Review: O’Neil, Cathy. 2016. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

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Author(s) Michaela Slussareff
Contact Michaela Slussareff, Charles University, Na Příkopě 29, Praha 1, 110 00, CZ. Email: michaela.slussareff@ff.cuni.cz
Issue CyberOrient, Vol. 16, Iss. 1, 2022, pp. 72-75
Published September 22, 2022
Type Book Review
Abstract The book Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy provides a very important point of view on the mathematical models and algorithms used for decision-making in our society. As the title suggests the author sees the possible dangerous influences of algorithms used for the specific groups in the society as huge and disastrous. The book describes the mechanism and functioning of mathematical models and algorithms in a comprehensible manner. It uses practical examples of various mechanisms commonly used in today’s society. The main aim of the book is to break the myths about the mathematical models and their results, mainly the widespread beliefs about the algorithms as being fair, objective, and unbiased.
Keywords big data, algorithms, mathematical models, social mechanisms, social divide