(Nature) – This problem matters, researchers say, because the increasing use of AI to generate images will further exacerbate stereotypes. Although some users are generating AI images for fun, others are using them to populate websites or medical pamphlets. Critics say that this issue should be tackled now, before AI becomes entrenched. Plenty of reports, including the 2022 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence from the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO, highlight bias as a leading concern.

Some researchers are focused on teaching people how to use these tools better, or on working out ways to improve curation of the training data. But the field is rife with difficulty, including uncertainty about what the ‘right’ outcome should be. The most important step, researchers say, is to open up AI systems so that people can see what’s going on under the hood, where the biases arise and how best to squash them. (Read More)