AppleB次元官网网址檚 Siri can prattle off the height of celebrities at the drop of a hat. AmazonB次元官网网址檚 Alexa can order a fresh batch of toilet paper to your door. GoogleB次元官网网址檚 Assistant can help tune your guitar, while MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 Cortana does impressions on request.
Just say the word, and these digital assistants will respond to your queries with synthetic pep and nary a hint of complaint. But ask any of the devices about their gender and they seem to demur.
Pose the question to Siri, Cortana or Assistant, and each will insist they transcend such human constructs. Alexa replies, B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 female in character.B次元官网网址�
But all of these artificially intelligent aides will answer in a womanB次元官网网址檚 voice, at least according to their default settings for Canadian users.
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Critics argue this chorus of fembots reinforces stereotypes about women being servile, while members of the tech industry insist theyB次元官网网址檙e simply catering to consumers.
Jodie Wallis, managing director of consulting firm AccentureB次元官网网址檚 Canadian AI department, says thereB次元官网网址檚 truth to both sides of the debate B次元官网网址� sexist attitudes may be at play, but developers shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be held responsible for societyB次元官网网址檚 views.
B次元官网网址淚t absolutely reinforces stereotypes, but itB次元官网网址檚 reinforcing those stereotypes based on research done on what we respond well to,B次元官网网址� said Wallis.
A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company thought B次元官网网址渓ong and hardB次元官网网址� about gender and did extensive research about voice in crafting CortanaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址減ersonality.B次元官网网址�
Microsoft concluded there were B次元官网网址渂enefits and trade-offs to either gender-oriented position,B次元官网网址� but found there is a B次元官网网址渃ertain warmthB次元官网网址� to the female voice thatB次元官网网址檚 associated with helpfulness B次元官网网址� a quality the company wanted in its product, according the spokeswoman.
Representatives for Amazon and Google did not respond to email inquiries about how gender factored into product development, while an Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
Researchers at Indiana University found both men and women said they preferred female computerized voices, which they rated as B次元官网网址渨armerB次元官网网址� than male machine-generated speech, according to a 2011 study.
But late co-author Clifford Nass suggested in the 2005 book B次元官网网址淲ired for SpeechB次元官网网址� that these gender-based preferences can change depending on a machineB次元官网网址檚 function. Male voice interfaces are more likely to command authority, he wrote, while their female counterparts tend to be perceived as more sensitive.
While Alexa and Cortana only offer female voices, male options were added to Assistant and Siri after their initial rollouts. For some languages and dialects, SiriB次元官网网址檚 voice defaults to male, including Arabic, British English and French.
Ramona Pringle, a Ryerson University professor who studies the relationship between humans and technology, acknowledged these developments seem promising, but said if companies are passing the buck onto their customers, then they should be able to select the voice during setup.
B次元官网网址淭he tech industry often does put the onus back on users, whereas itB次元官网网址檚 not up to an individual user to bring about this kind of change,B次元官网网址� said Pringle. B次元官网网址淭he way that we perpetuate any stereotype is by saying, B次元官网网址楾hatB次元官网网址檚 what people expect.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Pringle said thereB次元官网网址檚 a B次元官网网址渃lear power dynamicB次元官网网址� between users and digital assistants, with the female-voiced devices being placed in a subservient role, perpetuating stereotypes that women should be B次元官网网址渄ocile and doing our bidding at our beck and call.B次元官网网址�
This form of digital sexism that may seem innocuous, but could become more insidious as AI develops, Pringle warned.
If weB次元官网网址檙e conditioned to hurl commands or even verbal abuse at female-coded devices, then as robots become more human-like, the risk is women will be dehumanized, she said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 almost a step backwards, because it changes the way we engage,B次元官网网址� said Pringle.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very concerning, because thereB次元官网网址檚 no reason B次元官网网址� for (these devices) being gendered the way that they are.B次元官网网址�
Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press
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