A Day in Their Shoes: Using LLM-Based Perspective-Taking Interactive Fiction to Reduce Stigma Toward Dirty Work

TL;DR

This study introduces an LLM-powered interactive fiction framework that enhances perspective-taking and empathy towards stigmatized 'dirty work' occupations, aiming to reduce social stigma and promote occupational equity.

Contribution

It presents a novel LLM-based interactive fiction approach to foster empathy and understanding for stigmatized roles, demonstrating its effectiveness through empirical evaluation.

Findings

Increased understanding and empathy for 'dirty work' occupations.

High immersion and emotional resonance reported by participants.

Identified challenges include limited context and stereotype reinforcement.

Abstract

Occupations referred to as "dirty work" often face entrenched social stigma, which adversely affects the mental health of workers in these fields and impedes occupational equity. In this study, we propose a novel Interactive Fiction (IF) framework powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) to encourage perspective-taking and reduce biases against these stigmatized yet essential roles. Through an experiment with participants (n = 100) across four such occupations, we observed a significant increase in participants' understanding of these occupations, as well as a high level of empathy and a strong sense of connection to individuals in these roles. Additionally, qualitative interviews with participants (n = 15) revealed that the LLM-based perspective-taking IF enhanced immersion, deepened emotional resonance and empathy toward "dirty work," and allowed participants to experience a sense of professional fulfillment in these occupations. However, participants also highlighted ongoing challenges, such as limited contextual details generated by the LLM and the unintentional reinforcement of existing stereotypes. Overall, our findings underscore that an LLM-based perspective-taking IF framework offers a promising and scalable strategy for mitigating stigma and promoting social equity in marginalized professions.