Study Probes 20 Million GPT-4o-mini Prompts, Ranking Kentucky Among 'Stupidest' States
Updated
Updated · HuffPost · May 30
Study Probes 20 Million GPT-4o-mini Prompts, Ranking Kentucky Among 'Stupidest' States
3 articles · Updated · HuffPost · May 30
Oxford and Kentucky researchers used more than 20 million forced-choice prompts to make GPT-4o-mini rank places by traits, surfacing stereotypes it would often avoid in direct questions.
Massachusetts emerged as the “smartest” state, while Kentucky, West Virginia and Mississippi ranked as having the “stupidest” people; Louisiana was “smelliest,” Ohio “ugliest,” and North Dakota least sexy.
The researchers said the pattern favored whiter, richer, less-immigrant places and extended beyond the U.S., with Western countries rated more desirable than sub-Saharan African ones.
OpenAI said the study relied on an outdated model and forced-choice prompts that do not reflect typical current ChatGPT use, while acknowledging it is still improving subjective comparisons.
The authors warned such geographic bias can shape real-world decisions like recruiting or job searches even if newer models hide the stereotypes more effectively.
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