The automation bias plagues the modern world, here’s how to fight it and avoid it.
Every day we have to deal with many cognitive biases that diverge from rationality and that can influence judgments. There may be other types of non-cognitive biases, such as social proofing theory, or cognitive dissonance when we have conflicting ideas in our minds. Finally, the placebo effect can lead to physiological changes.
But let’s see in this case what the bias of automation is and how to avoid it. Let’s start with what it is, it is the propensity of human beings to favor the suggestions of automated decision-making systems guided by artificial intelligence . This has become a problem for decision making in many different domains and many disciplines. Examples are automation biases that start from flying an airplane on autopilot to deciding which TV series to watch.
Even when doctors accept the guidance of an automated system, it is still referred to as an automation bias. Doctors stop looking for confirmatory evidence, perhaps blaming the decision-making process on the machine itself. Human relies too much on machine learning technology, thus man loses his decision-making power and curiosity. Unfortunately, the automation project, like other cognitive biases, has no simple, universal solution. Thus a combination of strategies is required , for example continuous training to increase personal awareness. Or even experimenting with debiasing techniques, or even following one’s own thoughts and relying on man’s curiosity.
- What is the automation prejudice that afflicts the modern world (and how to counter it) (greenme.it)
