Generative AI Faces Familiar Challenges From "Baked In" Algorithmic Bias

Last week, Twitch banned an AI-generated production based on Seinfeld called "Nothing, Forever" from the platform for 14 days after a character named Larry Feinberg-a Jerry Seinfeld clone-made transphobic statements during his standup routine. The show's creators blamed OpenAI's Curie model, an older, more rudimentary version, for generating the offensive remarks. More specifically, Curie's baked-in algorithmic bias caused it to generate the hateful comments. While jarring, the incident is by no means surprising to anyone familiar with the issue of algorithmic bias in the development and use of AI systems.

Algorithmic bias occurs when AI is trained on data that introduces it to human biases, whether through inclusion or exclusion, which then causes those AI systems to deliver skewed results that can perpetuate harmful ideas and behaviors, such as racial prejudices and gender and age discrimination. In addition to the data that machines are trained on, the