Automating Inequality
by Virginia Eubanks, Eubanks · first published 2018
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Examines how data mining, predictive risk models and automated eligibility systems affect poor and working-class people in America, making a clear case for skepticism toward algorithmic public policy.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A powerful investigative look at data-based discrimination—and how technology affects civil and human rights and economic equity The State of Indiana denies one million applications for healthcare, foodstamps and cash benefits in three years—because a new computer system interprets any mistake as “failure to cooperate.” In Los Angeles, an algorithm calculates the comparative vulnerability of tens of thousands of homeless people in order to prioritize them for an inadequate pool of housing resources. In Pittsburgh, a child welfare agency uses a statistical model to try to predict which child
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This is such a fascinating and interesting question. I highly recommend reading the book 'Automating Inequality'[0] if you haven't already. My initial reaction to this question was 'I certainly would prefer groups of humans making collective decisions over an opaque, proprietary, algorithm'. But then I also think…
on “Amazon Pushes Facial Recognition to Police, Critics See Surveillance Risk” ↗The 'Automating Inequality' book is 1/3 about homelessness issues, you might be interested : https://virginia-eubanks.com/
on “No More Free Work from Marak: Pay Me or Fork This” ↗…modern pop tech critique, all topics that DV touches at least tangentially. Far more than 40 days and nights worth of reading Shoshana Zuboff Big Other (surveillance capitalism) Virginia Eubanks Automating Inequality Sophie Brickman Baby Unplugged Cory Doctorow Radicalized Mike Monteiro Ruined by Design Nick Srnicek Platform Capitalism Paul Kingsnorth Life versus the machine Heather…
on “Are smartphones serving as adult pacifiers?” ↗A book called Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks touches on how for many years now, we've hid unfair policies behind computer complexity. It was really eye opening to me how what seems to be a poorly implemented system is actually…
on “Chief scientist of major corporation can’t handle criticism of the work he hypes” ↗I recommend the book "Automating Inequality" by Virginia Eubanks for a deeper dive here.
on “Judge rules $400M algorithmic system illegally denied Medicaid benefits” ↗https://virginia-eubanks.com/automating-inequality/ > In Automating Inequality, Virginia Eubanks systematically investigates the impacts of data mining, policy algorithms, and predictive risk models on poor and working-class people in America. The book…
on “Judge rules $400M algorithmic system illegally denied Medicaid benefits” ↗Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks[1] presents pretty clear argument for why this is a terrible idea. [1] https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250074317/automatinginequ...
on “Google's AI Will Help Decide Whether Unemployed Workers Get Benefits” ↗…Integrity of Social Life. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. The Boy Kings: A Journey into the Heart of the Social Network. The Undersea Network (Sign, Storage, Transmission). Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor. Meaningful: The Story of Ideas That Fly. Zero Bugs and Program Faster. Official Criticism Manual: Perfecting the Art of Giving and Receiving…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite non-fiction books of all time?” ↗…to be fixed but a measured response instead of a purely reactionary response will just make things worse. Weapons of Math Destruction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28186015-weapons-of-math... Automating Inequality https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/34964830-automating-i...
on “Digital dystopia: how algorithms punish the poor” ↗The author of this article is Virginia Eubanks [1], who has studied and written on this topic extensively, including a new book whose short title is 'Automating Inequality'. Although I can't be sure, I think it's reasonable to assume that the content in this article is along the lines expressed in this CityLab interview [2], and other media coverage the author highlights…
on “Algorithms Designed to Fight Poverty Can Actually Make It Worse” ↗…through the pipeline that'll have real world impact. Insanely fun to figure out the technical challenges but at what point does the long term social cost get factored into the short term economic gain? Automating Inequality was a rough read because it paints a bleak picture. But seeing that there are others who are aware and working on this at least helped me to realize I wasn't alone with my concerns. Still unsure of…
on “Millennials and Gen Z Increasingly Pessimistic About Their Lives, Survey Finds” ↗…of the county poorhouse. Only the poor were put under the diagnostic microscope of scientific clarity. Today, we all live among the digital traps we have laid for the destitute.“ - Virginia Eubanks, Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor
on “Margaret Mitchell fired from Google” ↗…Paul Kingsnorth Life versus the machine Roger McNamee Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe Siva Vaidhyanathan Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us Virginia Eubanks Automating Inequality Sophie Brickman Baby Unplugged Mike Monteiro Ruined by Design Thomas Kersting Disconnected: Protect Your Kids Against Device Dependency Nicholas Kardaras Glow Kids Jaron Lanier…
on “My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll” ↗…Karen to hate you. Ultimately they want to fire Karen and reduce government disbursements to zero. They are reading this thread with glee. See, e.g., the case studies in https://virginia-eubanks.com/automating-inequality/.
on “The 'Paperwork Flood': How I Drowned a Bureaucrat Before Dinner” ↗…technical [like library, museum, & information professionals]--hold the ability to prioritize hierarchical schemes that privilege certain types of information over others.[1] There's also another book called Automating Inequality, among others. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2206336831?book_show_a...
on “Palantir S-1” ↗