press release from the university. “However, researchers still found that biases against underrepresented groups and those who indicate support for the LGBT community continued to exist after drivers accepted a ride request — when the rider’s picture would then be displayed.”Jorge Mejia, assistant professor of operations and decision technologies at IU Bloomington, and coauthor Chris Parker, assistant professor in the information technology and analytics department at American University in Washington, D.C., did a field experiment on a ridesharing platform in Washington in the fall of 2018.“They randomly manipulated rider names, using those traditionally perceived to be white or Black, as well as profile pictures to observe drivers’.