This is a really interesting paper (24 page PDF) which you should take the time to read completely, though the abstract does an admirable job of summarizing the main argument. "Most investigations of confirmation bias focus on individual learning," write the authors, but "how does the presence of confirmation bias influence learning and the development of consensus within a group?" They use network models to study this question and find, surprisingly, "moderate confirmation bias often improves group learning." It forces the group to consider more alternatives rather than immediately settling on a (possibly wrong) conclusion. More extreme confirmation bias, however, leads to polarization (a rather less surprising result). Related: @aaronbatzdorff Synth Talk on TikTok, one of my faves.
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