Can a gender-ambiguous voice reduce gender stereotypes in human-robot interactions?

• When deploying robots, its physical characteristics, role, and tasks are often fixed. Such factors can also be associated with gender stereotypes among humans, which then transfer to the robots. One factor that can induce gendering but is comparatively easy to change is the robot’s voice. Designing voice in a way that interferes with fixed factors might therefore be a way to reduce gender stereotypes in human-robot interaction contexts. To this end, we have conducted a video-based online study to investigate how factors that might inspire gendering of a robot interact. In particular, we investigated how giving the robot a gender-ambiguous voice can affect perception of the robot. We compared assessments (n=111) of videos in which a robot’s body presentation and occupation mis/matched with human gender stereotypes. We found evidence that a gender-ambiguous voice can reduce gendering of a robot endowed with stereotypically feminine or masculine attributes. The results can inform more just robot design while opening new questions regarding the phenomenon of robot gendering.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Elektroteknik och elektronik -- Robotteknik och automation (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering -- Robotics (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Annan teknik -- Interaktionsteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Other Engineering and Technologies -- Interaction Technologies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Mänsklig interaktion med IKT (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Human Aspects of ICT (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Genusstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Gender Studies (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Produktionsteknik, arbetsvetenskap och ergonomi (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Interaction Lab (ILAB)

Interaction Lab (ILAB)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)