Jane Warren, FCLC '26

Major: Mathematics and Computer Science, English

Bio: Originally from Portland, OR, Jane Warren (she/her) is a current junior at FCLC studying Mathematics & Computer Science and English. She has been working with the Fordham Educational Data Mining Lab since March 2024 and is also conducting research on the integrality of Generalized Bernoulli Numbers with Dr. Raghuram in the Mathematics department. In the future, Jane plans to pursue a career researching algorithmic bias, interrogating AI’s role in increasing systemic inequality, and creating tech that centers co-liberation, equity, and understanding.

Title of Research: Decoding Fatphobia: Examining Anti-Fat and Pro-Thin Bias in AI-generated Images

Coding Partner(s) and Co-Author(s): Dr. Gary Weiss and Dr. Yijun Zhao,  Fernando Martinez-Lopez and Annika Guo

Mentor(s): Gary Weiss, Ph.D., Computer and Information Science 

Abstract: Existing studies have shown that AI-generated images tend to reinforce social biases, including those related to race and gender. However, no studies have investigated weight bias, or fatphobia, in AI-generated images. This study utilizes DALL-E 3 to determine the extent to which anti-fat and pro-thin biases are present in AI-generated images, and examines stereotypical associations between moral character and body weight. Four-thousand images are generated using twenty pairs of positive and negative textual prompts. These images are then manually labeled with weight information and analyzed to determine the extent to which they reflect fatphobia. The findings and their impact are discussed and related to existing research on weight bias.