To amplify the importance, and urgency, of designing inclusively and overcoming cognitive bias, here are some examples of how things can go wrong if you don’t.
In 2020, a Twitter photo algorithm cropped Black people out of photos. Twitter apologised and said it had not gone far enough when testing the service for bias.
Other examples of digital products not designed for all include a name form field input validator, which did not recognise surnames with spaces or apostrophes in them.
The UK NHS Covid Track and trace app required Bluetooth to be switched on, and recent mobile phone operating system updates. This makes assumptions about device and data affordability, and digital skill.
