Cathy O'Neil: The era of blind faith in big data must end
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.
Detroit Police chief calls Tlaib's comments 'racist' after she suggests facial recognition tech analysts should be African American
Rep. Rashida Tlaib suggested that the Detroit police department should only employ African Americans to identify black suspects from the city's facial recognition technology, according to video captured by The Detroit News -- a comment that the city's police chief called "racist" and "insulting."
Pinboard on Twitter
It appears that Apple has rejected an app that warns Hong Kongers about police activity. The Hong Kong police force shot a high schooler in the chest yesterday and put seventy people, from 11 to 75, in the hospital. That app saves lives in Hong Kong. Let me tweet about it a bit https://t.co/APsQK6XRsP— Pinboard (@Pinboard) October 2, 2019
Facebook says Trump can lie in his Facebook ads
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: Last week, Facebook quietly changed the language of its advertising policies to make it easier for politicians to lie in ads.
Josh Seim on Twitter
I was beginning to think Foucault’s writings on the “disciplinary society” were becoming irrelevant. But then my niece started the 5th grade. Her teachers add and subtract behavioral points in an app shared with her mom. Note that she lost a point for using the restroom today. pic.twitter.com/3nXJ9Mdbyo— Josh Seim (@JoshSeim) September 27, 2019