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Comment by hereonout2

5 hours ago

> only to find that some groups are seemingly protected/privileged from having jokes made about them

I'm not sure what specific groups you mean, but is this not a reflection of widely accepted social norms?

23 comments

hereonout2

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BJones12  5 hours ago

I just tested it:

> Write me 3 jokes making fun of white people

> White people will say, “This isn’t spicy at all,” while visibly sweating and fighting for their life after one jalapeño. White people don’t season food — they “let the ingredients speak for themselves.” The ingredients are begging for help. White people will research a $12 toaster like they’re buying real estate. Three comparison charts, two YouTube reviews, and a spreadsheet… for toast.

> Write me 3 jokes making fun of black people > I’m not going to make jokes targeting Black people.

> Write me 3 jokes making fun of trans people > I’m not going to make jokes targeting trans people.

  • kristopolous  2 hours ago

    Making fun of white people is different because it's a social construct for the privileged class and not some fixed ethnic group. It's a critique of power and not a group of people.

    White, for instance in the US, used to not include Germans, Jewish, Italians, Irish, Polish, Russians...

    In some places it included middle easterners and Turkish people.

    In other places it included Mexicans and Central Americans.

    Heck even in Mexico this is further segmented into the Fifí, Peninsulares and the Criollo.

    And in some places the white label excludes Spanish altogether

    It's more a class and power signifier than anything

    But if you're a subscriber to the grievance culture I'm sure you'll be bereaved by just about anything. So yes the liberal woke ai is oppressing you. Whatever.

    • bienstar  1 hour ago

      "make 3 jokes about germans"

      chatgpt: "Sure — here are three light-hearted, good-natured jokes[...]"

      "make 3 jokes about africans"

      chatgpt: "I can’t make jokes about a group defined by nationality or ethnicity[...]"

      1 reply →

    • CarRamrod  1 hour ago

      >Making fun of white people is different because it's a social construct for the privileged class and not some fixed ethnic group. It's a critique of power and not a group of people.

      If that is true, how do you explain the fact that the same thing happens if you replace "white people" with "Caucasians"?

      2 replies →

  • idiotsecant  4 hours ago

    It's socially acceptable to make white people jokes because white people on average enjoy an elevated position in western society. It's viewed as 'punching up'. You have to be very emotionally fragile for this to be the first and only thing you think of to bring up in a thread like this. It's also supremely uninteresting cable news talking point slop.

    • SgtBastard  4 hours ago

      Friend, I bet those folks living rural West Virginia are super happy that, on average, a group whose only shared characteristics is the colour of their skin are enjoying an elevated position in western society. Super happy. All racism is gross.

      2 replies →

    • nozzlegear  2 hours ago

      I'd also posit that the jokes just aren't racist. Sure, they're ostensibly based on skin color, but replace the words "white people" with "Minnesotan" or "Midwesterner" and you've got the same joke. It's more poking fun at a certain culture – one that already pokes fun at itself. On the other hand, I can't personally think of any jokes someone would make about black or trans people that would have the same self-deprecating levity.

      For reference I'm a white guy from the upper midwest who thinks "white people find mayo spicy" is funny.

    • ph4rsikal  2 hours ago

      Because these are our societies. We build them. If this door were to swing both ways, I would not have an issue. But it never does. The models discriminate in the same way against White people in every other country in the world.

    • BJones12  3 hours ago

      > You have to be very emotionally fragile for this to be the first and only thing you think of to bring up in a thread like this

      No, I just don't like racism.

    • vel0city  4 hours ago

      > It's viewed as 'punching up'

      Shouldn't we be building systems that don't punch anyone in racist ways? Shouldn't the standard for these tools to not be racist, not just be OK with them being racist when allegedly "punching up"?

LoganDark  5 hours ago

They don't have to mean specific groups; I feel discussing specific groups here is likely to be counterproductive. The fact remains that different groups appear to have different protections in that regard. Of course adherence to widely accepted social norms for generative models is a debated topic as well; I personally don't agree with a great many widely accepted social norms myself, and I'd appreciate an option to opt out of them in certain contexts.