMD, or weapon of math destruction, are usage of algorithm that end up being discriminatory toward some people, or that cause problem with their wide scale deployment. For example, an algorithm that identify poor people can deny them services that help them, making them poorer. The algorithm prediction become self-fulfilling and prevent people from improving their condition.  

The premise of the book is very good, and there are indeed a lot of good example of how misuse of big data algorithms can wreak havoc among society. The problem is that the author indignation push her away from what should have been the main subject of the book. 

In the course of the book, the author raise a lot of recurring problem with WMD, like the "Flock of the feathers" generalization, the "self-fulfilling" prediction, the "discriminating proxy variable ", the "non-appealable conclusion" problem, the "non-measurable important factor". But those categories of problem, which, in my opinion, should have been the focus of the book, take a backseat toward the real subject of the book: how much the United State has social problems.

Each chapter is written to for denounce a specific social problem in the US, like predatory ads toward the poor, racial discrimination toward minority, terrible working hour among low wage workers, and so on. Some of those subjects are indeed caused by WMD. But for some, the link with the purported subject of the book is a bit strenuous. In some case, the author even exclaims "well, that has nothing to do with WMD of course". And a lot of time, WMD are not the root cause of the problem, they only exacerbate an existing one. 

That leave you with a book that is more like a classical sociology book denouncing the ill of the American society, with some talk about big data sprinkled on top. If, like me, you are not an American, you may feel a bit left out by that book. This is a shame, because by refocusing the book on the generic problem caused by WMD that I described above, the book could have had a much broader appeal. Don't get me wrong: The problem O Neil talk about ARE important social problem. But they are very specific to her own country, and the militant tone can become grating. I felt at time that the author was not explaining to me how WMD work and how to deal with them, but was rather trying to force her opinion of how the world should be over me. She was dictating me how I should think, rather than helping me shape my own opinion.

In the end, I would have preferred a more objective tone and a better focus on WMD themselves, with conclusion that can be applied more broadly to everyone, not just US citizens.

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72 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

High-level banter of Occupy Wall Street minded author

I thought there would be at least something about the math. Nope. If I could recommend a better read / audible that would be "Algorithms To Live By" book.

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31 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A fascinating and startling look at where big data is blind

This book is totally worth the listen for the intro and first chapter alone. It's very well-written and easy to follow, and manages to tell clear stories about how the software we use to assess teacher performance or insurance risk is all to often encoded with the prejudices and blind spots of the people who make it. It shows how that is already damaging equality and democracy, and warns of areas where it may get worse.

As a software designer, the one thing I would have loved from this book would be a little more depth about how software products might avoid these pitfalls. However, I'm probably coming at this book with unfair expectations, and it's likely a subject I just need to research more deeply.

Overall, if you enjoy podcasts like Freakonomics and Planet Money, you'll probably love this. Happy I listened!

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24 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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A diatribe about the unfairness in society

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Nothing.

Would you ever listen to anything by Cathy O'Neil again?

No.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It is well written and easy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

The author is a card carrying member of Occupy Wall Street. The entire book is a rant against the unfairness in society (e.g., poor people have bad credit because they are poor and society holds them back).

The algorithms and deep learning approach are not really analyzed in any depth but just serve as a convenient scapegoat for injustice.

There is nothing wrong with such a diatribe but it sure wouldn't sell many books and has been the topic of many, many books already.

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23 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Save Yourself Some Time and Read A Pamphlet Instead

While the author makes some compelling points about the use of big data and how people can get caught up in "pernicious feedback loops," understand going in that she is an Occupy Wall Street sympathizer and has a strong left wing stance. Unfortunately I didn't understand this before my purchase and could have saved myself a lot of time by just reading a pamphlet instead.

While I would consider myself a centrist and am open to a lot of the arguments made by the left, some of this was just hard to stomach. (To be clear, she makes some valid points and gives the listener some interesting things to think about). The author is clearly out to prove a point about how the poor, minorities, and women are being kept down by The Man, which is now essentially labeled as "weapons of math destruction" or WMD's. The answer as usual is bigger government, more regulation & oversight, and socialist tendencies in order to provide justice.

In my view, the real answer lies somewhere in the middle and not on the fringes. If you're an OWS sympathizer, voted for Bernie, or think that capitalism stinks, this book is for you. If not, buyer beware and understand beforehand that you're going to be challenged to listen to 8+ hours of how everyone except the wealthy and privileged are being oppressed by WMD's.

Also, her narration is not the best. Kind of tedious at times.

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12 people found this helpful

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  • k
  • 09-06-16

Superb narration, beautifully written.

This is a must read! I thoroughly enjoyed the real world examples of how everything I do is a data point that is being used against me.

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11 people found this helpful

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a must read for the modern economy

O'Neil makes a strong case for the increasing importance of ethics in data science. The evidence for discrimination, whether intentional or not, is compelling. This book is a must for data professionals and anyone concerned with growing inequality in the economy.

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9 people found this helpful

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Experienced Insight and Issues Identified

The story is presented in a series of topics disclosures that compare by theme, data models can be made and used in ways that can damage society and make bad situations worse. Cathy O'Neil reveals how data models can be relied on with good intentions in mind, and by ignorance, dismissal or narrow-sightedness, can misrepresent, injure and derail people and societal function-ability.

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3 people found this helpful

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Important book

Well written, well researched explanation of how algorithms can contribute to inequity, as well as possible solutions. Highly recommend!

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2 people found this helpful

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Awakening!

Awesome book with scary facts we should know and tale action as soon as we can!

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2 people found this helpful