Most people don't have any association in their minds with what they do and with ethics. They think they somehow moved past the questions of morality or values or ethics, and that's something that I've never imagined to be true. — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
The training one receives when one becomes a technician, like a data scientist - we get trained in mathematics or computer science or statistics - is entirely separated from a discussion of ethics. — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
With recidivism algorithms, for example, I worry about racist outcomes. With personality tests [for hiring], I worry about filtering out people with mental health… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
“They draw statistical correlations between a person’s zip code or language patterns and her potential to pay back a loan or handle a job.… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
I don't think anybody's ever notified that they were sentenced to an extra two years because their recidivism score had been high, or notified… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
The national conversation around white entitlement, around institutionalized racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, I think, came about in large part because of the… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
“model’s blind spots reflect the judgments and priorities of its creators. While the choices in Google Maps and avionics software appear cut and dried,… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
I would argue that one of the major problems with our blind trust in algorithms is that we can propagate discriminatory patterns without acknowledging… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
We've learned our lesson with finance because they made a huge goddamn explosion that almost shut down the world. But the thing I realized… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
“Employers, for example, are increasingly using credit scores to evaluate potential hires. Those who pay their bills promptly, the thinking goes, are more likely… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
It's a standard thing you hear from startup people - that their product is somehow improving the world. And if you follow the reasoning,… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
The NSA buys data from private companies, so the private companies are the source of all this stuff. — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image
“The algorithms would make sure that those deemed losers would remain that way. A lucky minority would gain ever more control over the data… — Cathy O'Neil Copy Share Image