Disability and AI Bias

Researchers/legislation are focused on AI Bias with respect to gender and race. Few people are examining AI bias with respect to disability.

Four cartoon images of business people of different genders and races, each holding a white face mask partially covering their faces

In May, San Francisco passed an ordinance banning the city government from using facial recognition technology.

• The primary concern exhibited by almost every group lobbying for or considering this type of legislation is gender or race discrimination.
• One of the reasons frequently cited for the higher rates of false positives with respect to facial recognition for women, and especially women of color, is lack of robust data sets.

If you think about those concerns for a minute, the issue for people with disabilities is much much worse.

1. Few people are examining AI bias resulting in discrimination against people with disabilities.
2. There are fewer people with disabilities than there are women and people of color.
3. The range of characteristics of disability is very, very broad.

Facial recognition will be biased against people with craniofacial differences

One of my daughters was born with a facial difference called Bilateral Microtia and Atresia. It means that both of her outer ears are not the size nor shape of what…