Escape from Model Land by Erica Thompson

ESCAPE FROM MODEL LAND by Erica Thompson is subtitled “How Mathematical Models Can Lead Us Astray and What We Can Do About It.” Thompson, a statistician and senior policy fellow at the London School of Economics, provides a somewhat dense but thought-provoking reflection on the limitations of the many mathematical models on which we rely. One key point she addresses is the inherent bias of model designers, noting for example how educated middle-class modelers during the pandemic under- and over-valued certain costs for lockdowns and other policy decisions. Making this easy to remember, she notes the WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, Developed) assumptions which may underlie a model without the developer’s conscious knowledge. Stressing that models are “ubiquitous now in everyday life,” Thompson encourages readers to use them for exploration, to gauge their sensitivity, and to ask probing questions: “How are models constructed? To whom do they deliver power? How should we regulate them? How can we use them responsibly?”  ESCAPE FROM MODEL LAND received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and was reviewed recently in both The Economist and The Wall Street Journal.

It is also interesting to think about these questions in the context of new OpenAI chatbot programs. Some provocative articles include:
The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT (Dec. 5, 2022; New York Times)
Cheatingwith ChatGPT; Can an AI Chatbot Pass AP Lit? (Dec. 21, 2022; Wall Street Journal)
Did a Fourth Grader Write This? Or the New Chatbot? (Dec.  26, 2022; New York Times)
Is AI the Future of Test Prep? (Dec.  27, 2022; New York Times)
It is fascinating to look at this new tech and how data works.