Are Google, Amazon and Apple contributing to the transmission of sexist stereotypes through their own voice assistants? This, in any case, is the result of a report by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), one of the branches of the United Nations. The authors believe that Google Assistant, Alexa or Siri often have a female voice. “reflects and reinforces” the idea that the role of assistants should be attributed to women.
Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa: default voices are too often female and reinforce stereotypes, according to the UN
most statement Titled “I’d blush if I could”, Siri’s “Are you a bitch?” was his answer to the question. “Since most voice assistants use a female voice, it sends a signal that they are helpful, docile, aides willing to please, it can always be used with the push of a button or a direct voice command like “hey” or “okay”. “She obeys commands and responds to requests regardless of tone or degree of hostility. In many communities, this reinforces widespread gender prejudices that women are submissive and tolerant of abuse.”condemns the document.
Also read: Connected speakers: Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri understand men better than women
Effects on children are of particular concern to researchers. Calvin Lai of Harvard University, who specializes in unconscious bias, explains: “The gender relations that people adopt depend on how often people are exposed to them. As digital assistants proliferate, the frequency and volume of associations between ‘female’ and ‘assistant’ increases significantly.. Professor Noble adds Barking commands at voice assistants such as “find x”, “search x”, “change x” or “command x” act as powerful socialization tools and teach people, especially children, what the role of women and girls is. and the female is to meet their demands. Relentlessly portraying digital assistants as a woman gradually encodes the link between a woman’s voice and her submission..
UNESCO recommends that digital giants take a serious look at the issue and produce more appropriate solutions. Note that the default voice of Assistants may differ depending on the language. For Siri, this is usually a female voice, but is now a male voice in British English, Dutch, Arabic or French. Alexa is currently entitled to only one female voice.
