AI may be making women's emails and job applications sound less professional
A Johns Hopkins study found that AI chatbots produce less formal and less complex workplace writing when prompts contain language patterns commonly associated with women. This bias, observed across major AI models, could make women's professional communications sound less professional.
Why it matters
This research highlights a significant and concerning bias in AI models that could perpetuate gender stereotypes and negatively impact women's professional opportunities. It underscores the urgent need for AI developers to address and mitigate these systemic biases in their systems.
credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images A Johns Hopkins study found chatbots respond differently based on a prompt's phrasing. Prompts containing language associated with women generated less formal and less complex responses. The researchers said AI companies — not users — should be responsible for fixing the disparity. Ask a chatbot to write the same kind of work email in two different ways, and you may get strikingly different results. One response might sound crisp and corporate. The other might gush about words that "warmed our hearts." Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that AI produced less formal and less complex workplace writing when prompts contained language patterns more commonly associated with women. The researchers tested prompts for emails, job applications, and resignation letters across OpenAI's GPT-4, Meta's Llama, Google's Gemini, and Mistral's Vibe. None of the four companies immediately responded to requests for comment.
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