← Concept Index

Responsible AI & society

Bias, fairness, and representation

Also called: stereotyping, discrimination

DEFINITION

Models learn patterns from human data, including its biases, and can reproduce or amplify them — in who gets described how, whose language is treated as default, and which outcomes a system recommends.

WHY IT MATTERS

When AI shapes hiring, lending, images, or advice, biased output causes real-world harm at scale and can be unlawful. Noticing whose perspective is missing is part of using it responsibly.

COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH

A fixable glitch. Bias isn't a single bug to patch; it's a property of the data and the use, managed through testing, diverse review, and human judgment.

SOURCES

First-pass citations, limited to primary sources; a reviewer will broaden and verify these before this entry leaves draft.