"The algorithms are not necessarily equitable, since it is the person who creates them that defines their functioning and their results"
The most famous algorithm is undoubtedly the one that allowed Google to prevail in the search engines sector and that is constantly modified and improved to provide the approximate result to what the person requires.
Also Facebook uses a famous algorithm that analyzes all the data of its users to help them find new friends and content more adapted to their aspirations.
But the algorithms also serve to detect skin cancer and write articles from raw data. (Read "Robots and software, the two forces that will determine the work of the future")
Cathy O'Neil cites several examples in which the algorithms had harmful effects.
In 2010, Washington public schools dismissed more than 200 teachers, some of whom were highly respected, based on an algorithm evaluation.
Some local authorities allocate their resources to disadvantaged populations on the basis of criteria developed from mathematical formulas. How data is entered can influence the outcome.
The same is true when determining jail terms. Data such as the neighborhood from which the convicted person originated or his frequent appearances may influence the judge's decision.
In the financial field, the use of algorithms to grant credits and assign insurance may further disadvantage those already in the most vulnerable sectors.
A White House report published last year already warned that using algorithms to replace human intervention could lead to further harm to the poor.
Automatic decisions taken from mathematical formulas allow "faster, more effective actions for consumers, businesses and governments," he argues. And he argues that dismissals for social prejudice, for example, also exist "in the non-algorithmic world."
MACHINES WOULD DEFINIT YOUR FUTURE ???
