Social biases on gender will not have room when Artificial Intelligence takes over and the systems are put into everyday life. Artificial Intelligence has changed how society does things, how people relate to each other, and how people rediscover themselves. Gender stereotypes have been an issue in society, which has impacted the perspective on gender. Arguments concerning the roles of gender in society have raised controversies, with some people claiming that “gender is a ubiquitous prison of the mind” (Linker). Following this challenge, it has been observed that more changes are expected to occur in social issues once artificial intelligence progresses further into the social system. While artificial intelligence is viewed as a technology that helps humans solve problems more efficiently, it is also known for contributing to significant social change. This discussion will focus on gender biasness in training data, the gaming industry, and neutral pronouns.
Artificial Intelligence relies on training data when basing its decisions. This means that they rely on algorithms to help them decide on social issues that may, at times, contain sensitive variables such as gender roles. Some organizations have stopped using this strategy because of the gender biases it influences. For instance, Amazon reportedly stopped utilizing an algorithm in hiring once they realized it favored men because of certain words such as “executed” (Manyika et al.). Women, in these cases, face a lack of representation in employment because the training data favors some more male-centric terms.
Gender is a sensitive issue in society today; using neutral pronouns such as “they” will change the social biases imposed on gender. Gender has become a sensitive issue that requires people to use pronouns that stand for them. Since it becomes tedious inquiring every single time, neutral pronouns become the better option. Neutral pronouns are an example of how training data can alter to be more gender-sensitive. A columnist believes that gender stereotypes in Artificial Intelligence can be changed if they impose neutral pronouns when addressing people (Manjoo). With people conforming to new identities, it is respectable if, instead of assuming a person’s gender, propose implementing neutral pronouns into the Artificial Intelligence systems.
The gaming industry has been known to be notorious for being gender-biased. Women are minorities in the gaming industry because most producers are men; therefore, the focus is usually on men’s expectations (Sinclair). This issue led to sexism in the industry, to which many women responded by building harassment campaigns to advocate for an end to gender biasness. Although these campaigns finally brought light to the extreme sexism in the gaming industry, it was at the expense of some women’s well-being. They constantly faced rape and death threats from the men who felt their gaming lifestyle was tarnished (Ramanathan). Since Artificial Intelligence mainly supports the gaming industry, gender biasness seems like an issue that will be dealt with as the industry progresses.
Artificial Intelligence provides excellent opportunities for change in the manufacturing or entertainment sector and socially. It is rewriting the traditional norms that labeled genders and fixated on stereotypes of different genders. This is demonstrated by changing the training data to conform to gender equality, imposing the use of neutral pronouns when addressing people, and advocating for equal representation in the gaming industry. As Artificial Intelligence progresses, it will pick up social biases on gender that already exist in society. However, changes can always be made.
Works Cited
Linker, Damon. “Liberals ‘ Astonishingly Radical Shift on Gender.” Wikimedia Commons, 2019, p. 11. Wikimedia.
Manjoo, Farhad. “It’s Time for ‘They.” The New York Times, 2019, pp. 1/3. The New York Times.
Manyika, James et al. “What Do We Do About the Biases in A.I.?”. Harvard Business Review, 2019.
Ramanathan, Sanjana. “An End to Sexism in Gaming Communities.” The Corona Virus Is A Disaster For Feminism, Hellen Lewis, Guardian And The Sunday Times, 2020, pp. 723-729.
Sinclair, Brendan. “Study Highlights Gender Gaps in Gaming Preferences.” GamesIndustry.biz, 2020.