Great power brings great responsibility: Personalizing Conversational AI for Diverse Problem-Solvers
Newcomers onboarding to Open Source Software (OSS) projects face many challenges. Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, have emerged as potential resources for answering questions and providing guidance, with many developers now turning to ChatGPT over traditional Q&A sites like Stack Overflow. Nonetheless, LLMs may carry biases in presenting information, which can be especially impactful for newcomers whose problem-solving styles may not be broadly represented. This raises important questions about the inclusivity and accessibility of AI-driven support for newcomers to OSS projects. This vision paper outlines the potential of adapting AI responses to diverse problem-solving styles to avoid privileging a particular subgroup. We discuss the potential of AI persona-based prompt engineering as a strategy for interacting with AI. We propose using the GenderMag framework to create personas that include problem-solving styles that cluster by gender. This study invites further research to refine AI-based tools to support contributions to OSS projects, fostering a more inclusive and empowering environment for newcomers.