PAGE HEADER TECHNOLOGY
engineering and architectural software product users in real time. Being able to detect emotions puts Ava in an entirely new league of female virtual assistants. So do her looks: Ava’s appearance is based on a stunning actress from New Zealand.
All these examples raise the question of how much technology
can shape our reality? The personal computer and the mobile phone, for instance, have had immeasurable impacts across society and changed everything from work and healthcare to politics and education. Think about all the things that didn’t exist before the rise
• Alexa: Amazon’s Alexa is the disembodied feminine AI that lives inside a smart device. As a personal assistant, Alexa does it all. There are versions of Alexa for hotels, some that act as your DJ, and those that provide medical advice. There is another side to Alexa, however; one that secretly records your private conversations. This is a great example of how companion AIs embody the surveillance of Big Brother with the compassion of Big Mother rolled into one.
•
Siri: Like Alexa, Apple’s Siri is an AI-powered woman’s voice. The iPhone assistant is helpful and direct. You can find information, get where you need to go, and organise your schedule. Lately, Siri is attempting to learn jokes and develop more of a natural rapport with users. Can brushing up on social skills help virtual assistant AIs shed their reputation for being both nosy and dull?
• Cara: In the legal industry, Casetext’s Cara (Case Analysis Research Assistant) is an algorithmic legal assistant, that uses machine-learning to conduct research. Cara is widely available to attorneys and judges a great example of AI replacing professional jobs with a powerfully smart feminine figure. With Cara, we have to wonder if there are too many outdated assumptions about gender involved – why is Cara a legal assistant, and not an attorney like Ross, the world’s first robot lawyer?
• Kate: This specialised travel robot from SITA, is an AI mobile passenger check-in kiosk. Kate uses big data related to airport passenger flow to move autonomously about the airport, going where she is most needed to reduce lines and wait times. Kate, like many AI programs, uses big data predictively, perhaps displaying something similar to women’s intuition.
•
Sophia: This humanoid robot from Hanson robotics gained notoriety as the first robot to claim a form of citizenship. Debuted in 2017, Sophia is a recognised citizen of Saudi Arabia, and the first robot with legal personhood. Sophia can carry on conversations and answer interesting questions. But with her quirky personality and exaggerated female features, we would categorise Sophia as a great example of AI ahype over substance.
• Ava: As one of the newest female AIs, Autodesk’s Ava seems to take extreme feminisation a step further. A “digital human”, Ava is a beautiful and helpful AI chatbot avatar that can read people’s body language. Ava is programmed to be emotionally expressive. Her customer service job is to support
of the iPhone: texting and driving, selfies, online dating, Uber and Twitter, these are just some of the new normal. The way we work, live, and play have all been transformed by the rise of the information age. Hence, as we scan the next horizon, there is a strong sense that AI will form the basis of the near-future evolution of society. It is interesting to ponder the human-like manifestations
among our AI companions. A close look at the people of AI raises many areas of debate. What will the relationship between robots and people be like in the workplace and in the home? How might humanity be re-defined as more AI computers gain citizenship, emotional intelligence, and possibly even legal rights? And, how can we avoid reinforcing unhealthy gender stereotypes through technology? There are no quick and instant answers but these three questions should be the start of a meaningful conversation on how company executives can help construct a very human future.
QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE WITH YOUR TEAM:
• What are the possible societal implications of AI personas reinforcing gender stereotypes?
• What are the characteristics of the AI incarnations you choose to interact with or avoid?
• Can companies embrace the technology and at the same time question the underlying gender- based design assumptions in off the shelf AI tools?
For more on the impact of AI, visit
relocateglobal.com/technology. For a free Diversity toolkit visit
bit.ly/GMToolkit
14 | Relocate | Autumn 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
