Episode 18: Frank Pasquale, big data, algorithms and discrimination in the black box society

Digital Sociology Podcast

In this episode I am speaking to Frank Pasquale who is Professor of Law at the University of Maryland. We talk about his work which has addressed the impact of big data and algorithmic processing on reputation, search and finance. We discussed how the data we generate an hour every day lives has enabled a drive to assess, rank and judge ourselves and others. He offer some insight as to why and how credit rating agencies have become so powerful and what impact they have. Frank also warns that critiques of data driven analysis and ranking can often just lead to more surveillance.We talk about the how big data can create discrimination as conclusions from one type of data can be applied to other areas of our lives. Frank stresses The importance of keeping human input into rankings and ratings. You can follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPasquale and see his website athttp://www.frankpasquale.com/The abstract to Frank's book The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms that Control Money and Information is here: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/books/96/ You can listen to the episode on the Anchor site and download or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you usually get podcasts.