Book Review: Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil

I first came across Cathy O’Neil’s concept of Weapons of Math Destruction on a philosophy podcast. I was spellbound and horrified of how math was used carelessly (cursed are the poorly made proxies) to shape our societies and tamper with people’s lives. She spoke of broken window programs and how lopsided they are, and she spoke lengthily about the data economy and consequences of it. I had to read the book and hear what else she, as a mathematician and insider from finance, had to say how data ...