Should We Gender Digital Assistants Like Alexa and Siri? | WSJ Tech News Briefing

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 15:19:27 +0000

Is it a good idea to give robots traditionally male or female names and voices? Some researchers say that reinforces stereotypes. But a new paper explains there could be an upside to doing it.

Chris Kornelis, who wrote about this for WSJ’s Journal Reports, joins host Zoe Thomas to explain the pros and cons of gendering machines.

0:00 Is it a bad idea to give digital assistants like Alexa and Siri a gender?
1:39 Why it could be a good idea to assign robots genders
3:12 What do companies consider when assigning a gender to products?
3:58 Can the downsides of gender stereotypes be avoided with digital devices?

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