This talk flipped data science on its head and showed the serious consequences that this ignorance about the true nature of data can lead to.

David J Hand, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Senior Research Investigator, Imperial College London

Whereas most explorations of data science focus on its power, this talk pointed out that your data are almost always incomplete, approximate, inadequate, or misleading. It showed the serious consequences that this ignorance about the true nature of data can lead to, with many real examples, ranging from medical mishaps to space shot disasters and business failures.

Recognising the inadequacy of real data leads to a new perspective, a new way of looking at standard statistical tools, and a new unification of cutting edge machine learning and data mining methods, achieved through the strategic application of ignorance.

Professor Hand is author of the book ‘Dark Data’ - Why what you don’t know matters:

“This insightful book should be required reading for everyone in an age when ‘fake news’ and the explosion of data go hand in hand."

THE ALAN TURING INSTITUTE

“[A] penetrating study of missing (‘dark’) data and its impacts on decisions . . . Hand offers expert training, from recognizing when facts are being cherry-picked to designing randomized trials. A book illuminating shadowed corners in science, medicine and policy.”

We hope you enjoyed this live lecture, part of our programme of events for the academic year 2020-21.