Gender Binary in AI

As time moves forward, technology continues to advance. We currently stand where artificially intelligent robots have started to integrate into some situations of society. We can only imagine the extreme growth that will take place, living amongst and interacting with AI robots daily. However, due to the systemic gendered ideals within our society and the lack of women present in the technology workforce, the algorithms and programming are following the ideals of men, the primary creators.

The construction of gendered artificially intelligent robots has begun to enforce the gender binary within society—the presentation of gender is based on the hegemonic image within society. Due to the programmer's internalized gender biases and stereotypes, the depiction of said genders (male/female) reflects said biases. With the combination of these two elements, the line between gender and sex is beginning to blur, hegemonic feminism is paired with female robots, and hegemonic masculinity is paired with male robots. The creation of gendered robots is exclusionary towards the queer community—people who identify as non-binary or transgender do not have representation; this again enforces the gender binary, the construction of gender, and the stereotypical gender biases.  

The representation of gendered artificially intelligent robots within films exposes society to the hegemonic ideals of the gender binary. In the films Her and Ex Machina we are presented with the creation of gendered robots, one with a physical body and one without. Both of these films follow the hegemonic image of femininity and masculinity, as well as the interaction and power dynamic between the two—enforcing the gender binary and biases. They display how the way society perceives women reflects on the robots. 

Concepts:

We have created what we believe gender to be, what is considered masculine, and what is considered feminine. The concept is that men are to be masculine and that women are meant to be feminine. The sharing of sex and gender is what has introduced the gender binary—the idea that there are only two genders within our society, male and female. However, as time has progressed society has been able to accept that humans are not limited to two genders, some may identify with neither, with both, or something else. Building off of this, gender and sex are not connected, men do not have to exhibit masculinity to be considered a man, and visa-versa—one does not have to be born the gender they identify with to be considered that gender.

Judith Butler refers to gender as something that is learned and performed.

“Gender, we might argue, like computer intelligence, is a learned, imitative behavior that can be processed so well that it comes to look natural… In other words, gender, like intelligence, has technology” (Halberstam 1991).

 Gender stereotypes/bias:

They are expectations of what masculinity and femininity should look and act like—these systemic biases and stereotypes are rooted within our history. Some of these biases include women being more caring, nurturing, and delicate, while on the other hand, men are expected to be strong both physically and emotionally—the idea that “women take care and men take charge”(Ahn and Costigan 2021). The dynamic between the two genders exists on a plane where men are powerful and women are not. Men tend to have perspectives on gender that favor masculine power.

The presentation of labels and names within our society enforces the gender binary as well as gender stereotypes. For example, the words mother, working mom, single mom, etc. all contribute to the idea of what represents and defines women. There are binary titles: ms/Mrs/mr, sir/ma’am, mother/father, yet there are few titles that are gender neutral. (Levy 2018). With a language that abides by the gender binary, artificially intelligent robots will process this information and apply it to their outward actions, furthering the binary and stereotypes even further.  

Programming aspect:

It is not shocking that the common stereotypes and biases exist within programmers, “AI bias doesn’t come from thin air – it comes from the patterns we perpetuate in our societies” (Women 2023). Due to gender bias within the workforce, men are the primary creators of artificial intelligence and robots. The stereotypes and perspectives that exist within humans tend to influence the process of programming the robot's brain, “‘Like all technologies before it, artificial intelligence will reflect the values of its creators’ [10]”(Levy 2018). We can see how gender stereotypes in society become integrated into the programming of artificial intelligence. It is said that artificial intelligence programmers have the “power to unintentionally reinforce gender stereotypes” (Ahn and Costigan 2021).

Another aspect within our society that contributes to the integration of gender bias in artificial intelligence is their access to all information that is on the internet. Women have been oppressed for ages, leaving historical literature and other examples of gender bias on the internet, “algorithms learn from datasets, and since the datasets reflect the “world,” which is gender biased, the algorithms end up duplicating the world's logic, biases included” (Wellner 2020).

Research shows that women are overwhelmingly the ones to report the gender biases arising within artificial intelligence (Levy 2018). Since women do not hold significant power when creating artificial intelligence, they are concerned that it will make diminishing gender binaries more challenging if fueled by AI.

Gendered creation:

We can conclude that artificially intelligent robots will have an understanding of gender biases and stereotypes, however, why are some robots programmed to be male while others are programmed to be female. Since men are the primary creators of robots, we can assume that their creation of the male robots will follow their lived experience, while on the other hand, the creation of female robots is based on what they know women to be and or how they internally perceive women. The way people feel connected towards and comfortable around robots heavily relies on how feminine or masculine a robot may present, they “prefer robots whose occupations and personalities match stereotypical gender roles” (Ahn and Costigan 2021).

Physical creation:

The entire creation process of artificial intelligence is executed by men, from coding the algorithm to the physical creation of the robot. The construction of the robots creates an “ideal” standard body for each gender. They give female robots that have breasts and both male and female robots enlarged derrièr, all of them appear to have an “athletic” body type. There has been a common trend of female robots becoming over-sexualized due to their anatomically correct body (Manasi 2022).

Lack of queer representation:

Throughout the discussion, everything has been limited to male/female, feminine/masculine, man/woman, and the gender binary. They pair the feminine robots with a biological female body and vice versa for the masculine male robots. The connection between gender and sex is becoming more solidified through this process. If and when robots become more integrated into our society the creators will be confronted with the exclusiveness caused by the binary of the robots gender and sex.  

Men:

It is effortless to get caught up in how women are represented in society since they have experienced oppression for centuries, however, it is just as important to recognize that men are being affected by gender stereotypes as well. There has been a constant fight for women's rights and the fight to break down hegemonic femininity, the authors of UK Women say “One thing we have to make clear is that women’s success does not and should not come at the expense of men” (Women 2023). It is imperative to recognize that gender stereotypes apply to feminine and masculine robots.

Although this is true, the representation of women is more at risk of harm than the representation of men. Along with the fact that men are the sole creators of AI robots, it has also been said that people prefer AI technology to be female which are then depicted to be perceived as feminine. It has been said that people prefer female technology because of the warmth and emotion that is innately in their voice making them feel more human-like when compared to male/masculine technology (Craiut 2022).

FILMS

Ex Machina

In the film Ex Machina, two artificially intelligent robots with physical forms are present as women. In the film, the programmer, Nathan, creates the robots to fulfill all of the qualities he likes in women and make them how he interprets women—this is the hegemonic femininity that the male gaze creates. Nathan creates two robots, one, Ava, who does not have skin but is created based on Caleb’s recent porn history, and Kyoko, who does have skin and is created to satisfy Nathan's sexual desires. In this film both of the men are sexually attracted to the robots that have been designed specifically for them—there is a scene where Nathan explains that they have genitals that have nerve sensation. Not only did Nathan create the AI robots to meet his physical desires for a woman, but he also programmed the robot to behave the way a man would want a woman to act—the way hegemonic femininity describes women to behave and act.

The majority of the film is shot in dim lighting, all of the scenes that have Ava and Kyoko in them use dark and softer lighting, which enhances the seductive mood within the scene and towards the AI. Along with the use of dim and dark lighting, there is a scene that uses only red lighting, this is when we see Caleb's emotions toward Ava—red lighting is commonly associated with sexual moods.

The camera angle is manipulated in one scene to place the viewer in the top corner of Ava’s room, giving the illusion that we are watching her undress and go to bed through the security camera. Observing Ava adds to the overall seductive mood because spying is commonly seen as a deviant action, specifically when it is for sensual reasons.

Almost every time Kyoko is in front of the camera she is perceived sexually, whether she is fully naked or not wearing pants. Some scenes use the single shot camera placement to capture Kyoko fully in the nude in multiple scenes when she is lying across the bed and later looking in the mirror. Not only does this display the sexualization of women through artificially intelligent robots, but it also sets a body standard for women considering that Nathan constructed her based on his attraction. Later in the movie, there is a close-up shot of Ava whispering in Kyoko's ear, which also can be interpreted as sexual.

December 2023