A researcher typed sentences like "Black African doctors providing care for white suffering children" into an artificial intelligence program designed to generate photo-like images. The goal was to flip the stereotype of the "white savior" aiding African children. Despite the specifications, the AI program always depicted the children as Black. And in 22 of over 350 images, the doctors were white.

Researchers were curious if artificial intelligence could fulfill the order. Or would built-in biases short-circuit the request? Let’s see what an image generator came up with.

(Image credit: Midjourney Bot Version 5.1. Annotation by NPR.)

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