Mind the Data Gap: Does Science Have a Bias Problem?

How objective would you say you are? Most of us would like to think that we always make rational, fact-based decisions, but study after study reveals that we are often swayed by unconscious biases. 

How many of us can honestly say that we couldn’t be fooled into enjoying a glass of cheap fizz more if we’re told it has been poured from an expensive bottle?   

Thankfully we can rely on science to give us an objective and unbiased take on the world, with its robust, impartial research and cold-hard data. Or can we?  

It turns out the truth is a bit more complicated…   

From medical devices to facial recognition systems, there are a surprising number of tech-driven advances which have some big blind spots in how well they function for women, or people of different ethnicities. This is the result of data gaps – sinkholes that open up when data isn’t wrong, it’s just incomplete. And these oversights can have huge repercussions. 

So what do we do about it?