- [Instructor] You know the question,…if a tree falls in the forest…and there's no one there to hear it,…does it make a sound?…Well, there's a similar kind of question…for data scientists,…and it goes like this,…if an algorithm finds a correlation…but there's no one there to see it,…does it still lead to a causal inference?…There's a few reasons to ask this.…Number one is because we all know…correlation doesn't imply causation.…Just because two things are correlated,…doesn't mean that one causes the other.…This is a dictum that's been hammered in…for a long time,…but another reason is this,…algorithms don't make inferences about causation,…people do.…
Machine learning algorithms simply find consistencies…or patterns in the data,…making the leap to causation is a psychological process.…Now, let me tell you why this matters,…there's a couple of reasons.…Number one, it actually may turn out…that correlation is sufficient for your purposes…and maybe all you need is an association between variables.…In fact, correlation under the proper circumstances…
Updated
5/9/2018Released
10/27/2017- Examine how and why data science is applied to money.
- Interpret the benefits of algorithmic and human-in-the-loop trading.
- Evaluate how automated application reviews for loans and credit can change.
- Justify how social media can be beneficial to economics.
- Analyze the relationship between cryptocurrencies and data science.
- Interpret the ethical and technical challenges and possibilities of data science.
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
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Q: This course was updated on 05/09/2018. What changed?
A: A: We added one video on data science careers in economics, banking, and finance.
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Video: Correlation and causality in economic data