Debugging Gender Binary

Source: https://cdn3.dogonews.com/pictures/3626/content/kobianxin_0220606250913406301818.jpg?1285699722

Have you ever yelled at a navigation A.I. for giving you misleading or otherwise poor directions? I have fond memories of hearing my mother yell at what she dubbed the "Nav Lady" back when the screen in our Toyota Sienna was working. I can still hear the smooth, well-articulated words of the Nav Lady's voice emanating from the speakers to alert the driver of an impending turn, only to be met by a witty retort from whoever was at the wheel.

It was kinda weird. No, not my mom's name for this disembodied voice as if it's a sentient being. I meant the voice of the nav system. The tone was so...sultry. Euuugh. Trust me. Android's nav voice and Siri definitely sound more impersonal, which I appreciate.

But I digress.

In an article on The Atlantic's website titled "We Need a New Pronoun for Artificial Intelligence," author Kaveh Waddell imagines a future where the existence of artificial entities demands a third-person pronoun with which to refer to these A.I. Waddell suggests that the implied gender of an A.I. helps humans acclimate to the presence of A.I. because it is generally a shared quality with humans to identify as male or female. As humans become more intimately familiar with technology and artificially intelligent technology becomes more prevalent, the assignment of a male or female gender to a A.I. would be obsolete. An A.I. will be commonplace enough to merit his/her/its own third person pronoun. Waddell believes 'it' to be inadequate, and 'he' and 'she' aren't quite correct.

There are two examples the author pointed out from popular media that I find interesting. In the case of A.I. featured in films such as Her, the A.I. is clearly a female stock character meant to entice a male protagonist. However, often when we encounter non-specifically gendered A.I. such as R2-D2, who arguably shows more intelligence than some sentient beings in the universe (lookin' at yousa, Jar-Jar), the default action can be to go to male pronouns. When you think about it, it's not a very informed decision; R2-D2 speaks in nonspecific bloops and bleeps, and there aren't any real anatomical clues to speak of (I hope).

I believe the assertion held by the author holds merit, but it will depend on the extent to which humans can develop thoughtful A.I. If we indeed see anthropoid robots become more prevalent in the home, at work, or on the street, it seems fitting to be able to refer to a highly functioning "thing" in recognition of [its] greater capacity. However, I find it unlikely that it will matter a great deal to the A.I. how someone recognizes [its] gender, unless some programmer finds his/herself quite bored one day and decides, "You know what? I need to blow off some steam. I think I'll program something I can sit here and offend all day." More likely, I believe, is that more people will grow up around artificial intelligence as they play larger roles throughout one's life, and a new pronoun designation will naturally take hold.

That is, if we can decide on one. Hey, if the Swedes can do it, so can we.