Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech

by Sara Wachter-Boettcher

We thought adding photos, genders, ages, and hometowns would give our personas a more realistic feel. And they did—just not the way we intended. Rather than helping folks connect with these people, the personas encouraged the team to assume that demographic information drove motivations—that, say, young women tended to be highly engaged, so they should produce content targeted at young women.

When systems don’t allow users to express their identities, companies end up with data that doesn’t reflect the reality of their users.

Real friends don’t create metrics to gauge whether people think they care. They don’t try to tell you jokes when you’re in the middle of a crisis.