Representation Bias

What it is

Representation bias happens when some groups are underrepresented or misrepresented in AI systems. This might mean image generators that struggle with certain skin tones, voice recognition that fails with certain accents, or language models that know more about some cultures than others.

Why it matters

When you're not represented in the training data, AI works worse for you. This can exclude people from AI's benefits or produce outputs that feel foreign to their experience. Understanding representation bias helps you recognise when AI isn't serving everyone equally.