GLAAD's CEO says AI bias puts LGBTQ+ people at risk

AI has been trained on biased data that can reinforce harmful stereotypes and spread misinformation about LGBTQ+ people, said GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. AI is increasingly embedded across platforms, and companies must ensure it is trained responsibly because the harm can extend far beyond digital communications. "I think you'd have to be asleep at the wheel to not see the attacks that are happening against the LGBTQ community, mostly the trans and nonbinary community, but it's all happening together," said Ellis. "What that means, though, is that as these AI models are learning, they're learning with this information and rhetoric coming into them," she said. Ellis previewed an upcoming GLAAD report outlining recommendations to reduce bias in AI systems. She said errors in proprietary models such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude can spread across dependent systems. Therefore, those foundational models need to ensure their material is accurate.