DATA SCIENTIST
Cathy O’Neil has a PhD in mathematics and works as a data scientist in New York City. Much of her work is about equity and fairness s in data science. When humans program a computer to make decisions, they might think things will automatically be fair. After all, computer programs don’t have emotions or beliefs to interfere in their decisions. But that’s overly simplistic. . In fact, AI can reinforce human biases. In 2016, O’Neil published a book about this problem called Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy.
WHAT IS A DATA SCIENTIST?
A data scientist is somebody who uses data to find patterns in behavior, often human behavior. It could be things like how often subways break down, or it could be how many people are on each subway. We typically learn enough statistics and problem solving to try to use patterns that happened in the past to predict what will happen in the future with either the subways or the people.
CAN YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU MIGHT FIGURE OUT A PATTERN?
Denne historien er fra November/December 2017-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra November/December 2017-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.