<s>
Female	B-Application
gendering	I-Application
of	I-Application
AI	I-Application
technologies	I-Application
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	B-Application
)	O
technologies	O
gendered	O
as	O
female	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
digital	O
voice	O
or	O
written	O
assistants	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
gender-specific	O
aspects	O
of	O
AI	B-Application
technologies	O
,	O
created	O
both	O
by	O
humans	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
by	O
algorithms	O
,	O
were	O
discussed	O
in	O
a	O
2019	O
policy	O
paper	O
and	O
two	O
complements	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
"	O
I	O
'd	O
blush	O
if	O
I	O
could	O
:	O
Closing	O
gender	O
divides	O
in	O
digital	O
skills	O
through	O
education	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whether	O
typed	O
or	O
spoken	O
,	O
digital	O
assistants	B-Protocol
enable	O
and	O
sustain	O
human-like	O
interactions	O
with	O
technology	O
by	O
simulating	O
conversations	O
with	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AI-powered	O
digital	O
assistants	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
devices	O
and	O
can	O
perform	O
an	O
assortment	O
of	O
tasks	O
,	O
typically	O
through	O
voice	O
activation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
Nokia	O
2	O
range	O
has	O
a	O
dedicated	O
button	O
on	O
the	O
left	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
that	O
activates	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Assistant	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
assistants	B-Protocol
are	O
often	O
classified	O
as	O
one	O
or	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
are	O
technology	O
that	O
speaks	O
to	O
users	O
through	O
voiced	O
outputs	O
,	O
but	O
does	O
not	O
ordinarily	O
project	O
a	O
physical	O
form	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
can	O
usually	O
understand	O
both	O
spoken	O
and	O
written	O
inputs	O
,	O
but	O
are	O
often	O
designed	O
for	O
spoken	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
have	O
become	O
increasingly	O
central	O
to	O
technology	O
platforms	O
and	O
,	O
in	O
many	O
countries	O
,	O
to	O
daily	O
life	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
2008	O
and	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
frequency	O
of	O
voice-based	O
internet	O
search	O
queries	O
increased	O
35	O
times	O
and	O
now	O
accounts	O
for	O
close	O
to	O
one-fifth	O
of	O
mobile	B-Application
internet	I-Application
searches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Studies	O
show	O
that	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
manage	O
upwards	O
of	O
a	O
billion	O
tasks	O
per	O
month	O
,	O
doing	O
everything	O
from	O
changing	O
a	O
song	O
or	O
a	O
film	O
to	O
contacting	O
emergency	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
handle	O
tasks	O
from	O
the	O
mundane	O
to	O
the	O
essential	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technology	O
research	O
firms	O
estimate	O
that	O
approximately	O
100	O
million	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
equipped	O
with	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
were	O
sold	O
globally	O
in	O
2018	O
alone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
15	O
million	O
people	O
owned	O
three	O
or	O
more	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
in	O
December	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
number	O
had	O
increased	O
from	O
8	O
million	O
a	O
year	O
before	O
,	O
and	O
reflects	O
consumer	O
desire	O
to	O
always	O
be	O
within	O
range	O
of	O
an	O
AI-powered	O
helper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Industry	O
observers	O
expect	O
that	O
there	O
will	O
be	O
more	O
voice-activated	O
assistants	B-Protocol
on	O
the	O
planet	O
than	O
people	O
by	O
2023	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
documented	O
in	O
the	O
2019	O
policy	O
paper	O
‘	O
I	O
’d	O
blush	O
if	O
I	O
could	O
:	O
Closing	O
gender	O
divides	O
in	O
digital	O
skills	O
through	O
education	O
 '	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
are	O
either	O
exclusively	O
female	O
or	O
female	O
by	O
default	O
;	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Alexa	I-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
's	I-Application
Cortana	I-Application
,	O
Apple	B-Application
's	I-Application
Siri	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Assistant	I-Application
are	O
all	O
highly	O
feminized	O
by	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
are	O
assigned	O
not	O
only	O
a	O
specific	O
gender	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
an	O
elaborate	O
backstory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Google	B-Application
Assistant	I-Application
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
is	O
reportedly	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
youngest	O
daughter	O
of	O
a	O
research	O
librarian	O
and	O
physics	O
professor	O
from	O
Colorado	O
with	O
a	O
B.A.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
companies	O
credit	O
their	O
choice	O
to	O
gender	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
by	O
referencing	O
studies	O
which	O
indicate	O
that	O
people	O
generally	O
prefer	O
a	O
female	O
voice	O
to	O
a	O
male	O
voice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
research	O
indicates	O
that	O
customers	O
want	O
their	O
digital	O
assistants	B-Protocol
to	O
sound	O
like	O
women	O
;	O
therefore	O
,	O
companies	O
assert	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
optimize	O
profits	O
by	O
designing	O
feminine-sounding	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
that	O
illustrate	O
this	O
include	O
:	O
When	O
asked	O
,	O
‘	O
Who	O
’s	O
your	O
daddy	O
?	O
’	O
,	O
Siri	B-Application
answered	O
,	O
‘	O
You	O
are’	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
user	O
proposed	O
marriage	O
to	O
Alexa	B-Application
,	O
it	O
said	O
,	O
‘	O
Sorry	O
,	O
I	O
’m	O
not	O
the	O
marrying	O
type’	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
asked	O
on	O
a	O
date	O
,	O
Alexa	B-Application
responded	O
,	O
‘	O
Let	O
’s	O
just	O
be	O
friends’	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
Cortana	B-Application
met	O
come-ons	O
with	O
one-liners	O
like	O
‘	O
Of	O
all	O
the	O
questions	O
you	O
could	O
have	O
asked	O
...	O
’	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Quartz	O
news	O
investigated	O
how	O
four	O
industry-leading	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
responded	O
to	O
overt	O
verbal	O
harassment	O
and	O
discovered	O
that	O
the	O
assistants	B-Protocol
,	O
on	O
average	O
,	O
either	O
playfully	O
evaded	O
abuse	O
or	O
responded	O
positively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
assistants	B-Protocol
almost	O
never	O
gave	O
negative	O
responses	O
or	O
labelled	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
speech	O
as	O
inappropriate	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
its	O
cruelty	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
an	O
example	O
,	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
remark	O
‘	O
You	O
’re	O
a	O
bitch’	O
,	O
Apple	B-Application
's	I-Application
Siri	I-Application
responded	O
:	O
‘	O
I	O
’d	O
blush	O
if	O
I	O
could’	O
;	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Alexa	I-Application
:	O
‘	O
Well	O
thanks	O
for	O
the	O
feedback’	O
;	O
Microsoft	B-Application
's	I-Application
Cortana	I-Application
:	O
‘	O
Well	O
,	O
that	O
’s	O
not	O
going	O
to	O
get	O
us	O
anywhere’	O
;	O
and	O
Google	O
Home	O
(	O
also	O
Google	B-Application
Assistant	I-Application
)	O
:	O
‘	O
My	O
apologies	O
,	O
I	O
do	O
n’t	O
understand’	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AI	B-Application
field	O
is	O
largely	O
male-dominated	O
,	O
with	O
only	O
12%	O
of	O
researchers	O
and	O
20%	O
of	O
professors	O
identifying	O
as	O
women	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gender	O
associations	O
people	O
adopt	O
are	O
contingent	O
on	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
times	O
people	O
are	O
exposed	O
to	O
them	O
,	O
which	O
means	O
that	O
as	O
female	O
digital	O
assistants	B-Protocol
become	O
more	O
common	O
,	O
the	O
frequency	O
and	O
volume	O
of	O
associations	O
between	O
‘	O
woman’	O
and	O
‘	O
assistant’	O
increase	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
negative	O
effects	O
on	O
the	O
perception	O
of	O
women	O
in	O
real	O
life	O
.	O
</s>
