Theorizing femininity in artificial intelligence: a framework for undoing technology's gender troubles.
This article responds to technofeminist calls to unpack the gendered politics of technologies and create critical crossover between their representation and design. I analyze feminized artificial intelligence (Siri, Alexa, Cortana) in light of two science-fiction narratives: Tomorrow's Eve, a Victor...
| Publicado en: | Cultural Studies Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 567 - 593 |
|---|---|
| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jul2020
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=144472993&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 144472993 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 09502386 05G jtl: Cultural Studies issn: 09502386 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2020 vid: 34 iid: 4 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 144472993 10.1080/09502386.2019.1671469 ppf: 567 ppct: 26 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.8MB tig: atl: Theorizing femininity in artificial intelligence: a framework for undoing technology's gender troubles. aug: au: Sutko, Daniel M. affil: Department of Human Communication Studies, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, USA su: Femininity Artificial intelligence Gender Media studies Communication sug: subj: Femininity Artificial intelligence Gender Media studies Communication keyword: communication technologies critical information studies gender media archaeology media theory ab: This article responds to technofeminist calls to unpack the gendered politics of technologies and create critical crossover between their representation and design. I analyze feminized artificial intelligence (Siri, Alexa, Cortana) in light of two science-fiction narratives: Tomorrow's Eve, a Victorian novel; and Her, a postmillennial film. Each story exemplifies a pivotal moment in media history: Eve the transition from symbolic to technical media; Her the transition from technical to computational media. Both stories depict a man falling in love with an artificially intelligent, feminized version of the communication media du jour. Whereas Eve and Her operate on our imaginary, Siri, Alexa, and Cortana are by our side every day, naturalizing contingent gender divisions. I address three questions: what is the cultural work accomplished by feminized AI? Which boundaries are coming down or built up? What gendered relations are (re)produced? Drawing on media archaeology, critical theory, gender studies, and media theory, this article argues the association of femininity with technology sustains differences across three dimensions: docile labour, replaceable embodiment, and artificial intelligence. This triadic framework weaves together analytic threads that often remain separate to develop a nuanced critique of femininity as a mode for domesticating new technology and technology as materializing gender relations. The discussion extends the framework to a more generalized analysis of AI as a problematic prescription for how we become machine-shaped. I advance an entangled reinterpretation of the Turing Test and suggest ethics, aesthetics, and performativity as key sites of intervention in rethinking AI design to include rather than exclude multiple forms of difference. The conclusion offers the framework as a novel heuristic for intersectional, nonreductive critiques of technology and difference. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Cultural Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Cultural Studies holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd dt: @attributes: year: 2020 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|