Are AI chatbots politically biased?

A new analysis by the Washington Post tested whether popular AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude presented balanced responses to controversial political matters. 

Many models showed clear political leanings, with ChatGPT most often presenting left-leaning arguments and Gemini offering both left and right leaning perspectives. 

University of Michigan School of Information associate professor Ceren Budak, and expert on how digital platforms shape political behavior, polarization and public discourse, said the decisions companies make while building AI tools can shape the values embedded in their systems. 

These decisions, she says, can introduce biases that extend beyond partisan politics. 

“It would be helpful for us to have some clarity on what are [companies’] current value systems so that when we are using them we know what we are using,” she says. 

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Read “Are ChatGPT and other AI chatbots politically biased? We tested them” in the Washington Post. 

See more research by Ceren Budak by visiting her UMSI faculty profile.