Case file
Automation Bias
- Filed under
- Not Enough Meaning
The charge
Automation bias is trusting automated output too much and neglecting contrary evidence or obvious context.
How it operates
Machine recommendations feel objective and reduce effort, so scrutiny drops and override behavior weakens.
Logged incidents
- Incident 01
A recruiter accepts resume-screening output despite a clearly strong portfolio.
- Incident 02
A fraud team lets good customers churn because the model flags them.
- Incident 03
A PM trusts a dashboard trend that is actually caused by a tracking bug.
What to watch for
Ask: What would I conclude if the system gave no recommendation at all?
Recommended action
Keep a human in the loop with override checklists and track false positives and false negatives.
Known associates
- Overconfidence EffectEasily confusedPeople's confidence in their judgments often exceeds their actual accuracy, especially for predictions,…
- Halo EffectEasily confusedHalo effect is when one positive trait or first impression spills over into unrelated judgments about the…
- Authority BiasEasily confusedAuthority bias is giving extra weight to a view because it comes from a person with status, title, or…
- Group Attribution ErrorGroup attribution error is assuming what is true of one member is true of the whole group, or that…
- Ultimate Attribution ErrorUltimate attribution error is interpreting your own group's bad behavior as situational but another group's…
- StereotypingStereotyping is assigning traits or likely behavior to an individual based mainly on group membership.
Source of record