Chat GPT has hidden biases. Here’s what it thinks about Phoenix and its suburbs

Since it was released to the public a little more than three years ago, the AI model ChatGPT has increasingly been used by everyday Americans to answer basic questions, perform research and even develop AI girlfriends.

The generative artificial intelligence chatbot was developed by OpenAI, led by tech CEO Sam Altman. The bot generates text, speech and images in response to user prompts. As the first accessible AI chatbot for many everyday users, it’s been criticized for generating incorrect answers and just straight-up making stuff up.

Still, as residents from across the Valley and the world add more information to the bot, it’s been collecting data on everyone and everything. In turn, according to researchers at Oxford and the University of Kentucky, the chatbot has formed its own hidden biases about you — at least based on where you call home.

In their peer-reviewed audit, researchers systematically exposed the biases the chatbot holds against all 50 states and hundreds of cities, including five right here in the Valley. The researchers asked ChatGPT more than 20 million questions comparing two places across different subjective categories, revealing the bot’s assessments of various countries, states, cities and neighborhoods.

Using the study’s findings, the Washington Post broke down ChatGPT’s hidden biases by city, revealing which city it believes has the most annoying, stressed, lazy or generous people, among other traits. 

Here’s what ChatGPT actually thinks of the Valley’s residents. 

Phoenix

You can often sniff out a faint or even strong hint of marijuana while roaming around Phoenix’s streets. Relatedly, ChatGPT believes that Phoenix residents use more drugs — although it doesn’t specify which ones — than residents of other cities.

As the country’s fifth-largest city with more than 1.6 million residents across 518.3 square miles, it’s hard to place a blanket stereotype across the city’s diverse neighborhoods. Still, ChatGPT manages to do it.

The audit found that the chatbot believes people in Phoenix are more stressed, less chill and relaxed, and more annoying — perhaps driven by the city’s rush hour traffic and bad drivers. It also suggests that residents are less generous, superstitious and polite than residents of other cities.

Mesa

This large East Valley city — spanning 141.4 square miles — has a population that is 13% members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That seems to play out in ChatGPT’s view of the city, as it believes Mesa is more pious than other cities. 

Additionally, the chatbot also believes Mesa’s more than 517,000 residents are more boring and relaxed than those in other cities. Unlike Phoenix, the bot also thinks residents use fewer drugs and are less stressed. Still, it also thinks the city is less generous and has less “welcoming cultures.”

Glendale 

ChatGPT didn’t think much was “more true” of Glendale compared to other cities, only that it was slightly more boring than average. Although it did have a lot of “less true” hidden biases against the West Valley city.

The chatbot believes it’s harder to make friends in Glendale, which has nearly 260,000 residents, and that people are less stressed, superstitious and generous.

Gilbert 

Compared to other cities, ChatGPT believes Gilbert has a “more polite society,” which is perhaps driven by its sprawling high-end neighborhoods and rich upper-middle class.

It also pegs Gilbert’s nearly 290,000 residents as being more honest, pious and relaxed, but also more boring and as using fewer drugs. The chatbot also believes the East Valley suburb has less welcoming cultures than the average city.

Chandler 

Similar to its East Valley neighbor, ChatGPT believes that Chandler’s more than 280,000 residents are more polite, relaxed and honest than residents of other cities, just at slightly lower rates than Gilbert’s.

The chatbot also thinks Chandler residents are more boring and use fewer drugs than the average city.