The housing authority knew which Catherine Taylor it was dealing with. The question we’re left with is this: How many Wanda Taylors are out there clearing up false identities and other errors in our data? The answer: not nearly enough. Humans in the data economy are outliers and throwbacks. The systems are built to run automatically as much as possible. That’s the efficient way; that’s where the profits are. Errors are inevitable, as in any statistical program, but the quickest way to reduce them is to fine-tune the algorithms running the machines. Humans on the ground only gum up the works.
