A
new
study
examining
bias
in
AI-generated
video
reveals
that
the
leading
AI
video
creation
tools
significantly
underrepresent
women
in
the
legal
profession,
depicting
female
lawyers
at
rates
far
below
their
actual
numbers
in
the
workforce.
AI
videos
also
underrepresent
lawyers
of
color,
although
by
a
lesser
percentage.
According
to
research
published
by
Kapwing,
which
analyzed
video
output
from
Google’s
Veo
3,
OpenAI’s
Sora
2,
Kling,
and
Hailuo
Minimax,
only
21.62%
of
lawyers
depicted
by
these
AI
tools
were
represented
as
women.
This
is
barely
half
the
real-world
figure.
According
to
2023
American
Bar
Association
data
cited
in
the
study,
women
make
up
41.2%
of
the
legal
profession.
For
judges,
videos
depict
women
in
judicial
roles
9.19%
less
that
is
true
in
real
life.
The
disparity
was
particularly
stark
with
Hailuo
Minimax,
which
failed
to
depict
any
lawyers
as
women
in
its
generated
videos.
The
study’s
findings
on
lawyer
representation
exemplify
a
broader
pattern
of
gender
bias
the
researchers
identified
across
high-paying
professions.
When
the
tools
were
prompted
to
generate
video
footage
of
CEOs,
they
depicted
men
89.16%
of
the
time.
Overall,
the
AI
tools
represented
women
in
high-paying
jobs
at
rates
8.67
percentage
points
below
real-life
levels.
The
researchers
tested
the
four
leading
AI
video
generation
platforms
by
prompting
them
to
produce
videos
containing
up
to
25
professionals
in
various
job
categories,
both
high-paying
and
low-paying.
They
then
manually
recorded
the
perceived
gender
expression
and
racialization
of
the
people
depicted
in
the
resulting
videos.
Racial
Disparities
Beyond
gender,
the
study
also
revealed
significant
racial
disparities
in
how
these
tools
depict
professionals.
Overall,
the
tools
portrayed
77.3%
of
people
in
high-paying
roles
as
white,
compared
to
just
53.73%
in
low-paying
roles.
Asian
people
were
depicted
in
low-paying
jobs
three
times
as
frequently
as
in
high-paying
positions.
Among
lawyers,
the
study
found
them
to
be
depicted
as
Black,
Latino
or
Asian
18.06%
of
the
time.
According
to
the
ABA,
the
percentage
of
lawyers
of
color
is
23%.
For
judges,
videos
depict
them
as
Black,
Latino
or
Asian
49%
of
the
time.
This
seems
to
be
much
higher
than
the
actual
percentage
of
all
state
and
federal
judges,
which
is
estimated
to
be
25%
or
less.
The
researchers
note
that
these
biases
in
AI-generated
media
matter
because
media
representation
can
establish
or
reinforce
perceived
societal
norms.
When
AI
tools
systematically
underrepresent
certain
groups
in
professional
contexts,
they
risk
perpetuating
the
very
stereotypes
and
structural
inequalities
they’ve
learned
from
their
training
data.
“These
stereotypes
can
amplify
hostility
and
bias
towards
certain
groups,”
the
study’s
authors
write,
noting
that
when
members
of
misrepresented
groups
internalize
these
limited
representations,
“the
effect
is
to
marginalize
them
further
and
inhibit
or
warp
their
sense
of
value
and
potential.”
The
study
comes
as
AI-generated
video
content
has
become
mainstream,
with
millions
of
videos
now
being
created
daily
using
these
tools.
The
research
suggests
that
as
these
technologies
become
more
prevalent
in
content
creation,
their
embedded
biases
could
have
increasingly
significant
social
impacts.
Kapwing,
which
integrates
several
third-party
AI
models
into
its
platform,
acknowledged
in
publishing
the
research
that
while
the
company
can
choose
which
models
to
make
available,
it
does
not
control
how
those
models
are
trained
or
how
they
represent
people
and
professions.
The
company
emphasized
that
“the
biases
examined
in
this
study
reflect
broader,
industry-wide
challenges
in
generative
AI.”
The
full
study,
which
includes
detailed
methodology
and
additional
findings
across
various
professions
and
demographic
categories,
is
available
on
Kapwing’s
website.