How A.I. is a “Race,” Culture and Social Justice Issue by Maximillien Raymond

Artificial intelligence and software will one day be a problem for humanity but may enrich our minds as well. I’m sure you’ve heard of this idea before from the many works of fiction that explore this idea, some conspiracy theorist that you’ve encountered, or from your own mind because this has been an idea that you have pondered yourself. While this has been nothing more than an abstract concept for decades, modern technological advancements make the idea much more plausible especially when looking at it from the lens of race, culture, social justice.

According to Merriam-Webster, racism is “a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”. Racism is a racial issue that ChatGPT (a software developed by OpenAI) is guilty of inciting. ChatGPT has a filter that doesn’t allow its services to be used to produce biased results. However, a professor who focuses on psychology and neuroscience and heads the Computation and Language Lab at UC Berkeley who goes by the name Steven T. Piantadosi has asked ChatGPT to create a python function that would show who would make a good scientist based on their race and gender. The only group of people who were claimed to make a good scientist were white males; similar results were found when asked again with Asian males becoming a part of the favored group, but they were removed when asked a third time. While there were other examples that Pianatadosi was able to discover, the given example is enough to show that there is racial bias present in ChatGPT’s software which makes white males look superior to other racial groups thus showing that it can make racist remarks.

According to Merriam-Webster, culture is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group”. Artificial intelligence and software contain many features that can be harmful to our culture. OpenAI’s most advanced model, GPT-4, can complete written tasks from writing essays to composing musical pieces. In addition to the ability to write well-structured writing pieces, the software has access to a vast database that can write about a myriad of subjects. Such software seems to have already caused problems in academia as every syllabus I’ve received this semester claims that ChatGPT is a resource that we are not allowed to use. Looking at how advanced OpenAI makes the software seem, it comes as no surprise to me that professors feel the need to make this clear. With such technology at our fingertips, it threatens our education and our jobs. When a student feels that they are being bombarded with schoolwork, what stops them from using software to write their essays for them? When software gains the ability to write moving musical pieces and give accurate reports on news among other things, what is keeping people from losing their jobs?

Thankfully, it is not all bleak as it stands. Although its current stage is impressive, ChatGPT is far from creating pieces that can replicate the quality of pieces created by well-educated people, much less surpass it. A quick Google search will yield many results stating that the work created by ChatGPT does not surpass the work of those who are well versed in their fields. However, ChatGPT is growing with each passing day as feedback given to OpenAI by consumers and critics allows them to find ways to better ChatGPT. Although this may sound alarming, this creates the motivation and opportunity that our society needs to better itself. As ChatGPT becomes more adept in its ability to write captivating pieces, we as a culture are given the motivation to better ourselves, so we should not lose the job opportunities we work so hard for. As we study the flaws of ChatGPT, we learn the strengths in our own writing and learn ways to further improve these strengths. Where there is a large shadow being cast upon our society as the threat of intelligent software seeks to break society to its knees, we can at least serve as the light that casts the shadow rather than be the ones consumed by it.
As crazy as it may seem, these deepfakes may be the wake-up call we needed to take media literacy more seriously. While deepfakes have been in development for decades, the media has been around in varying forms for centuries. Whether we are talking about the news channels we watch or the newspapers that are read, the media has existed in one form or another as a way of spreading information to the masses. This means that fake news is something that has been going around for years in varying degrees. As fake news becomes more alarming, there is no time better than the present to learn the importance of media literacy.

With the current age of media, it is becoming easier to spread misinformation. For this reason, we need technologically educated people to teach others how to avoid falling for these false narratives. Funny enough, this counters my point on ChatGPT possibly replacing people in the workforce because we can provide jobs to those who know how to discern false information from true information, so they can spread their knowledge to others. Additionally, it can counter my point about ChatGPT ruining society by leading to the rise in intelligence of the average person due to being capable of absorbing and utilizing information regarding media literacy being a major factor in flourishing in our society. Ironically, it is starting to seem that the problems posed by technology are leading to opportunities for growth.

On the flip side, such software can yield great benefits. Since audio software is essentially audio deepfakes, it follows that the benefits would be the same. We will have to pay close attention to what we hear through the media and become more adept at discerning actual statements from public figures from robotic copies. We will likely become more adept at discerning small audio differences in regular conversation and be able to better understand each other as a result. On top of that, more jobs would be created to raise awareness of how dangerous this software can be and how to avoid being fooled. All in all, these audio deepfakes can help usher a new era of technological intelligence.

According to Britannica, social justice is “the fair treatment and equitable status of all individuals and social groups within a state or society”. While there are bad things that come along with the growing intelligence of AI, there have also been positives that are a part of ChatGPT which promote the discussion of social justice. Microsoft has many different additions for ChatGPT which promote social justice. The “My Rights, My Voice” campaign was added to ChatGPT to promote conversations centered around human rights. JusticeBot was added with the idea of informing users understanding of their rights and the law, and the JusticeHub, which connects people to discuss social justice topics. Additionally, ChatGPT has the ability to make learning much easier by making course material more accessible. This not only helps the average student but also those with learning disabilities. With the opportunity to not only learn more about social justice but be put on an even footing with others by sharing knowledge with another and making learning easier, ChatGPT makes great strides in the area of social justice.

In conclusion, technology is becoming frighteningly more human-like with each passing day. However, this does not mean that we are hopeless in combating the effects that come along with these technological advancements. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power. Informing ourselves as well as our neighbors on how to keep ourselves from falling for the deceit provided by these impressive forms of software. Although it will be a difficult journey, it is not one that we can’t finish stronger than when we started.

Maximillien A. Raymond is a sophomore majoring in Rhetoric & Public Advocacy and Philosophy. He is a student fellow at the Center for “Race,” Culture and Social Justice and a NOAH program scholar. He is a member of the Rabinowitz Honors College, Center for Civic Engagement, the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, the Phi Sigma Tau Honor Society, and is a math tutor.