The Age of the Algorithm
99% Invisible5 Sep 2017

The Age of the Algorithm

Computer algorithms now shape our world in profound and mostly invisible ways. They predict if we’ll be valuable customers and whether we’re likely to repay a loan. They filter what we see on social media, sort through resumes, and evaluate job performance. They inform prison sentences and monitor our health. Most of these algorithms have been created with good intentions. The goal is to replace subjective judgments with objective measurements. But it doesn’t always work out like that.

“I don’t think mathematical models are inherently evil — I think it’s the way they’re used that are evil,” says mathematician Cathy O’Neil, author of the book Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. She has studied number theory, worked as a data scientist at start-ups, and built predictive algorithms for various private enterprises. Through her work, she’s become critical about the influence of poorly-designed algorithms.

The Age of the Algorithm

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(780)

The Trials of Dan and Dave

The Trials of Dan and Dave

This is the story of an ad campaign produced for the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona. Perennial runner-up in the sports shoe category, Reebok, was trying to make its mark and take down Nike. They chos...

18 Jul 201752min

Repackaging the Pill

Repackaging the Pill

Most people are familiar with at least one version of the birth control pill’s packaging — a round plastic disc which opens like a shell and looks like a makeup compact. But the pill wasn’t always pac...

11 Jul 201717min

The Pool and the Stream

The Pool and the Stream

This is the story of a curvy, kidney-shaped swimming pool born in Northern Europe that had a huge ripple effect on popular culture in Southern California and landscape architecture in Northern Califor...

4 Jul 201730min

Mexico 68

Mexico 68

The 1968 Olympics took place in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first Games ever hosted in a Latin American country. And for Mexico City, the event was an opportunity to show the world that they were ...

27 Jun 201721min

You Should Do a Story

You Should Do a Story

“You should do a story…” is the first line to a lot of the conversations you have when you work at 99pi. This week we look into a bunch of those stories suggested by our listeners and present them to ...

20 Jun 201725min

In the Same Ballpark

In the Same Ballpark

In the 1992, the Baltimore Orioles opened their baseball season at a brand new stadium called Oriole Park at Camden Yards, right along the downtown harbor. The stadium was small and intimate, built wi...

13 Jun 201724min

Intro to a new Roman Mars podcast: What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law

Intro to a new Roman Mars podcast: What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law

Special introductory episode to a new podcast produced by Roman Mars and Elizabeth Joh. Professor Elizabeth Joh teaches Intro to Constitutional Law and most of the time this is a pretty straight forwa...

8 Jun 201711min

The Yin and Yang of Basketball (Repeat)

The Yin and Yang of Basketball (Repeat)

In 1891, a physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts invented the game we would come to know as basketball. In setting the height of the baskets, he inadvertently created a design probl...

7 Jun 201719min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
pengesnakk
pengepodden-2
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
utbytte
rss-sunn-okonomi
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
liberal-halvtime
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
lederpodden
rss-markedspuls-2
okonomiamatorene
rss-politisk-preik