The world according to Stable Diffusion is run by White male CEOs. Women are rarely doctors, lawyers or judges. Men with dark skin commit crimes, while women with dark skin flip burgers.
Stable Diffusion generates images using artificial intelligence, in response to written prompts. Like many AI models, what it creates may seem plausible on its face but is actually a distortion of reality. An analysis of more than 5,000 images created with Stable Diffusion found that it takes racial and gender disparities to extremes — worse than those found in the real world.
This phenomenon is worth closer examination as image-generation models such as Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion, OpenAI’s Dall-E, and other tools like them, rapidly morph from fun, creative outlets for personal expression into the platforms on which the future economy will be built.
The world according to Stable Diffusion is run by White male CEOs. Women are rarely doctors, lawyers or judges. Men with dark skin commit crimes, while women with dark skin flip burgers.
Stable Diffusion generates images using artificial intelligence, in response to written prompts. Like many AI models, what it creates may seem plausible on its face but is actually a distortion of reality. An analysis of more than 5,000 images created with Stable Diffusion found that it takes racial and gender disparities to extremes — worse than those found in the real world.
This phenomenon is worth closer examination as image-generation models such as Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion, OpenAI’s Dall-E, and other tools like them, rapidly morph from fun, creative outlets for personal expression into the platforms on which the future economy will be built.
.webp)