Ideas worth spreading

The era of blind faith in big data must end

1,652,959 views |

Cathy O'Neil |

TED2017

• April 2017

Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance and much more -- but they don't automatically make things fair. Mathematician and data scientist Cathy O'Neil coined a term for algorithms that are secret, important and harmful: "weapons of math destruction." Learn more about the hidden agendas behind the formulas.

Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance and much more -- but they don't automatically make things fair. Mathematician and data scientist Cathy O'Neil coined a term for algorithms that are secret, important and harmful: "weapons of math destruction." Learn more about the hidden agendas behind the formulas.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about Data & Society, a research institute that covers a wide range of topics related to social issues posed by big data.

Attend Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in Machine Learning, an annual event that brings together researchers and practitioners dedicated to ensuring “non-discrimination, due process, and understandability in decision-making” in machine learning.

Learn more about AI Now, a multi-disciplinary NYC-based initiative working to understand the social impacts of artificial intelligence.

About the speaker

Cathy O'Neil

Mathematician, data scientist

See speaker profile

Data skeptic Cathy O’Neil uncovers the dark secrets of big data, showing how our "objective" algorithms could in fact reinforce human bias.

ProPublica | Explore

ProPublica has collected 32 news articles from the past couple years, all spotlighting different ways that algorithms and data systems have reinforced discrimination, from Amazon and Facebook algorithms to car insurance premiums. The featured story focuses on discrimination within future criminal software.

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Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about Data & Society, a research institute that covers a wide range of topics related to social issues posed by big data.

Attend Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in Machine Learning, an annual event that brings together researchers and practitioners dedicated to ensuring “non-discrimination, due process, and understandability in decision-making” in machine learning.

Learn more about AI Now, a multi-disciplinary NYC-based initiative working to understand the social impacts of artificial intelligence.