DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ( D & I )
“ Technology can be an incredible force for good in the world , but it also has the capacity to destroy it ”
SAMANTHA KARLIN CEO , EMPOWER GLOBAL
But , why exactly does this need to change ? Alongside the ethical importance of giving more women the opportunity to develop in the field , why isn ’ t having talented white men in these leadership roles sufficient ?
The case of female mobile voice assistants The value of including more female perspectives – not just for women in the field , but for all users and the entire sector at large – within technology companies is illustrated perfectly by the case of female voice assistants .
We all know what it ’ s like to get frustrated with Siri . After repeatedly failing to get the device to play a specific song , we might give up and say “ forget it ”, or even snap , telling it to “ shut up .” Your first reaction to this might well be , “ what ’ s the harm ? It ’ s not like we ’ re losing our temper with a real , human woman .” Well , it turns out that there are specialists who have suggested that the tone , phrasing and set responses of female mobile phone voice assistants are inherently problematic . Their passivity , complicity and
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