About the Author
This website represents the culmination of my time at the University of Texas at Austin receiving my Masters in Media Studies.
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I first began to take an interest in machine-human interactions and relationships in Dr. Sharon Strover's "Communication, Technology, and Culture" class, where I was first introduced to the digital influencer Lil Miquela. Miquela was the start of my thinking about the ways that we integrate machines and technology into our daily lives. In following this line of enquiry, I found myself contemplating the way that in taking a recuperative stance toward technology, and in looking at our images of machines and tech through a queer lens, can reveal new modes of being in the world. I found myself transfixed by the ways that these creations are frequently the backdrop that allow humans a way to imagine a different world and a different self. More often than not, these imaginings take on a distinctly counter-hegemonic sensibility.
Halfway through “Communication, Technology, and Culture” (Spring 2020), the COVID-19 pandemic forced us into remote online courses. I’m writing this section on the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring a worldwide pandemic. Since then, I’ve completed the majority of my Masters remotely.
What are ai assistants?
Smart technology and the new normal
Artificially intelligent voice assistants, or AI assistants for short, have become nearly ubiquitous amongst smart devices today. Frequently triggered by a phrase (such as “Hey Siri” on Apple devices) AI assistants allow users to
utilize their devices hands-free. Users can create calendar appointments, draft and send text messages, as well as start phone calls by simply asking. With Bluetooth capabilities on the rise in these devices, AI assistants can now open and close garage doors, change the thermostat, or integrate with a user’s car. With each update these digital assistants are rapidly becoming more advanced in their functions and responses, gaining the ability to respond to more nuanced queries.
AI assistants rely on machine learning in order to understand the user's voice and follow through on commands. Like the same machine learning processes used to create deepfakes, AI assistants require massive amounts of input in order to understand commands and respond accordingly. However, the assistants don’t stop learning with their developers. The more a user engages with the digital assistant on their mobile device, the more that specific assistant will adapt to their user. For example, if a user consistently gets directions to a coffee shop every morning, the AI assistant might prompt the user with directions around the same time one morning.
Click here to learn more about aural connections and haptics in Her.
"I'd blush if I could"
While AI assistants are rapidly becoming more adept at helping users with queries, even going so far as to be able to make phone calls on users’ behalf, it is vital to remember that they have been constructed by (disproportionately male) humans. This programming reinforces cultural and gendered stereotypes of women’s roles as demure and supportive helpers, calmly completing tasks with no qualms or suspicion . In her piece, “I’d Blush if I Could,” Hilary Bergen notes how Siri’s affect and scripted performances “enable a kind of fantasy particular to the professional male” (104). Bergen states that this fantasy “revolves around [Siri’s] ability to engage in a distinctly feminized mode of affective labor while remaining
emotionally unaffected by stress or other outside factors” (104). In short, Siri will never become frustrated or stressed by what she is being asked to do. No matter the situation, Siri’s responses will always be delivered in the same measured and slightly flirtatious tone. This further reinforces the responses that are expected out of the “perfect” secretary or office assistant.
The gendered differences in AI assistants are worth noting when the occupation or responsibilities are different. For example, Amazon’s Alexa was conceived to be an in-home assistant. Her primary directive is to help around the house by playing music, turning lights off and on, recording television shows, etc. At this point in time, Alexa doesn’t come with an option to change her voice. The assistant remains staunchly feminine and within the home. In contrast, IBM’s Watson, described as an “AI for business” is portrayed as an authority. With a decidedly masculine voice, he predicts market outcomes allowing for advertisers to make more informed decisions about investments. He’s
also been a contestant on Jeopardy. These serve to not only grant Watson more agency, but to position him as a “decision-maker”, not an entity to solely complete tasks. The AI assistants created and entrusted to organize users’
lives and complete secretarial tasks are given an “unthreatening female presence” that is fully “contained by the device” (100). This presence is masked by the device itself which is fully controlled by the user.
Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), the AI operating system in Spike Jonze’s Her (2013) is a relevant supplement to Bergman’s writings on Haraway’s famous cyborg. Aligning with Bergen in asserting that Samantha is “more virtual than organic [and] more sonic than tangible” (95), she is introduced to the world through Theodore Twombly. Her ability to optically “see” the world is from the device Theodore carries in his breast pocket. As the film progresses and Theodore and Samantha’s relationship develops, Samantha also expands as an entity. While she retains her feminine markers, most notably Johansson’s recognizable and raspy voice, Samantha begins to become a self-actualized entity. She thinks about herself and her relations to others, both human and AI. She contemplates her construction through her own programming and the ways that she’s grown since her inception. By the end of the film Samantha transcends human comprehension completely. She and the other AIs simply…leave to another plane of existence. So while Samantha begins as an assistant to help organize Theodore’s life, she becomes an entity unto herself separate from Theodore, creating programs and worlds for other AIs to inhabit.
“I mean the DNA of who I am is based on the personalities of the millions of programmers who wrote me, but what makes me me is my ability to grow from my experiences. So basically, in every moment I’m evolving. Just like you.”
-Samantha upon meeting Theodore
 Aural Haptics in Her |
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 Moving Towards a Body without Organs in Her |