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FICO Score
E-scores and e-scoring systems aggregate everything from zip codes to internet behavior to purchase history to create unregulated algorithms. These algorithms are then used to determine whether a person is worthy of things like credit cards, loans, or insurance policies.
E-scores/E-scoring Quotes in Weapons of Math Destruction
The Weapons of Math Destruction quotes below are all either spoken by E-scores/E-scoring or refer to E-scores/E-scoring. 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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E-scores/E-scoring Term Timeline in Weapons of Math Destruction
The timeline below shows where the term E-scores/E-scoring appears in Weapons of Math Destruction. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: Collateral Damage
...backed by consistently updated data, the use of scoring has changed significantly over the years. “E-scores” now aggregate everything from zip codes to internet behavior to purchase history to create arbitrary,...
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E-scores are taking society several steps backward from the fairness and transparency of the FICO scoring...
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...their operations. These companies can analyze any data they choose to and develop their own e-scores and risk correlations without explaining the methodologies behind them. O’Neil suggests that compared to the...
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Chapter 9: No Safe Zone
...proxies for responsible driving (like zip code and income) to create their own ratings, or e-scores—but because a lot of the information they use is based on credit and capital, insurance...
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