Automation Bias
🇳🇴AutomatiseringsbiasDefinition
Automation bias is the tendency to over-rely on automated systems and algorithms, leading people to overlook errors, limitations, or contradictory information. Complex decisions make people more likely to assume that "the system knows best."
Real-world example
In aviation and medicine, automation bias has contributed to incidents where operators ignored their own observations because they trusted automated alerts or decision-support systems. In everyday life, it appears when people blindly follow GPS directions even when they clearly lead the wrong way.
Supplementary perspective
Automation bias is reinforced by authority bias (technology is perceived as objective) and cognitive offloading, where reliance on systems reduces human vigilance. It is also related to automation complacency.
Practical advice
Recognize
- —Notice whether you dismiss your own judgment when an automated system disagrees.
Counteract
- —Treat automation as decision support, not ground truth.
- —Maintain manual skills and demand transparency or explanations from systems.
Ethical use
- —Design systems that encourage human oversight and critical engagement.
- —Clearly communicate system limitations and uncertainty.