In Weapons of Math Destruction, O’Neil demonstrates the harmful ways in which algorithms can influence the outcomes of many common events in life. Specifically, O’Neil examines how these algorithms operate on inappropriate criteria and she examines the consequences of this misuse for the large number of people evaluated by these algorithms. Throughout the text, O’Neil uses the abbreviation “WMD” to refer to the algorithms she describes as “Weapons of Math Destruction”, and this convention is maintained in this review of her book. In her book, O’Neil examines and proves how algorithms have “learned from the humans how to discriminate, and … carried out this work with breathtaking efficiency” (116). In order to review this book in a comprehensive …show more content…
In this way, the themes of her argument are strongly supported. A common theme in O’Neil’s book is the idea of the harmful feedback loop that many WMDs maintain. O’Neil argues that too often, the implementation of algorithms allows them to “define their own reality and use it to justify their results” (7). Because they are not properly adjusted after producing wrong results, these algorithms are static and cannot grow or learn. Therefore, over time, they become self perpetuating by producing results that align exactly with the assumptions made when formulating the algorithm. When these results are used to influence people, like when used as a part of predictive policing, humans can use the results of the algorithm to justify punishing the people selected by the algorithm. With many static algorithms the results are often misused to prove that the results themselves have …show more content…
Algorithms are used to sort through massive amounts of data, and when this data represents people, it is often the poor. Algorithms target the disadvantaged. Algorithms are often unescapable for the disadvantaged masses, while richer people can usually afford to have their data processed by people, not by algorithms. This is not usually an explicit option, but rather due to the fact that business who use WMDs use them because they are amazingly efficient and are able to process all the data from the general population the business interacts with. Any outliers to this general population usually receive specialized attention if they are important to the business (and rich people usually are) or if they can otherwise enact legal action (which requires greater wealth) against the business if they feel that they have been discriminated against by the algorithm. O’Neil states that when it comes to WMDs, privacy is “a luxury that only the wealthy can afford” (170). O’Neil establishes that profit is a commonly used proxy for the truth when evaluating the success of an algorithm, and that business always seek to increase profit. Therefore if an unfair algorithm increases profit, a business has no reason to change it unless prompted to by legal action. WMDs are used to increase efficiency, and as a result often cause the secondary outcome of “industrial production of unfairness”
This idea of a computer doing the ‘technical’ work can be useful to us, due to living in an age of technology which is something that can be useful to us, as our own brains are our ‘built in computer. It is also crucial in processing our thoughts about each of our own moral decisions of what is right and wrong.
McCraw, David, and Stephen Gikow. “The End to a Unspoken Bargain? National Security and Leaks in a Post-Pentagon Papers World.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 48.2 (2013): 473-509. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
According the sweeping introduction of the book, I am already able to envision a number of entry points for the investigation of this
Today, electronic surveillance remains one of the most effective tools the United States has to protect against foreign powers and groups seeking to inflict harm on the nation, but it does not go without a few possessing a few negative aspects either. Electronic surveillance of foreign intelligence has likely saved the lives of many innocent people through prevention of potential acts of aggression towards the United States. There are many pros to the actions authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pertaining to electronic surveillance, but there are also cons. Looking at both the pros and cons of electronic surveillance is important in understanding the overall effectiveness of FISA. [1]
Hey, Computer Sciences Stop Hating on The Humanities is a magazine article written by Emma Pierson (2017) for employers seeking programmers and universities with computer science programs in which, Pierson addresses the consequences of ignoring the teachings of the humanities in universities. However, with the emphasis Pierson (2017) places on her ‘‘worrisome” thoughts and “difficult dilemma” she has on “algorithms” in paragraphs three and four and in conjunction with McLuhan’s (2009) philosophy of facing the anxiety that comes with critically analyzing flawed “algorithms” that “Narcosis narcotic” hides (para.16), the issue that Pierson targets is really the dependence that systems place on blind and arrogant programmers of flawed “algorithms” that cause “social disparities” (para. 4). These “social disparities” (para. 4) arise because of the programmer’s lack of education and respect or the humanities in moral decision making that universities can teach.
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The Cold War and post Cold War eras have brought with them many interesting aspects. New technologies initially meant for mass destruction filter down into the civilian world, making current lives easier. One example of this is the anti-lock braking systems of today’s cars. Originally designed to slow fighter-planes on landing without skidding, these systems make it safer for parents to take their children on vacation. One less noted advancement the eras brought is a considerable amount of exciting and forewarning fiction. While most authors chose to warn of nuclear and post nuclear holocaust, one significant author chose a different approach. Tom Clancy chose to write of conventional warfare and sometimes unconventional enemies. Between his novel Red Storm Rising and Debt of Honor, Tom Clancy makes evident the changing face of America’s enemies and threats, while staying true to issues that keep people interested in his books.
"The Triumph of Technique – The Logic of the NSA." LibrarianShipwreck. WordPress.com, 22 June 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
With the introduction of the internet being a relatively new phenomenon, the act of cyber espionage is not something that has been properly acknowledged by society. The American Government has done a stand up job of keeping its methods in the shadows and away from the eyes of its people since its documented domestic surveillance began on October 4th, 2001; Twenty three days after the Twin Towers fell President George Bush signed an order to begin a secret domestic eavesdropping operation, an operation which was so sensitive that even many of the country's senior national security officials with the...
The attacks on American soil that solemn day of September 11, 2001, ignited a quarrel that the grade of singular privacy, need not be given away in the hunt of grander security. The security measures in place were planned to protect our democracy and its liberties yet, they are merely eroding the very existence with the start of a socialistic paradigm. Benjamin Franklin (1759), warned more than two centuries ago: “they that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Implementing security measures comes at a cost both economically and socially. Government bureaucrats can and will utilize information for personal political objectives. The Supreme Court is the final arbitrator of what the ‘law is”, causing a lack of circulated rule. The actual leaders with political purposes jeopardize our individual privacy rights, liberties, and freedoms.
Part of the allure of the Internet has always been the anonymity it offers its users. As the Internet has grown however, causing capitalists and governments to enter the picture, the old rules are changing fast. E-commerce firms employ the latest technologies to track minute details on customer behavior. The FBI's Carnivore email-tracking system is being increasingly used to infringe on the privacy of netizens. Corporations now monitor their employees' web and email usage. In addition to these privacy infringements, Internet users are also having their use censored, as governments, corporations, and other institutions block access to certain sites. However, as technology can be used to wage war on personal freedoms, it can also be employed in the fight against censorship and invasion of privacy.
Ever since day one, people have been developing and creating all sorts of new methods and machines to help better everyday life in one way or another. Who can forget the invention of the ever-wondrous telephone? And we can’t forget how innovative and life-changing computers have been. However, while all machines have their positive uses, there can also be many negatives depending on how one uses said machines, wiretapping in on phone conversations, using spyware to quietly survey every keystroke and click one makes, and many other methods of unwanted snooping have arisen. As a result, laws have been made to make sure these negative uses are not taken advantage of by anyone. But because of how often technology changes, how can it be known that the laws made so long ago can still uphold proper justice? With the laws that are in place now, it’s a constant struggle to balance security with privacy. Privacy laws should be revised completely in order to create a better happy medium between security and privacy. A common misconception of most is that a happy medium of privacy and security is impossible to achieve. However, as well-said by Daniel Solove, “Protecting privacy doesn’t need to mean scuttling a security measure. Most people concerned about the privacy implications of government surveillance aren’t arguing for no[sic] surveillance and absolute privacy. They’d be fine giving up some privacy as long as appropriate controls, limitations, oversight and accountability mechanisms were in place.”(“5 Myths about Privacy”)
The world erupted in outrage following revelations by Edward Snowden regarding the extent of surveillance perform by the National Security Agency. Privacy becomes one of the hottest topic of 2013 and was chosen by the world’s most popular online dictionary, Dictionary.com, as the Word of the Year. However, the government is not the only one that conduct data gathering and surveillance. Employers often monitor their employees, and businesses collect data on theirs customer. The morality of these practices is a topic that generates heated debate.
Humanity is threatened by the overwhelming growth of science and technology. People are expanding their knowledge through observation and experiment, oblivious to the consequences that result from improper motive. Isaac Asimov—author of The Life and Times of Multivac—uses the science of numbers, or mathematics, as a solution to the fear that arises in a world controlled by a human-like machine. What human beings are afraid of is losing the very word that separates them from everything else in the world—human, and they will do whatever they can to keep that title to themselves.
of the book. London [u.a. ]. : SAGE, 2008. Print. The.