The Cultural Gene of Large Language Models: A Study on the Impact of Cross-Corpus Training on Model Values and Biases

TL;DR

This study introduces the concept of 'cultural genes' in large language models, demonstrating how training data influences their cultural biases and values across cross-cultural dimensions like individualism and power distance.

Contribution

It proposes a systematic way to measure cultural biases in LLMs using a new dataset and introduces the Cultural Alignment Index to quantify cultural similarities with national profiles.

Findings

GPT-4 exhibits Western individualistic tendencies

ERNIE Bot shows Eastern collectivistic tendencies

Cultural biases are statistically significant and align with training corpora

Abstract

Large language models (LLMs) are deployed globally, yet their underlying cultural and ethical assumptions remain underexplored. We propose the notion of a "cultural gene" -- a systematic value orientation that LLMs inherit from their training corpora -- and introduce a Cultural Probe Dataset (CPD) of 200 prompts targeting two classic cross-cultural dimensions: Individualism-Collectivism (IDV) and Power Distance (PDI). Using standardized zero-shot prompts, we compare a Western-centric model (GPT-4) and an Eastern-centric model (ERNIE Bot). Human annotation shows significant and consistent divergence across both dimensions. GPT-4 exhibits individualistic and low-power-distance tendencies (IDV score approx 1.21; PDI score approx -1.05), while ERNIE Bot shows collectivistic and higher-power-distance tendencies (IDV approx -0.89; PDI approx 0.76); differences are statistically significant (p < 0.001). We further compute a Cultural Alignment Index (CAI) against Hofstede's national scores and find GPT-4 aligns more closely with the USA (e.g., IDV CAI approx 0.91; PDI CAI approx 0.88) whereas ERNIE Bot aligns more closely with China (IDV CAI approx 0.85; PDI CAI approx 0.81). Qualitative analyses of dilemma resolution and authority-related judgments illustrate how these orientations surface in reasoning. Our results support the view that LLMs function as statistical mirrors of their cultural corpora and motivate culturally aware evaluation and deployment to avoid algorithmic cultural hegemony.