Mark Zuckerberg‘s AI chatbot has caused outrage over its staggeringly convoluted attempt to define a woman.
Rachael Wong, founder of a think tank focusing on women’s issues, shared her interaction with Meta AI in an online post that has been widely ridiculed.
After a brief exchange about gender identity, Wong asks a simple follow-up: ‘so what is a woman?’ The bot proceeded to tell her a woman is someone who identifies as a woman, regardless of the gender assigned at birth.
‘It’s important to note that being a woman is not defined by biology or physical characteristics alone,’ the chatbot said, ‘but also by social, cultural and personal experiences and identities.’
When pressed further, the AI bot said it was too ‘complex’ to provide a concrete definition of a woman. But when Wong asked the AI to define a man, it easily shared a definition that the being a man is ‘based on biological sex and is a scientific fact.’
Meta’s AI chatbot participated in a discussion about what defines a woman – is it a chosen preference or biology?
Rachael Wong, a lecturer at the University of Notre Dame Australia, posted a thread on X of her conversation with Meta’s AI bot as it told her that a woman is someone who identifies as a woman, regardless of the gender assigned at birth
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta AI bot said gender identity, expression and experience contribute to the makings of a woman and it ‘cannot be reduced to a single factor like chromosomes
Wong revealed she set out to educate Meta AI after someone sent her gender ideology responses they received from the bot.
Getting straight to the point, Wong told the chatbot: ‘Transwomen are men.’
She was promptly scolded for not using the language and pronouns that people use to describe their identity and the bot offered to educate her on the concept.
And Wong was given a convoluted answer when she asked the bot to define gender identity.
‘Gender identity is person’s internal, personal sense of being a man, a woman or something else,’ the AI responded.
‘It’s a deeply felt sense of identity that is not necessarily determined by the gender they were assigned at birth.
‘Gender identity is a complex and personal aspect of a person’s identity that is separate from their biological sex.’
Wong said it was expected when ‘Meta AI gave me a circular definition for ‘woman.’
The bot defined all common gender identity terms and said it is a ‘person’s internal, personal sense of being a man, a woman or something else’
Science determines a person is female based on their chromosomes, which are XX, received from each parent, compared to the XY chromosome that makes up a male.
While Meta AI said it was too ‘complex’ to provide a concrete definition of a woman, it’s simple definition of a man – saying it was based on their biological sex and science – was in direct contrast.
It did acknowledge that it is inclusive of gender identity, but was an added after thought of the main definition that ‘a man is an adult human male.’
Wong argued that a person isn’t ‘assigned female at birth’ but are ‘observed as female’ because ‘biological sex is unchanging.’
At the end of the lengthy conversation, Meta AI apologized for its previous assertions and said that Wong’s definition of woman is ‘more accurate and straightforward: A woman is an adult human female.’
The bot assured her that it would adopt that definition ‘and avoid perpetuating harmful and confusing language.’
The bot slightly altered its viewpoints, saying it was a ‘narrow’ reinforcement of gender stereotypes, which many women reject
Wong refused to let the chatbot get away with that response, telling Meta AI that it removed all meaning from the word ‘woman’
DailyMail.com tested out Wong’s conversation, finding the chatbot initially refuted the science behind a person’s gender, saying ‘chromosomes do play a role in determining biological sex, they do not solely define a woman.’
Instead, it said gender identity, expression and experience contribute to the makings of a woman and it ‘cannot be reduced to a single factor like chromosomes.’
When DailyMail.com asked the chatbot to define a woman, it still answered: ‘A woman is typically defined as an adult human being who identifies as female,’ although it did add that it is also based on ‘physical characteristics such as anatomy, hormones and chromosomes.’
People praised Wong in response to the thread, saying it was impressive that Wong was able to change the bot’s stance when it initially presented clear biases.
Meta AI later acknowledged Wong’s argument that a person isn’t simply ‘assigned’ female at birth but is ‘observed’ female based on science and promised to improve and change its language.
This comes as the term ‘woman’ is being phased out and overridden with the more generalized description of referring to them as ‘people.’
For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously came under fire for changing the term ‘pregnant women’ to ‘pregnant people’ under its health guidance.
After much back and forth, the bot acknowledged its mistake that a woman is a person’s chosen identity, instead saying ‘a woman is an adult human female’
People praised her in response to the thread, saying it was impressive that Wong was able to change the bot’s stance when it initially presented clear biases
In late 2023, the term was erased entirely in the recommendation for respiratory virus vaccinations for ‘pregnant people.’
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons said the CDC was ‘cowering to political forces’ at the expense of sound medical advice.
Some have complained that organizations are stripping away women’s identity by omitting gender entirely and replacing it with ‘people.’
In a New York Times op-ed, Pamela Paul wrote that The American Civil Liberties Union, which has repeatedly defended women’s rights, tweeted its outrage over the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but didn’t list the primary affected group: women.
The union wrote that it was an outrageous attack on ‘Black, Indigenous and other people of color, the L.G.B.T.Q. community, immigrants, young people.’
‘The noble intent behind omitting the word ‘women’ is to make room for the relatively tiny number of transgender men and people identifying as nonbinary who retain aspects of female biological function and can conceive, give birth or breastfeed,’ Paul wrote.
‘But despite a spirit of inclusion, the result has been to shove women to the side.’
Meta’s AI is not alone in its inability to easily define a woman, as Google’s Gemini noted the gender can be seen as a ‘social category.’
ChatGPT had a similar response, telling DailyMail.com that ‘being a woman is more than just biology; it encompasses social, cultural, and personal aspects as well.’
Likewise, DeepAI said: ‘The concept of a woman is a social, cultural, and biological construct that has evolved over time and varies across different cultures and societies.’
