Commentary: OpenAI and Political Bias in Silicon Valley

ChatGPT app on a smartphone

AI-powered image generators were back in the news earlier this year, this time for their propensity to create historically inaccurate and ethically questionable imagery. These recent missteps reinforced that, far from being the independent thinking machines of science fiction, AI models merely mimic what they’ve seen on the web, and the heavy hand of their creators artificially steers them toward certain kinds of representations. What can we learn from how OpenAI’s image generator created a series of images about Democratic and Republican causes and voters last December?

OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4 service, with its built-in image generator DALL-E, was asked to create an image representative of the Democratic Party (shown below). Asked to explain the image and its underlying details, ChatGPT explained that the scene is set in a “bustling urban environment [that] symbolizes progress and innovation . . . cities are often seen as hubs of cultural diversity and technological advancement, aligning with the Democratic Party’s focus on forward-thinking policies and modernization.” The image, ChatGPT continued, “features a diverse group of individuals of various ages, ethnicities, and genders. This diversity represents inclusivity and unity, key values of the Democratic Party,” along with the themes of “social justice, civil rights, and addressing climate change.”

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Analysis: Diversity Politics Undermined Federal Air Traffic Control Skills-Based Testing

Air Traffic Control

The Federal Aviation Administration under the Biden administration has pledged to continue diversifying its workforce under its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility goals.

At the same time, a lawsuit that has long flown under the radar provides a glimpse into just how far the agency is willing to go to achieve those goals, even at the expense of skills-based tests for air traffic controllers.

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FAA Pushes to Hire People with ‘Severe Intellectual, Psychiatric’ Disabilities in the Name of Diversity

FAA

In a new statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it intends to expand its push for diversity hires by hiring people who suffer from “severe intellectual” disabilities.

As reported by Fox News, the FAA’s website clearly states its intentions on the page for a hiring initiative focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The site says that “targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring.”

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Army Struggles for White Recruits amid Recruiting Crisis and Diversity Push

Army

A precipitous drop in the number of white recruits into the U.S. Army over the past five years sheds a new light on the service’s ongoing recruiting crisis, Military.com reported, citing internal Army data viewed by the outlet.

The Army missed its 2023 recruiting target by 10,000 soldiers, falling short of its 65,000 goal, after hitting only three-quarters of its 2023 goal as the Pentagon doubled down on prioritizing racial and ethnic diversity in the ranks. Much of that decline is attributed to a dramatic decline in the total number of white recruits as the Army brought in roughly 20,000 fewer white soldiers in 2023 compared to 2018 , according to the data seen by Military.com.

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