@[email protected] to TechnologyEnglish • 4 months agoAn Algorithm Told Police She Was Safe. Then Her Husband Killed Her.www.nytimes.comexternal-linkmessage-square83fedilinkarrow-up1499arrow-down118cross-posted to: [email protected]
arrow-up1481arrow-down1external-linkAn Algorithm Told Police She Was Safe. Then Her Husband Killed Her.www.nytimes.com@[email protected] to TechnologyEnglish • 4 months agomessage-square83fedilinkcross-posted to: [email protected]
minus-square@[email protected]linkfedilinkEnglish9•4 months agoPedantic Mathematician here. If it failed, then it was a heuristic, rather than an algorithm. Clearly, that’s the most important thing about this post. You’re welcome.
minus-square@[email protected]OPlinkfedilinkEnglish13•4 months agoPretty much anything trying to predict human behavior is a heuristic; people using them as if they’ve got some kind of certainty is a problem.
minus-square@[email protected]linkfedilinkEnglish3•edit-24 months agoWhy not both? A bad algorithm based on bad heuristics? There are many many algorithms that fail at what they’re supposed to do. As a non-condescending “mathematician”, I’m happy to help.
Pedantic Mathematician here.
If it failed, then it was a heuristic, rather than an algorithm.
Clearly, that’s the most important thing about this post.
You’re welcome.
Pretty much anything trying to predict human behavior is a heuristic; people using them as if they’ve got some kind of certainty is a problem.
Yes, exactly.
Why not both? A bad algorithm based on bad heuristics? There are many many algorithms that fail at what they’re supposed to do.
As a non-condescending “mathematician”, I’m happy to help.