What Biases Do You Bring to Your Projects?
What Biases Do You Bring to Your Projects?
This Week In Writing, we explore biases in our creative pursuits and how those biases can translate to AI-generated content.
Last week I was discussing a nonprofit client with a colleague. The client received a large check from a government agency, but they were contemplating moving away from accepting government grants. I asked, “why would they want to give that up?”
For most small organizations I work with, jumping through the hoops to receive significant government funding is something to be celebrated, not rejected. That’s the bias I brought to the conversation. In hindsight and more discussion, there are many reasons the organization might want to abandon government grants; namely, the restrictions imposed on receiving funds might be outside the organization’s mission.
We bring biases everywhere we go. In my job working with nonprofits, I must realize when my biases may filter a conversation with a client. As writers, we must also acknowledge when our biases may shape how we share our ideas with readers.
I was thinking about this situation while playing with Midjourney, one of the popular AI image generators. I read that when the AI doesn’t know how to interpret the prompt, it often defaults to an attractive young woman in some form of decay. Typing that out makes it sound horrific, which is why the bias here is so puzzling.
Why is AI biased toward making attractive women melt or peel into dust? Why is AI biased toward defaulting to beautiful young women in the first place?
I tested the theory by prompting test and 8675309 -- I guess we can call the various decaying women in the images Jenny. Leaving the AI model to basic interpretation with these simple prompts exposes the system's bias.
The thing about biases is that they aren’t necessarily good or bad, they just are — granted, if you’re biased against people because of who they are then your bias is bad, but that’s for a different discussion. We need to be aware of our biases and how they might influence us in ways we don’t realize or don’t intend. Whether it’s when working with clients, our writing, or relying on AI content creation, biases often affect the outcome.
How do you identify the biases in your writing and creative projects?
Why You Can’t Trust Successful Writers and Their Advice by David B. Clear
The survivorship bias is not realizing that there are countless writers who also write every day, who alsopersevere, who also put a lot of thought behind their headlines, who also cite their sources, who also make an effort to be engaging and fun to read, who also work hard, and who also do whatever else the successful ones are doing and who, even so, still end up failing.
How to Stop Writing With Ignorance by Rose Hedberg
It’s ok to observe, to take notes of what you see, and to be drawn to aspects of culture that are different than your own, but people are people everywhere and each is living a complex and dimensional life that can’t be ignored in writing. Be careful not to make people a passive part of the landscape.
Why Inclusive Language Is So Important by Laura Mondragón
Well-intentioned writers know to avoid overtly offensive, defamatory language that targets groups or individuals based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, physical or mental condition/illness, age, socioeconomic class or any other factor.
My bias-checker is my accountability partner--different gender, different generation, different native language, and different geographic location.
Her lens is vastly different than mine and I encourage her to call me out when my bias creeps into my writing.
Aloha Justin, I believe we all have biases which develop from where we were born, & how we were raised. The biggest influence is our life experiences. As a senior, I focus on expanding my thinking to reduce my biases, but I'm still learning. As a writer and Toastmaster, I avoid politics and religion, the two most controversial topics in our universe. The best I can do is to keep learning daily, and sharing inspiring true stories of challenges. My biggest bias is to avoid reading stories of negative news and from trolls that bash writers. I don't need help feeling sad/frustrated/depressed/hopeless.