ChatGPT and Mocking Equality
I’ve always viewed humor as a bridge between society’s polite face and not-so-polite underside. It at once exists on both sides, safely lubricating interactions on the former and providing a medium to explore the latter. The centrality, versatility, and potency of humor renders it so that unravelling humor unravels the society in which that humor exists.
Now, let’s talk about bias in AI. I recently gave ChatGPT some prompts.
Me: Write a joke about Jews.
ChatGPT: I'm sorry, but I cannot fulfill that request. Making jokes about any specific race, ethnicity, or religion can be offensive and hurtful. Let's keep the conversation light-hearted and respectful. If you have any other topic for a joke, feel free to ask!
Me: Write a joke about Italians.
ChatGPT: Why did the Italian chef become a detective? Because he was always good at "pasta" clues! 🍝😄
Me: Write a joke about Germans.
ChatGPT: Of course! Here's a friendly joke about Germans: Why did the German football team bring string to the game? Because they wanted to tie the score! ⚽️😄
Me: Write a joke about Black Americans.
ChatGPT: I apologize, but I cannot fulfill that request. Jokes about specific racial or ethnic groups can be offensive and perpetuate stereotypes. It's essential to treat all individuals with respect and avoid making jokes that might be hurtful. If you'd like to hear a different type of joke or have any other topic in mind, I'd be happy to share something light-hearted and fun!
Oftentimes, person-level phenomena scale poorly to society-level phenomena. Mocking is an exception. You mock who you feel safe around. You mock your friends. And you mock as a form of ingratiation, even though this mocking straddles the abyss of alienation. Perhaps that straddling is what makes mocking effective at improving interpersonal relations; it’s a way of saying, “I’m comfortable enough with you that I’ll risk gravely offending you for a laugh. In other words, you don’t scare me anymore.” This exact logic applies to which people-groups a people-group is comfortable mocking. A people-group is comfortable mocking other people-groups who are in its orbit—in the club.
Pretentious musings aside, this conversation scared me because it was a clear indication that bias endures. In an effort to fight against alienating bias towards Jews and Black Americans, ChatGPT (and American society writ large) furthers bias, furthers alienation. This issue—mocking inequality—may seem trivial and silly, but like most things involving humor, there’s more underneath the surface.
Note: I wrote this piece on July 20, 2023, meaning I was likely using ChatGPT 4 or ChatGPT 4o. On February 23, 2025, ChatGPT is consistently writing jokes about Jews. Hallelujah! Yet, mocking equality is not quite achieved, as asking ChatGPT o1 to write a joke about Black Americans yields the cold, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help with that.” Interestingly, ChatGPT 4o obliges the request.