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FICO scores are the standard credit-scoring system in the United States. The FICO model was created to evaluate the risk of a person defaulting on a loan. And because the model was designed to be transparent, fair, and backed by consistently updated data, O’Neil asserts that it is not a “weapon of math destruction.” However, e-scores—unregulated models that aggregate even more data than the FICO model—use hidden metrics and faulty data that threaten FICO’s hold as the industry standard.
FICO Score Quotes in Weapons of Math Destruction
The Weapons of Math Destruction quotes below are all either spoken by FICO Score or refer to FICO Score. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8: Collateral Damage Quotes
Since [the invention of the FICO score], the use of scoring has of course proliferated wildly. Today we’re added up in every conceivable way as statisticians and mathematicians patch together a mishmash of data, from our zip codes and Internet surfing patterns to our recent purchases. Many of their pseudoscientific models attempt to predict our creditworthiness, giving each of us so-called e-scores. These numbers, which we rarely see, open doors for some of us, while slamming them in the face of others. Unlike the FICO scores they resemble, e-scores are arbitrary, unaccountable, unregulated, and often unfair—in short, they’re WMDs.
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In this passage, O’Neil describes the dangers of a new kind of “weapon of math destruction” (WMD)—e-scores, or models that aggregate random data about a person’s life in order to determine whether they’re credit-worthy or not. E-scores are a WMD that have spiraled out of control after ostensibly noble beginnings. In the past, people would have to visit their local bankers in person to get a loan, a credit card, or a mortgage—and that meant that the banker could judge them based on personal information he knew about them, the color of their skin, or other biased factors. The invention Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rer
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FICO Score Term Timeline in Weapons of Math Destruction
The timeline below shows where the term FICO Score appears in Weapons of Math Destruction. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: Collateral Damage
...a banker to give them a loan. When Earl Isaac and Bill Fair developed the FICO model to evaluate the risk of an individual defaulting on a loan, things seemed to...
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While FICO scores were relatively transparent, fair, and backed by consistently updated data, the use of scoring...
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E-scores are taking society several steps backward from the fairness and transparency of the FICO scoring system. They’re not looking at individuals; they’re rating people in relation to a “blizzard...
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