ChatGPT and Political Correctness
Personal Perspective: AI might quell fears of offending, but compromises connection.
Posted May 27, 2026 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D.
In graduate school, I took a class that involved team-building activities. We were asked to name an animal that another student reminded us of. I told a female classmate that she reminded me of a fox. In the context of this playful exercise and our collegial relationship, I thought it would convey her cleverness and confidence .
Instead of being flattered, though, she scowled and shared that in her (South American) culture, calling a woman a fox is derogatory. I apologized, and she indicated that she hadn’t taken it personally.
Now, I teach courses about sensitive topics, like gender and racial discrimination , and how biases in the medical system can lead to poorer care for marginalized individuals, including people of color and sexual and gender minorities. I love the opportunity to share knowledge about diverse identities and how they affect health and well-being.
Choosing appropriate, politically correct (PC) language when describing diverse identities is important in this work, and, of course, what is considered PC changes over time and depends on the social, cultural, and political context.
This means that I’m often editing and revising my language. But in our deeply polarized nation, being PC can feel like a no-win situation – i.e., either you are “woke” or MAGA.
As a result, what I’ve found more challenging than correcting or updating terms is constructively responding to my anxiety about offending others without letting it get the best of me.
I’ve noticed that when clients strive too hard to avoid offending people, they end up inadvertently pushing others away, whether in personal or professional relationships.
They might, for instance, avoid having important conversations out of fear of saying the “wrong thing.” In this way, fear of offending can hurt relationships because it creates an obstacle to approaching differences in a collaborative manner.
I tell students that I welcome all points of view if they are presented in a respectful way. Still, occasionally, someone will say they’re afraid to share their true opinions when discussing controversial issues, such as those surrounding biological sex and gender identity .
Unfortunately, we live in a world where people are vilified simply for having a different point of view, which robs them of the opportunity to explain where they are coming from in their beliefs.
Self-censorship, though, increases isolation and anxiety , particularly in the age of public shaming on social media platforms. Fear can push people to interact only with those who share the same beliefs, which doesn’t increase understanding of different perspectives or make for a more harmonious world.
Recently, I used Artificial Intelligence (AI, in this case ChatGPT) to check the PC-ness of an assignment I created for one of my classes. It included a vignette I made up about a fictional patient with Autism , and I asked ChatGPT if it came off as typecast.
My moral compass had led me to avoid using AI, both because of its carbon footprint and its potential for inaccuracy. But in this case, I found AI hard to resist, knowing that it wouldn’t judge me if I accidentally used insensitive language. Machines, after all, can’t get offended!
According to ChatGPT, the vignette wasn’t “inherently typecast.” However, my description of the patient’s behavior, such as pacing and knocking things over, risked reinforcing the stereotype that people with Autism are disruptive or even dangerous.
These details, though, were important for understanding which interventions to use, so AI's suggestion was misleading.
Mónica Guzmán (2022), author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, recommends the following for creating a bridging conversation, or one that gets us closer to understanding a different perspective: acquire knowledge, ask questions to fill gaps in knowledge, and repeat these two steps.
I could see these suggestions being helpful in response to feedback I received from a student about using the term Latinx, which academics use as a gender-neutral alternative to Latino/a. I followed their suggestion to use Latine instead.
I also dug into research on preferences for these terms, and a 2024 Pew Research study revealed a bigger picture. While nearly half (47%) of U.S. adults with ancestry from Latin America or Spain are familiar with the term “Latinx,” 75% of these individuals believe it shouldn’t be used. This is consistent with the student feedback above. The jury is still out on the acceptability of “Latine,” but at present, only 3% of surveyed individuals use the term.
The best approach, then, is to be knowledgeable of these trends, explain the history and nuances of terms, and encourage others to share what they think to stimulate discussion.
Here are some suggestions (not AI-generated!) for coping with the fear of offending so that we can have productive conversations:
Real human connection, with the joys and discomforts it brings, is not only superior to the illusion of connection generated by computer algorithms. It is also critical for making the world a more equitable place.
Adeyemi, V. (2025). The psychological impact of cancel culture: Anxiety, social isolation, and self-censorship. Premier Journal of Psychology , 2 , 100005.
Guzmán, M. (2022). I never thought of it that way: how to have fearlessly curious conversations in dangerously divided times. BenBella Books, Inc.
Noe-Bustamante, L, Martinez, G., & Lopez, M.H. (2024, September 12). Latinx awareness has doubled among U.S. Hispanics since 2019, but only 4% use it. Pew Research Center .
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Jennifer Keluskar, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and an Assistant Teaching Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Pennsylvania State University.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.