iPhone’s ‘Siri’ Under Fire By Feminists Who Have Nothing Better To Do

The 21st century has given way to feminists critiquing countless topics and facets of life that, under the perspective of normal analysis, would seem otherwise innocuous. The rampage continues with feminists going after artificial intelligence that uses a female interface (i.e Siri, Alexa, etc.).

Rather than considering the emergence and obvious popularity of females as the preferred gender of AI, feminists have taken offense and view this as a transgression.

Disregarding the ever-increasing numbers of women entering university and STEM fields, these feminists seemingly cannot distinguish between comforting femininity as a business decision nor the praise or advantages it could bring for women in technology. Rather, the attributes that make women as a face for technology appealing to virtually everyone are to be castigated among the feminist community.

From BBC News:

“She” may boast an encyclopaedic knowledge, but research by consumer behaviour analysts Canvas8 reveals that some users are more interested in a virtual hook-up than fact finding.

And she’s not the only target: the equally smooth voice of Microsoft’s Cortana is getting customers just as hot under the collar apparently. From perma-smiling avatars in traditionally female support roles, to hyper-sexualised “fembots” pandering to male fantasies, the female form is everywhere in techno-world – attractive, servile and at your command.

Svedka – a pneumatic, strutting sexpot – fronted the eponymous Swedish vodka brand for years, boasting of “stimulating V-spots”. A little more conservative, but just as eager to please, is virtual personal assistant Amy Ingram, the brainchild of New York start-up X.ai.

Women account for just 30% of the technology workforce, according to figures released collectively by Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon. Is this imbalance being reflected in the products the industry is coming out with?

“Always at your service”, Amy the meeting scheduler has received gifts of flowers and chocolates from happy customers seemingly unaware that she’s just a learning algorithm.
Then there’s Amelia, IPSoft’s mellifluous chatbot. And a swell of female banking bots – the Ericas, Cleos, Pennys and Ninas – dispensing information about opening hours and your bank balance.
Why does the tech industry appear so sexist?”

H/T to BBC News