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The gender of 'things'
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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It may just be me but i find it disturbing when people anthropomorphise machines and assign them genders. Alexa or your satnav, for example, are referred to as 'she' simply because they're programmed with a female voice when in reality they're nothing more than 'it's.
Is this just a harmless quirk of human nature or do you think it's becoming worse as we find ourselves increasingly disassociated with things that do actually have gender already, ie, each other? |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Ok, so if something like Alexa is given a male voice instead is it then normal to refer to it as 'he'. I've noticed that many people do this.
I also get annoyed by machines that try to be friendly, it's all so fake and just the result of a programme. |
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By *tew008Man
over a year ago
edinburgh |
Just human nature we do it through perceived similarities and an almost predisposed way to understand things. Don’t think it is a good way to do things really but what our brain does to make things easy.
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I think that if we anthropomorphise machines we're at the top of a slippery slope. Alexa and it's counterparts are just the start. "
We've been doing it for a long time, who here has assigned their car a gender, even a name for example? |
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"I think that if we anthropomorphise machines we're at the top of a slippery slope. Alexa and it's counterparts are just the start.
We've been doing it for a long time, who here has assigned their car a gender, even a name for example?"
Not me. I'm very clear on what is sentient and what isn't. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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My items of machinery, technology and all other inanimate objects can either be bitches, wankers or cunts etc depending on what toe I've stubbed on them.
If my phone seems to be deliberately not responding and doing it's own thing then it's a prick who's not listening.
If the vacuum wire tries to trip me up then it's a tricksy bitch.
P
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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For 80p you can give Alexa Samuel L Jackson's voice.
In my head it goes like this;
Samuel what's the weather gonna do tomorrow?
Gonna rain motherfucker
What?
Say what again, I dare you, I double dare you... |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"For 80p you can give Alexa Samuel L Jackson's voice.
In my head it goes like this;
Samuel what's the weather gonna do tomorrow?
Gonna rain motherfucker
What?
Say what again, I dare you, I double dare you... "
What? Lol |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I do that at times.. because of 'habits' of my native language. "
On a side note this has always confused me.
As far as i'm aware every European language has gender specific pronouns, German even has three (der, die, das). Given that English, at it's core, is a Germanic language i wonder at what point we decided to do away with them? And does it make, therefore, English easier to learn? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Men have assigned female names to cars for years.  "
Modes of transport are often referred to as "she". I'm given to understand that this is largely down to the fact that only one gender can carry human life inside them, protected from the outside elements, and that this is female.
B |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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[Actually English is one of the few languages that doesn't genderise almost everything. In French for example nouns are prefixed with le or la depending on gender. In German if my memory is correct they have three genders for nouns, der das and die (pronounced dee) |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"This reminds me of learning German at school and constantly asking “why” is that object male, female or neutral, who decided it was so.... always bugged me "
Me too.  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Men have assigned female names to cars for years.
Modes of transport are often referred to as "she". I'm given to understand that this is largely down to the fact that only one gender can carry human life inside them, protected from the outside elements, and that this is female.
B"
That's an interesting point. |
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"This reminds me of learning German at school and constantly asking “why” is that object male, female or neutral, who decided it was so.... always bugged me
Me too. "
My German teacher hated me haha |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I don't get the post at all. It's kinda making something of nothing. A sat nav needs a voice, why not make it friendly calm, clear and human and realistic? And if it's a man's or woman's voice why not refer to it as such?
I use a pink toothbrush (because it's bright and I like it and my daughter has a blue one), make what you will of that...... |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I don't get the post at all. It's kinda making something of nothing. A sat nav needs a voice, why not make it friendly calm, clear and human and realistic? And if it's a man's or woman's voice why not refer to it as such?
I use a pink toothbrush (because it's bright and I like it and my daughter has a blue one), make what you will of that......"
The point is that in doing so many people then assign the machine a gender when it's still an it. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I don't get the post at all. It's kinda making something of nothing. A sat nav needs a voice, why not make it friendly calm, clear and human and realistic? And if it's a man's or woman's voice why not refer to it as such?
I use a pink toothbrush (because it's bright and I like it and my daughter has a blue one), make what you will of that......
The point is that in doing so many people then assign the machine a gender when it's still an it."
And why call it Alexa? It's as though the manufacturers are trying to encourage this type of behaviour. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I don't get the post at all. It's kinda making something of nothing. A sat nav needs a voice, why not make it friendly calm, clear and human and realistic? And if it's a man's or woman's voice why not refer to it as such?
I use a pink toothbrush (because it's bright and I like it and my daughter has a blue one), make what you will of that......
The point is that in doing so many people then assign the machine a gender when it's still an it."
It's an it, you just said it.... Nobody tickles the buttons on their sat nav and gets a boner do they? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Often its dangerous to think too much, you'll create a self fulfilling prophecy and before you know it you'll have one of those lifelike female sex dolls called Bob...... |
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"It may just be me but i find it disturbing when people anthropomorphise machines and assign them genders. Alexa or your satnav, for example, are referred to as 'she' simply because they're programmed with a female voice when in reality they're nothing more than 'it's.
Is this just a harmless quirk of human nature or do you think it's becoming worse as we find ourselves increasingly disassociated with things that do actually have gender already, ie, each other?"
If I'm honest I've never really give it a seconds thought  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"It may just be me but i find it disturbing when people anthropomorphise machines and assign them genders. Alexa or your satnav, for example, are referred to as 'she' simply because they're programmed with a female voice when in reality they're nothing more than 'it's.
Is this just a harmless quirk of human nature or do you think it's becoming worse as we find ourselves increasingly disassociated with things that do actually have gender already, ie, each other? If I'm honest I've never really give it a seconds thought "
But do you find you refer to an Alexa as a 'she' rather than an 'it' or have you noticed other people doing it?
It's as though there's some kind of subliminal conditioning going on here that many seem to be unwittingly playing in to. |
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"Men have assigned female names to cars for years.
Modes of transport are often referred to as "she". I'm given to understand that this is largely down to the fact that only one gender can carry human life inside them, protected from the outside elements, and that this is female.
B"
I like this and actually a logical reason  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"It may just be me but i find it disturbing when people anthropomorphise machines and assign them genders. Alexa or your satnav, for example, are referred to as 'she' simply because they're programmed with a female voice when in reality they're nothing more than 'it's.
Is this just a harmless quirk of human nature or do you think it's becoming worse as we find ourselves increasingly disassociated with things that do actually have gender already, ie, each other? If I'm honest I've never really give it a seconds thought "
Me neither |
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"It may just be me but i find it disturbing when people anthropomorphise machines and assign them genders. Alexa or your satnav, for example, are referred to as 'she' simply because they're programmed with a female voice when in reality they're nothing more than 'it's.
Is this just a harmless quirk of human nature or do you think it's becoming worse as we find ourselves increasingly disassociated with things that do actually have gender already, ie, each other?"
Humans have personified things since we formed language ,nothing new to see or any problem |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"It may just be me but i find it disturbing when people anthropomorphise machines and assign them genders. Alexa or your satnav, for example, are referred to as 'she' simply because they're programmed with a female voice when in reality they're nothing more than 'it's.
Is this just a harmless quirk of human nature or do you think it's becoming worse as we find ourselves increasingly disassociated with things that do actually have gender already, ie, each other?
Humans have personified things since we formed language ,nothing new to see or any problem"
That’s what I thought. I hear a woman’s voice I think woman I hear a man’s voice I think man. Is that not normal then? Beyond that i haven’t given it much thought, nor will I to be honest! |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Those of you that haven't given it much thought perhaps should. I feel that this is all being done on a subconcious level, as was posted earlier 'it's a slippery slope'.
Are manufacturers trying to equate human interaction with electronic interaction? If so, where will it lead? With emotion? Will we then be expected to use please and thank you?
It's one thing to switch on your living room lights by talking to a machine, that's little different to flicking a switch with your finger. It's another thing entirely to assign said machine a gender. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I don't see a slippery slope.
Irrespective of gender assigned to devices, the humanisation of devices is a cunning ploy to create an attachment to the device so that it fits in like a pet or family member. Assigning percieved "softer" tones of a female is more than likely a result of women being in service industries, "caring professions", Primary School teachers etc.
If Alexa had been called Adolf and had a shouty Austrian accent, its appeal is likely to reduce significantly.
Similarly with novelty sat nav voices they are funny for the first 5 minutes, but Dover to Stranraer with Roy "Chubby" Brown swearing at every other driver would be dull by Brum.
The firms want your money and want you to become attached to their products. This isn't the start of the Rise of The Machines. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I don't see a slippery slope.
Irrespective of gender assigned to devices, the humanisation of devices is a cunning ploy to create an attachment to the device so that it fits in like a pet or family member. Assigning percieved "softer" tones of a female is more than likely a result of women being in service industries, "caring professions", Primary School teachers etc.
If Alexa had been called Adolf and had a shouty Austrian accent, its appeal is likely to reduce significantly.
Similarly with novelty sat nav voices they are funny for the first 5 minutes, but Dover to Stranraer with Roy "Chubby" Brown swearing at every other driver would be dull by Brum.
The firms want your money and want you to become attached to their products. This isn't the start of the Rise of The Machines."
Perhaps, perhaps not. I can't be the only one that thinks this given that the majority of science fiction portrays artificial intelligence as a bad thing. And science fiction has a habit of becoming science fact. |
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"I don't see a slippery slope.
Irrespective of gender assigned to devices, the humanisation of devices is a cunning ploy to create an attachment to the device so that it fits in like a pet or family member. Assigning percieved "softer" tones of a female is more than likely a result of women being in service industries, "caring professions", Primary School teachers etc.
If Alexa had been called Adolf and had a shouty Austrian accent, its appeal is likely to reduce significantly.
Similarly with novelty sat nav voices they are funny for the first 5 minutes, but Dover to Stranraer with Roy "Chubby" Brown swearing at every other driver would be dull by Brum.
The firms want your money and want you to become attached to their products. This isn't the start of the Rise of The Machines."
There are already people in Japan who have "pet" dogs that are machines and furry cushions that vibrate when you cuddle them.
There is a theory too that DNA based life could be replaced by mechanical life at some point in the future. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I don't see a slippery slope.
Irrespective of gender assigned to devices, the humanisation of devices is a cunning ploy to create an attachment to the device so that it fits in like a pet or family member. Assigning percieved "softer" tones of a female is more than likely a result of women being in service industries, "caring professions", Primary School teachers etc.
If Alexa had been called Adolf and had a shouty Austrian accent, its appeal is likely to reduce significantly.
Similarly with novelty sat nav voices they are funny for the first 5 minutes, but Dover to Stranraer with Roy "Chubby" Brown swearing at every other driver would be dull by Brum.
The firms want your money and want you to become attached to their products. This isn't the start of the Rise of The Machines.
There are already people in Japan who have "pet" dogs that are machines and furry cushions that vibrate when you cuddle them.
There is a theory too that DNA based life could be replaced by mechanical life at some point in the future. "
Indeed, there are an increasing number of people across the world who seem more comfortable interacting with electronic devices than with human beings. It's a worrying trend. |
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I struggle with people who prefer non-gender pronouns simply because calling someone "it" or "they", even if they requested it, goes against what I was taught was polite when referring to people.
Having everyone referred to as one gender would be helpful here.
But I question if we should practice this non-binary language with machines? or is that also seen as rude and making the association that people who elect to be non-binary are not human?
It's all very complicated. |
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