Believing the Data

  • In the smaller technical world of ETL, we have a saying, "All data is suspect, some is just more guilty than the rest." 

    In the large world of real life, when you make decisions solely on data, you may open a broader can of worms. Not only is there bad data, falsified data, but "good" data and best practices is often ignored for political expediency. I can name dozens of political and society issues in todays world where data is intentionally cooked, overlooked, ignored or rejected.  The great game we play called civilization is based partly on lies and ignoring truthful data.

  • Machines don't lie, but the data they tell us can still be inaccurate. For example: the internal clock could be slow, or some parameter miscoded (ie: a point of sale at store #5 thinks it's at store #3), the sensor broken (didn't see anything), or programming buggy (ie: a truck hauling a trailer is counted as two vehicles and an eighteen wheeler counted as three).

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • Eric M Russell - Monday, April 16, 2018 7:35 AM

    Machines don't lie, but the data they tell us can still be inaccurate. For example: the internal clock could be slow, or some parameter miscoded (ie: a point of sale at store #5 thinks it's at store #3), the sensor broken (didn't see anything), or programming buggy (ie: a truck hauling a trailer is counted as two vehicles and an eighteen wheeler counted as three).

    With transparency we can know that. We can then decide how to evaluate the data.

  • Eric M Russell - Monday, April 16, 2018 7:35 AM

    Machines don't lie, but the data they tell us can still be inaccurate. For example: the internal clock could be slow, or some parameter miscoded (ie: a point of sale at store #5 thinks it's at store #3), the sensor broken (didn't see anything), or programming buggy (ie: a truck hauling a trailer is counted as two vehicles and an eighteen wheeler counted as three).

    Actually, they do.  Look at Volkswagon.  The vehicles were taught to lie.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • I'm surprised that, as when driving in Russia, dashboard cameras aren't mandatory for everyone, even (or perhaps especially) for autonomous vehicles. https://boingboing.net/2018/04/16/gentleman-in-car-crash-gives-p.html
    How do we know that 'learning vehicles' are learning the right things, if it's not reviewed/reviewable?

  • ganotedp - Tuesday, April 17, 2018 9:27 AM

    I'm surprised that, as when driving in Russia, dashboard cameras aren't mandatory for everyone, even (or perhaps especially) for autonomous vehicles. https://boingboing.net/2018/04/16/gentleman-in-car-crash-gives-p.html
    How do we know that 'learning vehicles' are learning the right things, if it's not reviewed/reviewable?

    Well, from my experience of driving in Ukraine and Romania a few years ago, all of the officials and 'big wigs' parked on the pedestrian sidewalks anyway, and we had to walk around their vehicles.  And this, in reality, demonstrates the major flaw in AI, in that it is all going to be based on collective experience and the averages.  Now, the extension of that is that collectively, bad data could actually serve to make AI more and more risky with passing time.  I hate the expression, but " I'm just sayin' ".

    Rick
    Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )

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