Attack of the Killer Algorithms – “Algo Duping 101″

Here’s a selection of videos that offer a lot of information, which I call “Algo Duping”.  I have written several posts on the Medical Quack about this topic and here’s a group of MUST SEE videos if you want to understand what is happening in the world.  The general public does not like math, is afraid of it, etc. but banks and corporations are not and they use it against us.  Did you happen to see the 60 Minutes interview with the Goldman Sachs employee who left?  He said just that, and it’s not just Goldman who does it, other banks and many companies do it too.

First off let’s hear from Charlie Siefe, Who Wrote the Book, “Proofiness, The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception.  Yes it is alive and well so hear what he has to say as it’s true.  After this video there’s a couple links to PLOS One studies, the first one says “the fear of math causes physical pain” with humans, and it’s an all out study with MRI images and all.  Why do you think Wall Street and big corporations win all the time, they don’t have this fear or got over it, they do math and right in the beginning of the video, Charlie says just that, people hate math and thus they are open to be Algo Duped as they don’t know the difference and a lot of it is hard to tell.  Hmmm, formula has a square root in it, been all over the news, well it must be right, wrong.  The second one is a little more tech minded and talks about methodologies to fiddle with a P Value and Charlie explains what that is in the video for finding value.  Check the links at the bottom of this video.

“Proofiness–The Dark Side of Mathematical Deception”–Created by Those Algorithms

“Algo Duping” – PLOS One Journal Publication Explains Why The Fear of Math Plays a Big Role As One Underlying Reason We All Get Duped And Those Who Don’t Fear Math Take All the Money, Gradually, Using “Mathematical Formulas & Algorithms”

PLOS One Abstract–Methodology for Detecting Manipulation of “P Values” To Show Significant Statistical Value, “Inappropriate Fiddling” Which Can Lead to “Algo Duping” Situations And Numbers

The next video will focus on how Algorithms Shape our Lives, from Kevin Slavin and again he’s right on the money here and he tells you to look for things in every day life, same thing I say about the “Attack of the Killer Algorithms” series I wrote…and you will find some of these same video over there as well.  He does a very good job explaining how machines talk to machines and algorithms talk to algorithms.  No human makes the calls, all done by the algos.

 

Now let’s really dig in and hear from some Quants, who tell exactly what they do when designing business models.  This is a documenatary called “Quants, the Alchemists of Wall Street” and they make the math and formulas that move money.   Banks and companies use these all the time and the one interview tells you that yes they are smart and talks about their attitudes as they literally have the CEOs by the balls, as they don’t understand their own business models that they pay royally for the Quants to write.  In this video you see the software designer who created the software for the big mortgage scam.  It’s not his fault but rather how it was used and abused.  Secondly you see folks like Emanel Durman who got started being a quant before there was name for it and had no idea how it would evolve and watch Paul Wilmott who also started early teach Quant School.  They are giving us the warnings.

 

Sean Gourley who is a physicist himself and he discusses the same issue and I put this one last as it is a little more technical but still worth watching as you will get something out of it too.  He gets it.

Recently 60 Minutes did a great investigative report that gives you many more additional examples on how you are being sold, your information that is and it’s flawed a lot of the time.  Listen to the stories and how when it comes to fixing corporate USA errors, we are always on our own ticket to do so, is that fair?  Look at the money it takes and its all about the flawed data created by the algorithms and then the end results and analytics created are faulty as well, it is a circle that doesn’t stop.

I added a new video  to the collection and her video like most of the rest are also in “small” versions on my blog.  This is Cathy O’Neil who worked for DE Shaw, a hedge fund and she tells her history.  She worked as a quant and taught math and she has a lot to say.  Actually I’m glad she’s speaking out as she’s better than me as she has first hand experience in what it’s like to work in the financial district.  She was hired to do futures with risk assessment and then nobody was using it and taking more than th suggested risk.  Today she’s also part of the Occupy Movement (yes it is not dead) with their alternative banking solutions and working with credit unions.  It’s a very good interview done with PBS.  She’ll tell you flat out how they look at the rest of the world.  She does a series of lectures called “Weapons of Math Destruction”.

Christopher Steiner is the author of “Automate This” has this great video that talks about how algorithms are taking over the world.  He begins focusing on the market and continues on to tell you how they are taking over everything.   When you are asked if the call can be recorded when talking to a customer service department, no it is not just being recorded as thousands of algorithms are listening to analyze just about everything you say and a profile is built on you with data.  Listen to what he has to say here and realize that activities as such lead to a lot of data to sell.  As he says who’s going to be the power that runs the algorithms that take and give as Wall Street has a hard time between drawing the line between utility and menace when it comes to formulas and math, in other words they have abused over and over a society that can be controlled with math and the execution of algorithms.  Software is nothing but  a group of algorithms working together in the words of Bill Gates.

Here are some additional links listed below  from the Medical Quack regarding “Algo Duping” and for the Attack of the Killer Algorithms to be effective, we all have to be Algo Duped, so are you or are you not…something to think about…

”Hey dude let’s crunch some numbers and see if we can come up with some analytics to sell and get rich”

There’s a few more on the Medical Quack and you can keyword “Algo Duped” to find them.  Again be aware of what is going on around and you and more importantly what is going on that you can’t see but please acknowledge it is there as expert smarter than me are spreading the word for those who want to get educated and come out of denial instead of having to subscribe to the ridiculous media display of the 50 shades of rape, which is nothing but a show of digital illiteracy and makes the US a bit of a laughing stock to the rest of the world.

In summary the real problem here that contributes to keep some of this going is the billions made selling data.  This is part of why we don’t have more jobs as companies, banks, social networks etc. don’t choose to expand but rather sell data as nobody watches, few are aware of the mechanics and so it goes on servers 24/7 and it moves money to the wealthy and keeps inequality going, sadly.  Read the posts to find out a little more…how some analytics are for profit only and data is being matched and analyzed that doesn’t belong and consumers get hurt over and over.

Scientific Research–Fraud and Misconduct Rise As Competition for Funding Increases–Non Appropriate Use of Formulas and Algorithms Make It Possible To Deceive – Enhanced Scientific “Algo Duping”

Big Data/Analytics If Used Out of Context and Without True Values Stand To Be A Huge Discriminatory Practice Against Consumers–More Honest Data Scientists Needed to Formulate Accuracy/Value To Keep Algo Duping For Profit Out of the Game

As Charlie Siefe says in the first video, all of this is for media attention so be aware of what is out there and see if you can tell the difference and I’m not attacking journalists per se as they have jobs and their ratings and employment security depends on how many readers they can attract too so not their fault but the way their job models are created.  It’s all about context and much of the flawed data out there today is used out of context.

 

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