I, Human

Chapter 4

Taming Bias

How the AI age exacerbates our ignorance, prejudices, and irrationality

It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.

—Jonathan Swift

Humans are generally known for their rationality, logical thinking, intelligent reasoning, and decision-making—at least according to humans. These qualities have contributed to undeniable progress in the fields of science, as well as advances in engineering, medicine, and even AI. But let’s be honest. Humans are also dumb, irrational, and biased. This is especially true when we’re trying to win arguments, impress others, make rapid and impulsive decisions, and feel good about the quality of our decisions (and more generally, ourselves).

Decades of research ...