Feminine Appearance Linked to Lower Rewards for AI Assistants

AI assistants with a feminine appearance received smaller rewards in a virtual workplace exercise, raising questions about how gender bias can shape interactions with artificial intelligence.

Participants completed tasks with help from AI systems inside a simulated office. They then divided real money between themselves and their digital assistants.

The exercise brought a financial consequence to an otherwise virtual setting. Participants were not simply rating the assistance they received; they were deciding how much money to allocate to it.

The lower rewards associated with a feminine appearance point to a concern that extends beyond bias in AI-generated responses: people may also bring their own biases to the way they value and reward AI assistance.