Data is interesting because it can provide answers, it can clear the path to the future, and it can resolve the past. But it can also be dangerous, and terrifyingly so. It can be wielded for evil, can be used to perpetuate injustice, and it can be used to further confuse people. I should know, I spent more than half a decade in grad school trying to use data to prove complex theories. More people are sounding the alarm, but I don’t think people are listening enough. It’s why years ago when I came across this book by a mathematician, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, I was intrigued. It was also the reminder I needed to talk about it on the blog. Yes, people, sometimes blog posts on this blog take years in the making.
