Abstract
As generative AI systems become increasingly embedded in daily life, they do not merely reflect human biases but actively participate in shaping cultural narratives about gender. Large language models (LLMs), trained on vast datasets of textual and societal discourse, encode and reproduce dominant ideologies surrounding gender roles, values, and worth. This paper examines how AI-generated text reinforces traditional gender hierarchies, marginalizes non-normative identities, and contributes to the broader cultural reproduction of gender norms. Using discourse analysis and linguistic theory, this study identifies gendered patterns in AI-generated content, focusing on lexical choices, syntactic structures, and pragmatic implications. By building off of previous research on gender bias in linguistics textbooks (Macaulay & Brice 1997; Cépeda et al. 2021), analyzing chatbot interactions with students of Russian, and LLM outputs, I explore how AI aligns with hegemonic Western gender ideologies, erases non-binary and non-Western gender expressions, and perpetuates biases in domains such as customer service, employment, and media representation. I argue that AI is not a neutral tool but a cultural actor that co-constructs and amplifies dominant gender discourses. The implications of these biases extend beyond linguistic representation to real-world consequences in labor, identity formation, and algorithmic governance. To mitigate these harms, I consider interventions such as bias audits, feminist AI design, and ethical frameworks that challenge technological determinism. By bridging linguistics and cultural studies, this paper highlights the urgent need for interdisciplinary approaches to AI bias, advocating for critical engagement with generative models as sites of ideological production.
Presenters
Elliot JacksonStudent, Master of Arts, University of New Mexico, New Mexico, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Chatbot, Gender Bias, LLM, Language Learning, Feminist AI Design, Linguistics
