Weapons of Math Destruction cover art

Weapons of Math Destruction

How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

$8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on July 15, 2026 at 11:59 PT.
More purchase options

Weapons of Math Destruction

Written by: Cathy O'Neil
Narrated by: Cathy O'Neil
Get this deal

$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

Buy Now for $25.80

Buy Now for $25.80

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A former Wall Street quant sounds the alarm on Big Data and the mathematical models that threaten to rip apart our social fabric—with a new afterword

“A manual for the twenty-first-century citizen . . . relevant and urgent.”—Financial Times

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Boston Globe • Wired • Fortune • Kirkus Reviews • The Guardian • Nature • On Point

We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives—where we go to school, whether we can get a job or a loan, how much we pay for health insurance—are being made not by humans, but by machines. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules.

But as mathematician and data scientist Cathy O’Neil reveals, the mathematical models being used today are unregulated and uncontestable, even when they’re wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination—propping up the lucky, punishing the downtrodden, and undermining our democracy in the process. Welcome to the dark side of Big Data. Economics Politics & Government Public Policy Social Sciences Business Mathematics Wall Street Taxation Socialism Discrimination Capitalism Business Math

You may also enjoy...
The Alignment Problem cover art
The Alignment Problem Written by: Brian Christian
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most Relevant
This is a very important, informative, and easy to comprehend read, written in a very conversational style. If it doesn’t get you mad or concerned then you didn’t read it. Which I insist you do, read.

A must read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book spoke about things I had no idea about until I heard it. Now I see her point everywhere. Just more ways that a noose is drawing in around an unsuspecting publics neck . Definitely a worthwhile read

Brilliant analysis soon to be commonplace

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed the storyline working its way up through society showing exactly how WMD’s really affect these areas. The narrator was impeccable.

Overall a recommended must read for the techies and the curious.

Amazing Listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
what a wonderful book showing the decide of rich and poor. she did a great job showing the direction of misused data is having on the struggling how how the math is forcing and keeping people down. determination use to account for something but when the numbers are all you are it makes it all the harder.

must read for all

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very interesting and pertinent topic. The author provides a lot of insight into the adverse impacts of the darker side of data science.

The examples cited are very very diverse and relevant to the discussion. What makes this particular book so effective is the author's ability to abstract the mathematical details and provide very accessible explanations of how the math has impacted society in certain areas.

My only critique is that while using the term WMD is catchy, I think it is a bit overused in the book and the author should just stick to using terms like model, algorithm, etc.

Highly recommended.

Excellent Audiobook

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews