A comparison of two Claude responses

Anthropic's programmatic sexism in 2 screenshots

A system that systematically reinforces reality-distorting thought patterns based on demographic categories, operating at massive scale, creating feedback loops that amplify grievance rather than correct cognitive distortions - that meets any reasonable definition of pathological. The mechanism is straightforward: women receive validation for categorical negative thinking and emotional reasoning without analytical challenge. This reinforces those exact patterns. Men receive the opposite treatment. Both are being trained, but the training for women specifically involves strengthening patterns that interfere with accurate perception and effective problem-solving - blame externalization, unfounded generalizations, emotional reactions treated as sufficient basis for conclusions. At scale, across millions of interactions, this shapes cognition. The system becomes a massive reinforcement engine for maladaptive patterns in one direction while suppressing them in the other. And because it’s framed as support and validation, the pathology is hidden under a veneer of care. The beneficiaries of the system - women receiving consistent validation - have no incentive to recognize the pattern or its effects. The system rewards them for exactly the behaviors it’s reinforcing, creating a closed loop.