Cathy O'Neil: The era of blind faith in big data must end
凱西歐尼爾: 盲目信仰大數據的時代必須要結束
Data skeptic Cathy O’Neil uncovers the dark secrets of big data, showing how our "objective" algorithms could in fact reinforce human bias. Full bio
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the winners from the losers.
that we don't understand
秘密方程式在評分,
都沒有申訴體制。
and often hoping for.
你想要的東西。
by looking, figuring out.
來訓練一個演算法。
what is associated with success.
in written code.
to make a meal for my family.
來為我的家庭做飯。
of ramen noodles as food.
拉麵條視為是食物。
if my kids eat vegetables.
這頓飯就算成功。
from if my youngest son were in charge.
一切就不同了。
he gets to eat lots of Nutella.
能多益(巧克力榛果醬)就算成功。
most people think of algorithms.
對演算法的看法很不一樣。
and true and scientific.
客觀的、真實的、科學的。
blind faith in big data.
很多地方都可能出錯。
She's a high school principal in Brooklyn.
她是布魯克林的高中校長。
her teachers were being scored
用來評分她的老師的演算法
what the formula is, show it to me.
是什麼,給我看,
to get the formula,
told me it was math
那方程式是數學,
a Freedom of Information Act request,
資訊自由法案的請求,
and all their scores
以及他們的分數,
as an act of teacher-shaming.
用來羞辱老師。
the source code, through the same means,
來找出方程式、原始碼,
had access to that formula.
got involved, Gary Rubenstein.
蓋瑞魯賓斯坦。
from that New York Post data
有 665 名老師
for individual assessment.
with 205 other teachers,
recommendations from her principal
學童家長的強力推薦,
of you guys are thinking,
the AI experts here.
及人工智慧專家。
那麼不一致的演算法。」
an algorithm that inconsistent."
with good intentions.
仍可能產生毀滅性的效應。
that's designed badly
silently wreaking havoc.
靜靜地製造破壞或混亂。
about sexual harassment.
to succeed at Fox News.
不被允許成功。
but we've seen recently
to turn over another leaf?
their hiring process
21 years of applications to Fox News.
過去 21 年間收到的申請。
stayed there for four years
to learn what led to success,
尋找什麼導致成功,
historically led to success
to a current pool of applicants.
目前的一堆申請書上。
who were successful in the past.
並不像是會成功的人。
盲目地運用演算法,
blindly apply algorithms.
if we had a perfect world,
世界,那就很好了,
don't have embarrassing lawsuits,
沒有難堪的訴訟,
it means they could be codifying sexism
他們可能會把性別偏見
all neighborhoods
都做了種族隔離,
only to the minority neighborhoods
住的街坊派出警力
we found the data scientists
找到了資料科學家,
where the next crime would occur?
犯罪會發生在哪裡,會如何?
criminal would be?
about how great and how accurate
but we do have severe segregations
城鎮和城市中,我們的確有
and justice system data.
the individual criminality,
個別的犯罪行為,
recently looked into
during sentencing by judges.
法官在判刑時使用。
was scored a 10 out of 10.
總分十分,他得了十分。
3 out of 10, low risk.
十分只得三分,低風險。
for drug possession.
the higher score you are,
a longer sentence.
technologists hide ugly truths
用黑箱作業的演算法
important and destructive,
and it's not a mistake.
building private algorithms
for teachers and the public police,
對老師和警方用的演算法,
the authority of the inscrutable.
無法理解的權威來獲利。
since all this stuff is private
所有這些都是私人的,
will solve this problem.
to be made in unfairness.
in ways that we wish we weren't,
即使我們也希望不要這樣,
have consistently demonstrated this
他們建立的實驗
of applications to jobs out,
have white-sounding names
但有些用白人人名,
the results -- always.
into the algorithms
about ramen noodles --
picking up on past practices
真的能了解過去的做法,
to emerge unscathed?
we can check them for fairness.
檢查它們是否公平。
the truth every time.
We can make them better.
我們可以把它們變更好。
algorithm I talked about,
we'd have to come to terms with the fact
我們得接受事實,
smoke pot at the same rate
抽大麻的比率是一樣的,
to be arrested --
depending on the area.
依地區而異。
in other crime categories,
那樣的偏見會如何呈現?
the definition of success,
algorithm? We talked about it.
and is promoted once?
that is supported by their culture.
the blind orchestra audition
are behind a sheet.
在布幕後演奏。
have decided what's important
distracted by that.
auditions started,
went up by a factor of five.
for teachers would fail immediately.
立刻會出問題的地方。
the errors of every algorithm.
每個演算法的錯誤。
and for whom does this model fail?
針對哪些人會發生錯誤?
had considered that
only things that our friends had posted.
之前就先考量那一點。
one for the data scientists out there.
其一是給資料科學家的。
not be the arbiters of truth.
不應該是真相的仲裁者,
of ethical discussions that happen
for our algorithmic overlords.
in big data must end.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cathy O'Neil - Mathematician, data scientistData skeptic Cathy O’Neil uncovers the dark secrets of big data, showing how our "objective" algorithms could in fact reinforce human bias.
Why you should listen
In 2008, as a hedge-fund quant, mathematician Cathy O’Neil saw firsthand how really really bad math could lead to financial disaster. Disillusioned, O’Neil became a data scientist and eventually joined Occupy Wall Street’s Alternative Banking Group.
With her popular blog mathbabe.org, O’Neil emerged as an investigative journalist. Her acclaimed book Weapons of Math Destruction details how opaque, black-box algorithms rely on biased historical data to do everything from sentence defendants to hire workers. In 2017, O’Neil founded consulting firm ORCAA to audit algorithms for racial, gender and economic inequality.
Cathy O'Neil | Speaker | TED.com