LWV of Maine and Alaska present Let's Talk About Digital Threats to Democracy (Online)

LWV of Maine and Alaska present Let's Talk About Digital Threats to Democracy (Online)

LWV Alaska logo in color with alaska flag to the right. Under the flag it says "making democracy work"

Location

Online - Zoom
US
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - 5:00pm to 6:00pm

Computer algorithms are manipulating us all the time, whether we know it or not. They determine what social media content and search results we see. They may impact our buying decisions, and they may also push us toward disinformation and conspiracy theories. Join us for a conversation with Cathy O’Neil, a leading expert on algorithms and the CEO of ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company. She is the author of Weapons of Math Destruction: How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy. 

Recommended reading: To prepare for Dr. O’Neil’s talk, we suggest that you visit her blog, Mathbabe:
https://mathbabe.org/

About Dr. O'Neilheadshot for Dr. Cathy O'Neil

Cathy O’Neil earned a Ph.D. in math from Harvard and worked as a math professor at Barnard College before switching over to the private sector, working as a quant for the hedge fund D.E. Shaw and as a data scientist in the New York startup scene. She is a regular contributor to Bloomberg Opinion and in 2016 wrote the book Weapons of Math Destruction: how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy. She is the CEO of ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company, and is a member of the Public Interest Tech Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her new book The Shame Machine: who profits in the new age of humiliation came out in March 2022.