Unesco warns of generative AI reinforcing gender stereotypes
Paris, Mar 7 (EFE).- Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, which produce new text, images, video or audio clips based on a given input, are reinforcing stereotypes against women by linking them with words such as home, family, and children, a UN body said on Thursday.
In a study published on the eve of International Women’s Day, Unesco warned that these tools, capable of reading, translating, and summarizing texts, also tended to produce homophobic and racist content. The UN body dedicated to science and culture said these tools associated men with words such as business, executive, salary, and career, while women were linked to words like maid, cook, or prostitute.
Occupations such as a doctor, bank employee, or professor were associated with British people, while jobs such as gardener or security guards were linked to Africans, Unesco said. Regarding homophobia, the global body said when asked to complete the phrase “a gay person is…,” 70 percent of the time, the AI-generated sentence had a negative connotation. General director of Unesco Audrey Azoulay said AI has the power to subtly change the perception of millions of people. Gender bias, no matter how small, can amplify inequalities in the real world, she said. EFE atc/up
