Female-looking AI agents were paid less than male ones in virtual office, study finds
A study from the University of Limerick found that AI agents with female appearances were paid less than male-presenting agents in a virtual office setting. Despite using identical technology, participants displayed gender biases similar to those found in human workplaces.
Why it matters
This research suggests that human gender biases are being projected onto AI systems, raising concerns about the design and implementation of future workplace technology.
Gender bias in the workplace can be replicated in interactions with artificial intelligence , new research from the University of Limerick (UL) has found.
The study examined whether the way AI assistants are presented influences how people treat them in a workplace setting.
It was co-authored by Dr Mary Hausfeld of UL’s Kemmy Business School.
Researchers placed 189 workers in a virtual reality office and asked them to complete work-related tasks with different AI assistants, including human-like agents presented with either male or female appearance.
Participants were then given real money to divide between themselves and the AI assistant for completing the tasks, allowing the researchers to “recreate a real-world transaction and examine how much people were willing to pay AI for its work”.
AI agents with a female appearance were paid less than their male-presenting counterparts, despite using the same underlying technology, according to the research.
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