Algorithmic bias
Algorithmic bias is when an AI system produces unfair results for some groups of people — more errors, worse offers, fewer opportunities — usually because of gaps or prejudice in its training data or in how the task was defined.
In one line, for a 12-year-old
Algorithmic bias is when an AI treats some people unfairly because it learned from unfair or incomplete examples.
An example
A résumé-screening tool trained on a company's past hires learns to rank down applicants from groups the company rarely hired before.
Why it matters to people
Bias in AI can deny people jobs, loans, housing or fair treatment by police and public services. Canadian human-rights law still applies when a machine helps make the decision.