Quotes from Cathy O'Neil

There might never be that moment when everyone says, "Oh my God, big data is awful."

I think big data companies only like good news. So I think they're just hoping that they don't get sued, essentially.

Every system using data separates humanity into winners and losers.

I think what's happened is that the general public has become much more aware of the destructive power of Wall Street.

The training one receives when one becomes a technician, like a data scientist - we get trained in mathematics or computer science or statistics - is entirely separated from a discussion of ethics.

You'll never be able to really measure anything, right? Including teachers.

I would argue that one of the major problems with our blind trust in algorithms is that we can propagate discriminatory patterns without acknowledging any kind of intent.

That's what we do when we work in Silicon Valley tech startups: We think about who's going to benefit from this. That's almost the only thing we think about.

My fantasy is that there is a new regulatory body that is in charge of algorithmic auditing.

The most important goal I had in mind was to convince people to stop blindly trusting algorithms and assuming that they are inherently fair and objective.