All it takes is a simple "OK Google" or "Hey Siri", and AI voice assistants are at your command.
But most voice assistants have female names or female voices by default - and this could be problematic. A new UN report warns that it presents women as "docile or eager-to-please helpers", reports Perspecs.
However, a new genderless voice could help "challenge gender stereotypes", and get rid of bias against women in technology.
The Claim
AI voice assistants can reinforce harmful general stereotypes, a new study published by the United Nations says.
The Verge reports on the study - titled "I'd blush if I could" (named after Siri's response to sexually explicit commands) - that examines the potential negative effects of how society treats voice assistants.
It argues that using female names and voices for the default voice assistants can potentially precondition users to "fall back upon antiquated and harmful perceptions of women".
The report states: "Companies like Apple and Amazon, staffed by overwhelmingly male engineering teams, have built AI systems that cause their feminised digital assistants to greet verbal abuse with catch-me-if-you-can flirtation.
"Because the speech of most voice assistants is female, it sends a signal that women are docile and eager-to-please helpers, available at the touch of a button or with a blunt voice command like 'hey' or 'OK'.
"The assistant holds no power of agency beyond what the commanders asks of it. It honours commands and responds to queries regardless of their tone or hostility."
The Counterclaim
However, there could be a solution to the sexism that is hardwired into our technology, with so much female servitude on smart devices.
The Next Web's Cara Curtis reports on the world's first genderless voice that is "challenging gender stereotypes".
Q, the genderless voice, hopes to "eradicate gender bias in technology".
The team behind Q, involving linguists, technologists and sound engineers, recorded the voices of people who identify as male, female, transgender or non-binary. They were able to define a frequency that is gender neutral.
Curtis calls the genderless voice "a step in the right direction towards inclusivity".
She argues: "Gendered voice assistants reinforce deeply ingrained gender biases because the data being used in machine learning is based upon human behaviour - robots are only sexist because the humans they learn from are.
"Q is not only challenging gender stereotypes, but also encouraging tech companies to take societal responsibility when it comes to diversity and inclusivity."
The Facts
The number of people using voice assistants is set to gather pace over the next five years, reaching eight billion devices across the world.
Google and Amazon will be at the forefront, as voice assistants triple in use by 2023, up from an estimated 2.5 billion at the end of 2018.
It is predicted that 30 per cent of our interactions with technology is through conversations with smart devices - many of which are by voice commands.
Microsoft's Voice Report for 2019 found that nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of respondents have used voice assistants to search for information. More than half said they have used voice skills or performed actions using smart speakers.
