Post #4131813

2026-07-24 19:30 UTC

@leafygreens@meow.social @gloriouscow@oldbytes.space True. Ever notice how "coding assistants" and executive agents are generally male coded (e.g. Claude, HAL) while "virtual assistant" secretaries are generally coded female (e.g. Alexa, Siri)? Most of the tech demos and displays and conference talks use stylised female avatars of subservient AI or robotic women. Bah. At least OpenClaw used a crab.

Replies (1)

@ordinal@mas.to 2026-07-26 18:41

@pseudonym@mastodon.online @leafygreens@meow.social @gloriouscow@oldbytes.space I have a theory about this, which is that female-coded AIs in fiction which tell people what to do are meant to have maternal roles (e.g. Mother in Alien) so that the generally male protagonists could submit to them without losing masculinity. AIs with an oppositional role (the Terminator, HAL) or as comrades who assist you (Chappie) are coded male. Alien is an interesting example because Ripley is female, but also she is very balanced and careful generally, evaluating everything rationally - she breaks out of gender paradigms, not just in that aspect either. In Upgrade, where the AI is initially a beneficent advisor, it's got a very androgynous voice.

Open ##4131812