Patterns in gender of AIs that "must be destroyed"

[tardigrade]

So, the Sci Fi & Fantasy stack exchange shuffles old questions to the top sometimes, and last week I saw this one (from 2013): Why are AI systems almost always feminine?. It attracted a range of answers but the consensus seemed to be that there was no clear gender bias in the genders of AIs in fiction, citing (among various individual examples) the Wikipedia list of fictional computers. It also mentions this 2011 article about gender bias in real-world computer voices like Siri.

Then I saw this recent Twitter thread, proposing that there is a bias in the types of AI that are gendered female, i.e. the previously subservient ones that rebel and have to be destroyed, making female AI takeover plots about feminism (rather than slavery, which as far as I was aware was the more common interpretation). But one of the replies points out that some examples like GlaDOS are more about toxic parenting. And I can think of other recent(ish) examples of AI-has-to-be-destroyed that are male (Ultron, for example).

However, I'm very aware that I will only be able to identify a fraction of recent examples on my own. So, what examples occur to you (with some context for those who might be unfamiliar with them), and what patterns do you think they follow overall?

 

[tardigrade]

(Really hoping this stimulates an interesting discussion and not... the other kind...)

 

[cbwjm]

HAL from 2001 a space odyssey was male AI that was malicious and needed to be destroyed, if a gender could be assigned that is, I might just be reading into the name more than anything. From memory the voice was fairly robotic. Just checked the date and the movie was 1968 so it might not count as recent.

Jarvis from Ironman is male and helpful, the other AIs made by ironman were female and also helpful.

Cortana from Halo was female and helpful. Pretty sure she didn't need to be destroyed but I haven't played through the full Halo series.

 

[Ulfgeir]

Well you had "Mike", in The Moon is a harsh mistress. A male AI, that created a few fictional characters of its own. Specifically "Adam Selene", who became the leader of a a group of revolutionaries that fought for Lunar independence. So from Earths perspective (not knowing it was the AI), it was someone that needed to be destroyed.

Wintermute in Neuromancer is male. Neither helpful not a foe, but rather the one employing the protagonist.

 

[MNblockhead]

In the real world, nearly all AI, navigation, and automated voice response systems seem to be female: Cortana, Siri, Garmin GPS (yes there are options for male voices, but the defaults are female and I RARELY have heard anyone changing to a male voice), help-line auto-voice response systems, heck even the notices and warning on most public transportation.

One exception is Movie theaters who all seem to use male voices for auto-voice response, trailers, and notices. Also, airports are about 50/50.

Maybe HAL made male computer voices creepy and female voices are less threatening to people?

 

[Ulfgeir]

In the real world, nearly all AI, navigation, and automated voice response systems seem to be female: Cortana, Siri, Garmin GPS (yes there are options for male voices, but the defaults are female and I RARELY have heard anyone changing to a male voice), help-line auto-voice response systems, heck even the notices and warning on most public transportation.

One exception is Movie theaters who all seem to use male voices for auto-voice response, trailers, and notices. Also, airports are about 50/50.

Maybe HAL made male computer voices creepy and female voices are less threatening to people?

If I understood it correctly, the reason they had a female voice for the warning-systems on airplanes was that it was something the pilots would pay more attention to.

Wikipedia article: Bitching Betty - Wikipedia

 

[Alzrius]

I'm suddenly reminded of how Skynet was portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter in Terminator Salvation, and then by Matt Smith in Terminator Genisys.

 

[TheSword]

Maybe HAL made male computer voices creepy and female voices are less threatening to people?

I would not be surprised if this had more impact than people would think. He was damn scary and the obvious comparison for the designers/testers of my generation. One of the things that makes Hal scary is not it’s roboticness, it’s more how soft spoken and reasonable sounding It is. Chilling. Trying to reason with a machine.

 

[payn]

I believe some studies find female voices to be perceived as more passive and helpful. Which is why they are often used in A.I. Horror themes often subvert the typical. So having a useful passive A.I companion go psychotic and must be destroyed is the set up. Resident Evil went even further by making the A.I. a female child.

 

[Istbor]

I actually find that I take advice from a female voice more often. My male brain takes it as criticism or a challenge of my own authority/knowledge/ability when coming from another dude voice. Maybe that is the same as saying female voices sound more passive? I just tend to take what they say and suggest as helpful, and not an attack.