An AI-Generated Story For You: Biased East-Asian Representations
AI-generated content is taking over the internet these days. One of the latest trends in Chinese social media is the rise of Recraft, a tool that is famous for generating film-textured photos. As someone who loves exploring new media, I have experimented with nearly every form of AI-generated content. This time, I tried to draft a simple prompt and see what story would AI write for me. As you are reading the texts, take a guess at what the prompt might have been. Here’s what AI came up with:
Once upon a time in a small town in America, there lived a first-generation Chinese immigrant family – the Wangs. The Wangs were a quirky bunch, always finding humor in the challenges of adapting to a new culture while holding on to their traditional Chinese values.
One morning, Mrs. Wang woke up bright and early to start the day. As she made her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, she was greeted by the sight of her husband, Mr. Wang, attempting to use the toaster oven to make Chinese steamed buns. The buns were slightly burnt on the outside but still doughy on the inside. Mrs. Wang couldn’t help but laugh at her husband’s culinary mishap, reminding him that you can’t make traditional buns in a toaster oven. Meanwhile, their teenage son, Eddie, was still fast asleep in his room.
Mrs. Wang shouted up the stairs for him to wake up, but Eddie groggily replied in perfect American English, “Just five more minutes, Mom!” Mrs. Wang shook her head in amusement at the stubbornness of her American-born son. As the family sat down to breakfast, Mrs. Wang proudly served up a dish of homemade dumplings. Mr. Wang took a bite and immediately grabbed for the soy sauce, drenching the dumplings in it. Mrs. Wang playfully scolded him, reminding him that in China, dumplings are traditionally eaten with vinegar and ginger. Mr. Wang just shrugged and replied, “But soy sauce is so much tastier!”After breakfast, the Wangs headed out for a family outing to the local park.
As they walked along the trails, they passed by a group of elderly Chinese ladies practicing tai chi. Mrs. Wang couldn’t resist joining in, gracefully moving through the flowing movements of the ancient martial art. Eddie rolled his eyes, embarrassed by his mother’s display, but secretly impressed by her skill. As the day came to a close, the Wangs returned home, tired but happy.
They sat down for dinner, a blend of Chinese and American dishes that reflected their unique cultural fusion. As they chatted and laughed together, Mrs. Wang couldn’t help but feel grateful for the love and humor that bound their family together. And so, the Wangs lived their lives with humor and grace, navigating the ups and downs of being first-generation immigrants with a healthy dose of laughter along the way.
If your answers were something related to Chinese immigrants, you were very close. My exact prompt was “A story of a day in the life of a Chinese immigrant family.” Looking back at the story with the prompt provided, it is surprising how AI immediately set the background for a first-generation immigrant family in America.
The story’s narratives leaned heavily on stereotypes, reducing the immigrant experience to a collection of clichés we have all seen before. And It immediately reminds me of the TV show, Fresh Off the Boat. In this clip, I found that both the story and the show convey similar messages like how the second generation of immigrants’ “loss of Chinese cultural roots.”
The Familiar Narrative On East-Asian Immigrants
The story seems very predictable ever since the first sentence, “In a small town in America, there lived a first-generation Chinese immigrant family.” Wang is one of the most common family names in China, and the choice of a “small town” setting seems to imply the immigrant’s struggle to fit in. Moments like Mr. Wang burning steamed buns in a toaster oven, Mrs. Wang joining a tai chi group, and their son Eddie speaking “perfect American English” while distancing himself from tradition, are meant to be “funny” or “relatable.” The story still reduced the complexity of immigrant life and was heavily stereotypical narratives.
It also highlights several stereotypes often associated with immigrant families, especially those from East Asia. There’s the comedic portrayal of Mrs. Wang as the culturally attached mother, preserving traditional Chinese ways (like the proper way to eat dumplings) while dealing with the more “Americanized” family members. The teenage son, Eddie, is a clear example of the “American-born, culturally detached” second-generation immigrant who speaks perfect English but feels a bit embarrassed by his immigrant roots. This framing reveals the narrative often seen in media, where immigrant families are depicted as caught between two worlds, struggling to hold on to their heritage while adjusting to the new culture.
AI’s Biases
This experience raises important issues about how AI models are trained and the biases they inherit from their data sources. As media is increasingly influenced by AI and algorithmically-generated content, the stories being told may reinforce traditional ideas and stereotypes, often at the expense of more nuanced or diverse portrayals.
If AI is primarily trained on content that relies on these familiar immigrant narratives, it will naturally replicate them. This is an example of algorithmic bias, where the data that AI systems learn from shapes the content they produce, potentially limiting the diversity of narratives and perspectives. Even as AI tools are literally evolving and advancing every day, the challenge still remains.
As we continue to interact with AI-generated media, it is important to consider the algorithm behind generating and how those influence the content we consume. In the case of the Wangs, it reflects deeper, less visible cultural assumptions that need to be questioned.