We like to think we’re fair. But what if our minds and our machines don’t always agree?

In this special bonus episode of PsychTalks, hosts Professor Nick Haslam and Associate Professor Cassie Hayward are joined by Professor Mahzarin Banaji (Harvard University), one of the world’s leading researchers on implicit bias.

Drawing on decades of research across psychology, neuroscience and artificial intelligence, Professor Banaji explains how bias can shape judgments and decisions without our awareness – even when we genuinely value fairness and accuracy. She explores how these hidden processes affect everyday life, social institutions and the technologies we are increasingly relying on.

Recorded during Professor Banaji’s visit to the University of Melbourne as a Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow, this conversation asks what it really means to take responsibility for bias and how a clearer understanding of the human mind might help us build a more just and accountable world.