The definition may seem obvious: an inclination towards a particular characteristic, feature, or behaviour. Bias has been the focus of renewed attention in the context of automated or algorithmic systems — fodder for countless exposés, articles, and books on the dangers of remaining ignorant to how bias silently shapes the digital world. Bias isn’t new, but its deployment at industrial scale is concerning.
A different category of bias, however, is closely related to my own work on the cognitive quirks that direct our attention towards, and sometimes unhelpfully away from, critical pieces of information. One subject of continuing research and debate is something called automation bias, sometimes referred to as overtrust.
But as I was pulling these ideas together, I got distracted re-reading Johann Hari’s book, Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — And How To Think Deeply Again, and Kōhei Saitō’s, Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto. From dramatically different vistas, both authors explore how dead dogmas — stubbornly held — have continued to stress our most vital foundations.
“… so deep has the conviction — that we are all governed by anonymous forces beyond our control — penetrated into the shared consciousness of our time … [it has led to] a debasement of the idea of civil courage.” - Joseph Wiezenbaum, 1976
In short, biases embedded within our economy and our cultures (borne of these economic forces) continue to deform our world today. A world many describe with a different b-word: broken.
Broken is less elegant, perhaps, and certainly not as conceptually useful. Today, it tends to be used in reference to our institutions, norms, conventions, and public sphere — aspects of modern life that feel strained or strangled as we move through 2024.
But broken — not unlike bias — is less a conclusion than a diagnosis. The term highlights how things are, not how they could be. In short, what is broken demands our attention. Even when that attention feels like an unbearable burden.