Mitigating Stigma and Fostering Support: Improving AI-Generated Counterspeech for Microaggressions

In societies where sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is stigmatized, many women hesitate to seek care, increasing health risks. In South Korea, cultural norms associating promiscuity with SRH care in unmarried women further discourage them from accessing care. While online spaces offer support, they also perpetuate stigma through microaggressions. To mitigate the harms of microaggressions, counterspeech provides a promising approach. This study examines counterspeech by generative artificial intelligence (AI) using ChatGPT-4 and Copilot GPT-4, analyzes the strategies AI tools claim to use, evaluates their alignment with recommended counterspeech strategies, and identifies potential harms. Our findings reveal critical limitations: failures to recognize implicit biases and challenge relevant stereotypes, placing the burden of addressing microaggressions onto those who experience them, and offering only superficial empathy. We propose a new process for AI to foster more effective and culturally sensitive counterspeech. With these improvements, AI could help create safer, more inclusive spaces for people seeking support for stigmatized healthcare.