TEDTalk

Whatisbias?Isitgood,orisitbad?
Manyofyouheretodayprobablyperceivebias
assomethingnegative.Itistrue,therearesomebadbiasesintheworld,suchasracialbias
orgenderbias.Biasesareneithergoodnorbad,itsimplydependsonhowthesebiased
viewsareusedinsociety.Biasissimplyadevelopedviewontheworld,uniquetoevery
person.Todenythatthereisbiaseverywhereintheworldjustpreventstheproblemof
negativebiasesfrombeingfixed.Racialbias,whetherwebelieveitornot,isveryprevalentin
todayssociety.Racialbiasisespeciallydifficulttotalkabouttodaybecausewecurrentlylive
inacountrywhereequalityhastakenabigroleinsociety,andbytalkingabouthowpeople
todaystillcontainthesebiasesviewedasracist,wejeopardizetheidealgoalofaperfect
equalnation.Thoughracialbiasissomethingthatneedstobetalkedabout.Manycultures
experienceracialbiasinAmericatodayandarebeingtreatedunequallyinsociety,mayitbe
wheretheylive,thequalityoftheireducation,theirqualificationsforspecificjobs,theirstand
inthecriminaljusticesystem,andevenhowtheyareportrayedinthemedia.Thisisexactly
whythisissueneedstobetalkedaboutandfixed.

Peopledevelopdifferentbiasesallofthetime.Childrenhavetolearnfromtheir
parents,teachers,and,mostofall,fromexperiences.Allofthesethingsgiveacertainlense
tohowanindividualseestheworld.Manypeoplemaybelievethattheyareunbiased,
especiallywhenitcomestorace,butinasciencedailytestconductedin2007,only7%of
participantsshowedanunbiasedviewtowardsrace.Whetherornotsomeoneisbiased
dependsontheircognitiveabilitytoresistnegativeconditioningthatsocietygivesthem.Our
societyandenvironmentsinwhichweareraisedinoftenhavefalsestereotypesaboutcertain
races.Doyouthinkofspecifictraitswhenyouthinkaboutdifferentraces?Ourbrainhasto
overcomethesestereotypesinordertobeunbiasedtowardspeoplethataredifferentfromus.
Itisespeciallyhardtodothisallofthetimebecauseitrequiresustoremembertopay
attentiontoeverydetailinourlivesandtakeactiontopreventourselvesfrombecoming
biased.Theonlywaytoteachchildrendifferentlyisforschoolstoteachaboutbiasand
becomingawareofitinordertolessenthatpracticeofit.

Racismstillexiststodayandhappensallthetime.
Recently,astudyconductedby
ProPublicafoundthat
youngblackmaleshavea21timesgreaterchanceofbeingshotand

killedbypolicethanwhites.
Nearly90%ofdocumentedforceusedbyFergusonPDofficers
wasusedagainstAfricanAmericans.
TheImplicitAssociationTestwasadministeredfora
wholedecadeandgaveoutsurprisingresults.About70%oftheparticipantsshowedaracial
preferencetowardswhites.Maybethisdoesntsoundterrible,maybethispreferenceisnt
large,andnotgenerallynoticeabletoothers.Butitis.Thinkaboutallofthosepeoplewho
showpreferencetowardsacertainrace.Becauseofthis,minorityapplicantsare1.6times
morelikelytogetrejectedthanwhiteapplicantswhenapplyingforajob.Overthecourseofa
yearlongstudy,banksdeniedloanapplicationsfromblacksatnearlytwicetherateforwhites,
evenwhentheyhadthesameincome.ThisdoesntjusthappenwithAfricanAmericans.
Asiansareshownnearly19%feweravailablehomes,comparedtowhites.Theracialbias
problemisactuallygettingworse.
ThenumberofAmericanswithimplicitantiblack
sentimentsjumpedfrom49%to56%sinceObamasfirstpresidentialelection.

RacialbiasisstillahugeissueinAmerica.Thefirststeptosolvingthisproblemisto
beawareofourbiases.Wecanpayattentiontoeverytimethatweareabouttomakea
biaseddecisionbasedonsomeonesappearance.Wecandecidenottomakethatdecision.
Thiscanchangeourcountryifwecaneliminateracialbias.Overthecourseofthisproject,
weevaluatedourownbiasesandprivileges.Ourhopeisthatyoudothesame.Pleaseenjoy
therestofthetalksandkeepanopenmind.