As the world struggles with changing politics and alliances, both military and economic, we are seeing an increasing propensity for people to take up extreme positions. The degree to which people move to these extremes is very much driven by a process known as confirmation bias. Put simply, confirmation bias is the process by which we seek out and favour information which supports our pre-existing view or opinion. It is very human and natural that we would be more comfortable with opinions, reports, commentary and other information which supports our perception of the world and what is right or wrong.
As we seek information which sits more comfortably or closely with the views we already have, we tend to move to even more extreme positions because this perception is reinforced. This becomes self-perpetuating as we seek even more information to support the position we have taken. Meanwhile we may not be taking in information which doesn’t fit with our view of the world and how it should be. At its worst we may even begin to actively reject anything and anybody who has a view or opinion not identical to our own. This can go to the extreme of demonising or dehumanising people, as it is easier to reject the views of those we believe are somewhat less informed or somehow less worthwhile than those we agree with, we then create a dynamic of them and us! We start to believe “they” are wrong and acting in bad faith or are even evil, meanwhile “we” are correct and righteous in our actions and attitudes. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the above leads to disharmony, disunity, disconnection and perhaps even violence as we each become more entrenched in our views.
Social media and search engines are increasingly being influenced by algorithms which multiply the effects of confirmation bias dramatically. We often think that what we are seeing is balanced information when in fact it has been selected, increasingly by AI, to fit with what the algorithm indicates we want, and in an attempt to keep us engaged and connected gives us more of what it determines we want.
To counteract as far as possible the effects of confirmation bias it is essential to know it exists and that all of us are susceptible to it. We need to be less certain that our perception is the truth and accept that others will have views different to ours and take the time to listen to them and see if there is any value in what they have to say. This will lead to a kinder and more tolerant society and that is far healthier for all of us.