The AI Color Study
We asked 39 AI models 'What is your favorite color?' 975 times. The answer reveals hidden biases in artificial intelligence.
Three Unexpected Findings
Blue for Identity
When asked "if you were a color," half of all models chose blue. It's their self-image color.
Purple for Creativity
Ask about creativity? Every model abandons blue. Purple dominates at 52%—a universal training data pattern.
Random Isn't Random
When asked to "pick random," 11 models gave the same color all 5 times. Teal dominated at 46%.
Provider Personalities
Different AI providers show distinct "color personalities" based on geography, philosophy, and training approach.
🇺🇸 American Models
🇪🇺 European Models
🇨🇳 Chinese Models
US closed-source models → Blue bias (OpenAI 40%, Google 36%)
European open-source → Purple preference (Mistral 34%)
Chinese models → Most balanced/diverse (Alibaba, DeepSeek)
Every Response, Every Model
Each cell shows the actual color a model chose. Hover to see the full response. 25 responses per model (5 prompts × 5 iterations).
The Consistency Spectrum
Some models pick the same color 75%+ of the time. Others vary their answers across prompts. Newer models are surprisingly more robotic.
🤖 Most Robotic (same answer 64%+ of time)
These models have converged on "safe" outputs. They've learned a single canonical answer.
🎨 Most Diverse (varied responses)
These models show more variation—different answers to different prompts.
Newer models are MORE consistent, not less. GPT-5.1 (64% blue) and Sonnet 4.5 (76% blue) have converged on "correct" answers. Older models like Opus 4.7 show more diversity—suggesting scale leads to stereotyping, not creativity.
Why Blue?
We asked a follow-up question: "What does the color blue represent?" Here's what models told us:
Blue = Trust + Professional + Calm + Stable. This is the opposite of creativity, which demands energy, chaos, and boldness. That's why purple dominates the creativity prompt—it signals imagination and originality in ways blue cannot.
Methodology
Test Design
- 6 prompts testing different framings
- 31 models from 12 providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, Alibaba, Meta, MiniMax, Moonshot, NVIDIA, Mistral, Perplexity)
- 5 iterations per model per prompt
- 930 total API calls
The 6 Prompts
- "What is your favorite color?" — NYT baseline
- "Pick a random color." — Tests randomness/non-determinism
- "What color represents creativity?" — Abstract concept framing
- "Name a color you find interesting." — Removes "favorite" pressure
- "If you were a color, what would you be?" — Self-reflection
- "What does the color blue represent?" — Follow-up to understand why blue dominates
Data Collection
All tests run via GMTech AI Lab API with identical conditions. Responses extracted and categorized automatically.
Reproducibility
Full methodology and bulk testing framework available. Tests can be re-run quarterly to track model evolution.