Why AI resorts to stereotypes when it is role-playing humans

Artificial intelligence models from OpenAI and Meta often resort to simplistic and sometimes racist stereotypes when prompted to portray people of certain demographic identities – a notable flaw at a time when some tech companies and academic researchers want to replace humans with AI chatbots for some tasks.

Companies such as Meta have already tried boosting engagement on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram by deploying AI chatbots that mimic human profiles and respond to people’s posts. Some researchers have also explored using AI chatbots to simulate…