May I Learn About AI? - Can AI Be Biased? - Episode 3

📝 Episode Summary

Bias in AI isn't a future problem—it's happening right now. In this powerful third episode of our “May I Learn About AI?” series, Dr. JR and AI ethics researcher Casey Brightman explore how artificial intelligence can unintentionally (and sometimes dangerously) reflect the biases of its human creators.

We dig into real-world stories, from biased healthcare algorithms and hiring tools to flawed facial recognition and education software. Along the way, we explain how bias creeps into data, how it impacts real people, and what governments, businesses, and researchers are doing to push back.

This Mother’s Day episode reflects on the values of fairness and care—asking if our AI systems can be built to uphold them, and what role we play in shaping a more equitable digital future.

🔍 What You’ll Learn

• What AI bias actually is (hint: it’s not about feelings—it’s about patterns)
• How training data and algorithm design can unintentionally lead to unfair outcomes
• Real-world consequences of AI bias in healthcare, hiring, policing, and education
• How emerging policies like the EU AI Act and NYC Local Law 144 are tackling the issue
• Global efforts in countries like India and Canada to build more inclusive AI
• Bias in generative AI tools like GPT and DALL·E—and how it shapes creativity
• What you can do to advocate for fairness and accountability in AI systems

🌐 Mentioned In This Episode

• Algorithmic Justice League – https://www.ajl.org
• UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics – https://unesdoc.unesco.org
• NYC Local Law 144 – https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/about/LL144.pdf
• EU AI Act – https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/european-approach-artificial-intelligence
• Black in AI – https://blackinai.github.io
• Bolukbasi et al. (2016) on word embeddings bias
• Obermeyer et al. (2019) on healthcare algorithms and racial bias

📣 Call to Action

1. Ask questions about how AI is used in your workplace or school.
2. Advocate for transparency and fairness in tech tools.
3. Support ethical AI organizations pushing for accountability.
4. Stay tuned next week for our final episode: Can AI Be Creative?