- Bias and Blind Spots — An Invitation to Awareness
Most of us like to think of ourselves as fair-minded.
We value evidence. We try to be reasonable. We believe we are open to correction. When bias is mentioned, we often imagine it as something obvious and external — a flaw in others, a problem “out there”, something that can be identified and fixed once noticed.
The difficulty is that bias rarely announces itself.
Bias works best when it is invisible. It hides in assumptions that feel natural, in patterns that seem neutral, in habits that have gone unquestioned for years. Blind spots are not usually the result of malice; they are the result of familiarity.
This is why bias is so difficult to address — personally, professionally, and spiritually.
February’s theme, Bias and Blind Spots, invites us into uncomfortable but necessary territory. It asks us to slow down and examine not only what we believe, but how we have come to believe it. It challenges the stories we tell ourselves about objectivity, neutrality, and fairness — particularly in technical work, where bias is often assumed to be a problem of data rather than people.
But bias begins long before data is collected.
It begins in what we choose to measure.In what we treat as normal.In what we assume does not need questioning.
And because these choices feel reasonable at the time, they often go unnoticed.
The Myth of Neutrality
One of the most persistent myths in technical culture is the idea of neutrality. We speak of “objective systems”, “data-driven decisions”, and “evidence-based outcomes” as though these exist apart from human judgment.
In reality, every system reflects the values and assumptions of its creators.
Data does not appear from nowhere. It is collected, filtered, cleaned, categorised, and interpreted. Each step involves choices — and those choices are shaped by context, incentives, and perspective.
Blind spots enter not because people intend harm, but because they mistake familiarity for truth.
When something has always worked a certain way, it stops being questioned. When a group shares similar backgrounds, assumptions reinforce one another. When success is defined narrowly, alternative experiences are excluded quietly.
Bias thrives in homogeneity.
Blind Spots Are Not Moral Failures
It is tempting to treat bias as a character flaw — something shameful, something to deny or defend against. But Scripture offers a more honest account of human limitation.
Again and again, the Bible acknowledges that human vision is partial. We see in part. We misunderstand. We mistake appearance for reality.
Jesus names this directly:
This is not an accusation; it is a diagnosis. Blind spots are not proof of wickedness. They are evidence of finitude.
The danger is not that we have blind spots.The danger is that we refuse to acknowledge them.
Humility, rather than defensiveness, is the proper response.
Bias in the Systems We Build
In technical work, blind spots scale.
A personal assumption becomes a design choice.A design choice becomes a default.A default becomes a system.
And systems shape behaviour.
Bias in technology often appears subtle. It hides behind averages, thresholds, and “reasonable defaults”. It shows up in who is represented in data, whose errors are tolerated, and whose needs are treated as edge cases.
These outcomes rarely result from explicit prejudice. They emerge from unexamined norms.
The more powerful a system becomes, the more costly its blind spots are.
This is why technical competence alone is insufficient. Awareness, humility, and willingness to listen are just as essential.
The Spiritual Cost of Unexamined Bias
Bias does not only distort systems; it distorts relationships.
When we assume we are neutral, we stop listening. When we believe our perspective is complete, we dismiss discomfort as inconvenience. Over time, this erodes trust — both in communities and within ourselves.
Spiritually, unexamined bias narrows our capacity for compassion. It limits our imagination. It prevents us from recognising where we may be wrong — or where God may be inviting us to see differently.
The prophets repeatedly confront this tendency. They speak to people convinced of their righteousness, exposing blind spots not to condemn, but to call them back to truth.
Self-examination is not optional in the life of faith. It is a discipline.
An Invitation, Not an Accusation
This month is not about blame. It is about attention.
It is about learning to ask better questions:
- What assumptions am I carrying without noticing?
- Whose experiences are absent from my thinking?
- Where might my confidence be masking incompleteness?
These questions are uncomfortable — but they are also freeing. They open space for growth, learning, and repentance where needed.
Bias loses power when it is named. Blind spots shrink when we invite others to help us see.
Walking This Month Together
Throughout February, we will explore bias and blind spots from both technical and faith perspectives.
On Mondays, we will examine how bias enters code, data, models, and systems — and how it can be reduced, challenged, and addressed responsibly.
On Fridays, we will reflect on spiritual blindness, self-examination, repentance, and learning to see others — and ourselves — more truthfully.
This work is slow. It resists easy answers. But it is essential.
Because faithfulness in a technical world does not begin with certainty.It begins with humility.
As this month unfolds, the invitation is simple but demanding: to pay attention. To listen more carefully. To assume less. And to trust that truth is not threatened by honest examination.
Indeed, truth is revealed by it.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright © Crossway.
