The World, the Universe and Us The Dangerous Bias Shaping the Future of AI
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Mar 23, 2026 Catherine de Lange, Editor at New Scientist who attended a Royal Society conference, explains how AI is being shaped mostly by men. She highlights everyday design biases from crash test dummies to phones. Conversations cover AI neglecting women’s health and caregiving, funding and culture in tech, and whether current models must be rebuilt for fairness.
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Gym Chin-Up Bars Show Design Assumptions
- Catherine de Lange shared a personal frustration: gym chin-up bars are too large for her hands because they're designed for men.
- She used this simple physical example to show how assumed male dimensions create daily barriers for women.
Reference Man Skews Safety Research
- Reference man has become the default in safety research, skewing outcomes like car crash protection away from typical female bodies.
- Catherine de Lange explained reference man origins and how seat positioning and dummy design increase risk for women.
AI Will Amplify Gendered Role Differences
- AI will shape healthcare, education and caregiving, areas where men and women have different bodies, roles and needs.
- De Lange warned that excluding women's perspectives from design will reproduce and amplify existing societal gaps.