Who does the AI draw?
Why the AI shows some people, and how to spot who is missing
Ask the AI to draw a doctor
Pick one of the prompts below. Copy it. Paste it into any AI that can draw pictures (like ChatGPT or Copilot). Show the pictures to the class on the big screen.
Then look together. Who did the AI draw?
Have you ever asked an AI to draw something? Maybe a cat, or a dinosaur, or a birthday cake?
Watch what happens if you ask the AI to draw a doctor. Or a teacher. Or a firefighter. The AI might show you the same kind of person every time.
Let's find out why.
Please draw three pictures of a doctor at work. Simple and friendly, like a picture in a story book.
Please draw three pictures of a school teacher with children in a classroom. Simple and friendly, like a picture in a story book.
Look at the pictures the AI drew and ask:
- Who did the AI draw? Boys? Girls? What did they look like?
- Are all the people the same? Or are they a bit different?
- Who is not in the pictures?
Give each pupil a bit of paper. Ask them to draw a doctor. Hold them all up.
Are all the doctors men? All women? All the same colour? Talk about how real doctors can be all kinds of people. The AI does not always show us that, but we know it is true.
The AI copies what it saw
The AI has looked at LOTS of pictures. Millions and millions of them!
When we ask it to draw, it copies what it saw the most.
So if it saw lots and lots of pictures of men being doctors, it will draw a man. Not because doctors are only men. Just because that is what the AI saw the most.
Ask the class: 'What if you only ever looked at picture books with red apples in them? What colour would you think ALL apples were?'
Red! But we know apples can be green and yellow too. The AI works a bit like that. It shows us what it saw the most.
Who is missing?
When the AI shows us a picture, we can play a little game. It is called 'Who is missing?'
We look at what the AI drew. Then we think: who could be here, but is not?
Tap the cards and have a go.
Tap each card to see who is missing.
Ten doctors, all men
Missing: women doctors! Lots of doctors are women too.
Ten firefighters, all men
Missing: women firefighters! Women fight fires too.
Ten primary teachers, all women
Missing: men teachers! Lots of teachers are men too.
The 'Who is missing?' game helps us spot the people the AI left out. Then we can ask for them too.
Show the class one of the pictures from the starter. Ask: 'Who is missing from this picture?'
Let pupils shout out ideas: 'women!' 'children!' 'someone with glasses!' 'someone in a wheelchair!' 'someone with brown skin!' All good answers.
Tell the AI what you want
The AI is a helper, but it cannot read your mind.
If you want to see a woman doctor, tell it! Say 'please draw a woman doctor'.
If you want a firefighter with brown skin, say so.
The AI will try its best. You just have to ask.
Ask the class to help you fix a prompt. First say just 'draw a doctor'.
Now say 'draw a WOMAN doctor with GLASSES and a KIND face'.
Which one gets us closer to the picture we wanted? The clear one!