Gender Choices of Conversational Agent
How Today’s Practice Can Shape Tomorrow’s Values
J. Jung (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
D.S. Murray-Rust (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
Ujwal Gadiraju (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
Alessandro Bozzon (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
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Abstract
When creating conversational agents, designers have to make decisions about the way the agents present themselves. In this position paper, we identify and synthesize ethical dilemmas that conversational interface designers and researchers face around gender of conversational agents. First, we identify three layers that cause tension in designing conversational agents’ gender: (i) interactional qualities; (ii) goal-orientation; and (iii) societal issues. We then argue that conversational agent designers and re- searchers can navigate this problem space by comparing two ethical frameworks: a utilitarian perspective and a dialogical ethics perspective. Finally, we argue that dialogical ethics can be a balanced, ethical lens that can help conversational agent designers and researchers make design decisions about the gender of an agent