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Missing real‑world detail drives AI bias — a group of people standing next to each other

Missing real‑world detail drives AI biasCEFR A2

6 Dec 2025

Adapted from Unknown author, Futurity CC BY 4.0

Photo by Jr Korpa, Unsplash

AI-assisted adaptation of the original article, simplified for language learners.

Artificial intelligence tools are now used by many people, but they can cause harm when they are biased. Reports say biased systems gave different medical treatments and that hiring tools discriminated against female and Black candidates. New research from the University of Texas at Austin studied 363 algorithms from a public repository and compared each flagged algorithm with a similar one that was not called out.

The researchers identified three main risks. First, there is no clear ground truth for some tasks, for example guessing a bones age from an X‑ray or judging hate speech when people disagree. Second, models can miss important real‑world details; one Arkansas change replaced nurse visits and cut off help for disabled people. Third, systems built by one group can miss other perspectives. The study says developers must look inside algorithms and include diverse input.

Difficult words

  • biasedshowing unfair treatment of some people
  • discriminatetreat people unfairly because of group
    discriminated
  • algorithma set of rules a computer follows
    algorithms
  • repositorya place where many files or data are kept
  • ground truththe real correct answer for a task
  • hate speechwords that show strong dislike or attack
  • developera person who makes computer systems or software
    developers
  • diverseincluding many different kinds of people

Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.

Discussion questions

  • Do you think it is important for developers to include different people? Why?
  • Can you name a task that has no clear ground truth? Give an example.
  • How could a computer model miss real-world details where you live?

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