that ordinal person

@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.

My latest slightly sarcastic #ttrpg blog post: do you think you can just use these terms and everybody will understand what you mean? If so you are wrong. Particularly with "west marches". ETA: the fact that people don't even agree on "roleplaying" these days is quite telling. https://daisychase.net/blog/2026/03/21/ttrpg-terms-you-really-need-to-define-when-using/