One of the most potent, but often unseen, hurdles to effective product design is under-representation, which can lead to inherent bias.
Consider the automated dispenser that doles out liquid cleanser for white hands but doesn’t respond consistently to those with darker hands. How about the airbags that are now a staple on every modern vehicle? It turns out that even with the safety gear, women are 80% more likely than men to suffer crash injuries during accidents.
Beyond the ethics of debating gender or racial bias, there are serious ramifications for these and many other product design decisions. In the case of airbags and seat belts, according to the blog post from Expedia linked above, “As recently as 2011, vehicle safety ratings were based solely on how they performed in crashes with male test dummies.” Given that women, on average, differ from average men in both height and weight, it’s no wonder the standard design and test procedures produced dramatically flawed results.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/08/17/stopping-ai-bias-starts-with-diverse-product-teams/?sh=24959f7b5e57
Consider the automated dispenser that doles out liquid cleanser for white hands but doesn’t respond consistently to those with darker hands. How about the airbags that are now a staple on every modern vehicle? It turns out that even with the safety gear, women are 80% more likely than men to suffer crash injuries during accidents.
Beyond the ethics of debating gender or racial bias, there are serious ramifications for these and many other product design decisions. In the case of airbags and seat belts, according to the blog post from Expedia linked above, “As recently as 2011, vehicle safety ratings were based solely on how they performed in crashes with male test dummies.” Given that women, on average, differ from average men in both height and weight, it’s no wonder the standard design and test procedures produced dramatically flawed results.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/08/17/stopping-ai-bias-starts-with-diverse-product-teams/?sh=24959f7b5e57
