When AI Amplifies the Biases of Its Users

Harvard Business Review (Jan 23, 2026) by Grace Chang and Heidi Grant argues that AI bias is not only baked into training data — it is shaped by the cognitive biases users carry into the prompt, interpretation and decision loop, creating a bidirectional human-AI ecosystem in which human shortcuts and machine outputs mutually reinforce. The takeaway: with intentional system design, individuals, teams and organisations can use AI more responsibly and more effectively. For SEA mid-market boards adopting AI for decision support, the piece reframes AI oversight from "audit the model" to "audit how directors use the model."