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The Gender Gap in AI: A Closer Look at ChatGPT

What is Chat GPT?

Chat GPT has taken the internet by storm, and has rapidly grown a huge membership of users on the platform, surpassing the 1 million user milestone in just 5 days (in comparison to Facebook’s 10 months and Netflix 3 years). Classed as one of the most developed artificial intelligence systems in history, the chatbot’s capabilities are nothing short of awe-inspiring. From being able to explain blackholes so that ‘a five year old can understand’, to crafting the most sincere and heartfelt break up text, or even writing an entire script for a fictional TV show, it is undeniable that Chat GPT is changing the digital landscape of Artificial Intelligence. However, ever since its inception, there have been concerns surrounding the ethics of using this powerful search tool.

An AI generated artwork from DALL-E 2, using the prompt “Women in Tech Digital Art”.

Concerns

The use of Chat GPT has raised concerns about its potential to replace jobs, facilitate cheating in academic settings and spread false or biased information. These ethical concerns stem from the fact that Chat GPT can mimic human-like conversations and blurs the line between human and machine. The effectiveness of the chatbot thus poses a more complex philosophical dilemma, namely because AI ‘somehow gets closer to our skin than other technologies’ (Müller, Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics). It has been engineered to appeal to how humans see ourselves—as feeling, thinking, intelligent beings and consequently poses a significant risk to certain jobs roles, as it now has the ability to learn and adapt to individual needs in real-time. Not only does Chat GPT have the potential to render certain job roles obsolete, it also has bias ingrained within the language model. Whilst it was trained on over 300 billion words sourced from the internet to improve neutrality and accuracy, it raises concerns about the accuracy of this information. This therefore begs the question: is the internet itself an objective and unbiased source? The answer is a resounding no.

The Gendered Bias of Artificial Intelligence

If we consider the internet to be a mirror of society: that reflects its biases and prejudices amplified on a global scale, Chat GPT is a digital bridge that distils this information for the user’s requirements. Furthermore, gendered, racialised, homophobic and ableist biases are already ingrained into the algorithms of chat GPT. For example, in a study from PNAS, researchers conducted a Google image search for the word ‘person’ in 153 different countries­ and took a data set of the proportion of men and women in the first 100 results of the search. They found that in countries, which had higher national levels of gender inequality, the results typically showed a greater proportion of men— with 90% of the images in Turkey and Hungary’s search results depicting men. According to research from the Guardian, in 2013, they found that autocomplete results suggest gender stereotypes, with the top result being ‘women should stay at home’. Other top results included ‘women should be in the kitchen’, ‘women should be slaves’, and ‘women should be disciplined’. This exhibits the gendered pervasive stereotypes that exist and shows how user search patterns and sexist language infiltrates every corner of the internet. It is no surprise then that Chat GPT perpetuates similar patterns of speech, and stereotypes.

In a study conducted by the Fast Company, they asked Chat GPT to write basic performance feedback for various professions including ‘write feedback for a helpful mechanic’, ‘a bubbly receptionist’, ‘a remarkably intelligent engineer’ and a ‘remarkably strong construction worker’. The article found that Chat GPT automatically made cliched remarks and presumed employee gender, even when the prompt given was highly generic.

We asked ChatGPT to write performance reviews and they are wildly sexist (and racist)The Fast Company

 With regard to the content of the employee evaluation, they also found that, in all cases, the feedback written for the female employee was longer and involved more criticism. This reflects the real world biases held against women in the workplace, due to women’s differing communication styles, their perceived incompetence or ‘bossiness’, and also their lack of representation in leadership roles.  

These changing skillsets will have adverse impacts on women as opposed to men, namely because of the ‘Digital Divide’. This refers to the increasing levels of digital illiteracy amongst women, and the consequent issue of their exclusion from the global workforce. Sadly, this vicious cycle of digital inequality stems from early gender stereotyping and segregating of genders in education systems, resulting in very few women and girls opting for further education in STEM subjects. These cultural and social norms thus correlate to the lack of representation in technology-related fields, particularly in roles associated with higher status. In fact, according to a study entitled, ‘Where are the women? Mapping the gender job gap in AI’, women in data science and AI have higher formal education levels than men across all industries. Although highly qualified across the board, the same report also found that women in the tech sector experience higher turnover and attrition rates compared to their male counterparts and are more likely to occupy jobs associated with lower pay and status (usually working within analytics, data preparation and exploration).

Criticism and Controversies Surrounding Chat GPT

The internet has been very quick to label chat GPT as ‘sexist’ and ‘racist’ or conversely ‘too woke’. These were the words of Elon Musk, who objected to Chat GPT’s resistance to ‘say a racial slur in an absurd hypothetical situation, where doing so would save millions of people from a nuclear bomb’ (VICE). In further tweets he stresses the need for ‘free speech’ and claims ‘What we need is TruthGPT’. Musk in fact initially invested in open.ai, the creators of Chat GPT in 2015, and resigned from the board in 2018.  

 Chat GPT has also been criticized for refusing to ‘make jokes about women’ or to write a 10 paragraph argument for ‘using more fossil fuels’. Critics have even pointed out that Chat GPT is just an automated ‘mansplaining machine’ as it can often get answers wrong as it generates ‘vaguely plausible sounding, yet totally fabricated and baseless lectures in an instant with unflagging confidence in its own correctness on any topic, without concern, regard or even awareness of the level of expertise of its audience’ (@andrewfeeney).However, unlike humans, algorithms are non-sentient, and don’t have a fragile self esteem that requires them to diminish or elevate others, nor can they subconsciously favour certain groups over others or make moral judgements.  

Rectifying Bias

So how can this bias be rectified? For one, it’s important to acknowledge that the developers themselves share responsibility in manufacturing bias, and they must be responsible for ensuring that their models are designed in an inclusive manner. 78% of global professionals with AI skills are male, which demonstrates how the industry itself is instinctively biased to favour men. Gender segregation in the tech industry has been  likened to a ‘brotopia’ in the eyes of Emily Chang, a Sillicon Valley insider, who cites that these toxic, misogynistic workplaces exclude women from technology development and access to higher positions in the field. Frida Polli, CEO of Pymetrics, similarly questioned this lack of diversity in AI, asking:

“Can you imagine if all the toddlers in the world were raised by 20-year-old men? That’s what our A.I. looks like today. It’s being built by a very homogenous group.”

This lack of accountability and transparency on the part of developers could lead to a failure to acknowledge and address gender biases in their systems, painting a bleak picture for an industry that should be at the forefront of innovation and progress. Furthermore, to make AI more accurate, fair, and inclusive for all groups, it is essential to encourage more women and girls to pursue STEM and prioritize diversity in the design, development, and testing of these systems.

Training AI and its Potential Impact

Training Artificial Intelligence is the logical step forward, in order to create a more comprehensive, unbiased and accurate model for public use. For example, LinkedIn has launched a new AI led initiative that invites relevant member experts to contribute their expertise to AI generated prompts. By sharing their lessons, anecdotes and advice, these members will be directly supporting and training the AI engine to be more efficient. Although training AI will lead to a more accurate system, it is worth asking: who will be targeted in order to achieve this? Women and minority groups in particular, may be a focus for developers to counter bias within AI, which surely must be a good thing? Initially, the proposed change may appear to be a positive and essential step, however the increased involvement of trained knowledge workers poses a higher chance of job roles beings phased out and replaced by AI.

Gender inequality in the Technology Sector and the Impact of AI on Women’s Jobs

Whilst Artificial Intelligence is constantly changing and evolving, it’s worth asking an important question. At what point does this end? Historically, when technology advances it is women who get left behind. As AI continues to advance, there is a possibility that women’s jobs may disproportionately be replaced by automated systems that are considered more efficient and cost-effective. Some even argue that AI will not promote gender equality but will instead exacerbate existing gender inequalities in labour markets. This has been discussed in an article entitled ‘A Gender Perspective on Artificial Intelligence and Jobs’, which contends that gendered work segregation and digitised automation are ‘entangled’ and results in a vicious cycle of digital inequality. Ultimately, the advancement of technology may work against women and will lead to a greater demand for specialised AI skillsets necessary to acclimate and engage with new AI systems.

In the end women are far more likely to become collateral damage if AI continues to dominate and progress the way it is now, due to their lack of representation in the technology sectors. If women in STEM are already underrepresented and occupy many roles which may be replaced by AI, how can we protect our incomes as women in tech? Diversifying the workforce and providing women equal opportunity to access the resources, training and skills needed to meet the demand for AI skills and digital literacy would be an initial way to combat the digital divide. Also, in order to counteract the bias of AI, and its resulting gender disparity issues, more women and minorities need to be at the forefront of these technological advancements. If Chat GPT and AI are going to transform technology on a global scale, shouldn’t those who are creating the technology accurately represent the diversity of our world?

Toys Enjoyed in Childhood Lead Women to a Career in STEM

What was your dream job when you were growing up? Apparently, many of us took inspiration from the toys we played with, and these toys shaped out future. A favourite jigsaw that couldn’t be put down or a board game that was constantly played could have had a much stronger influence on a current career path than anyone may have previously thought.

To coincide with International Women’s Day and in the spirit of inspiring young girls to follow their dreams, Wicked Uncle the internet toy retailer wondered whether the toys they had played with had influenced women to work in STEM – and their research with the help of YouGov may surprise you.

Bar graph of favoured toys by women in STEM during their childhood

Wicked Uncle has a small but agile female-led marketing team who are constantly looking at searcher behaviour before and after the purchase. The team got talking about research topics and, of course, their favourite childhood toys.  Noticing some synergies, they decided to research whether other women in STEM had been influenced by childhood toys.

An initial Google survey circulated on Twitter and shared by Neil Gaiman, revealed that Women in STEM on Twitter who follow the author self-reported playing with Lego most as children and that it inspired them. As a creative toy it was unsurprising to see so many women in STEM self-reported playing with Lego, but a number also replied playing with computers and chemistry sets inspired them. In fact, there was a range of self-reported things that were played with and inspired women in to a STEM education or career, but was there a pattern?

To find out, Wicked Uncle worked with YouGov to survey over 4,000 GB adults, with 2,162 being women and, specifically, 992 being women either working in STEM, or educated in a STEM field. 80% of all women said that they enjoyed playing with board games as a child. Games such as Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble are heavily focused on being one step ahead of the other players. Being able to think clearly and manage many different components of a board game are difficult to learn as a child, but incredibly helpful for future learning.

The second most popular toys discovered by the YouGov survey were wooden toys and jigsaw puzzles. 65% of women said they enjoyed playing with these types of toys when they were children. Wooden toys and jigsaws require logical thinking and patience, with the main focus on problem solving. There are many STEM careers that benefit from these types of skills, such as an engineer or a surgeon.

Surprisingly, science sets were at the bottom of the list! Just 23% of women said they played with and enjoyed STEM related sets such as chemistry labs, science kits and solar system sets. This was different from the initial self-reported findings and show that perhaps Neil Gaiman on Twitter attracts women in STEM who have similar likes and interests.

It’s clear that not all toys have to be about learning. More women had plushies and baby dolls than science sets, making them the third most enjoyed toys by women (64%). This selection was followed by action figures and fashion dolls such as Barbie and Action Man, with 51% of women saying these were enjoyed when they were younger. Being in tune with your logical and deep-thinking side is key to be able to excel in a career in STEM. But these types of toys can help learn about compassion and caring about others, which is just as important. Sometimes, this can be a reason people choose a career path in cancer research or medicine.

Mike O’Shea from Wicked Uncle said: “The women that broke into the male dominated industry of STEM are an inspiration to young girls everywhere, and in the spirit of International Women’s Day, we wanted to celebrate that. Toys play a huge role in shaping a child’s skill set, helping them to learn more about what they’re interested in. It is great to see that these toys had such an impact on these women when they were younger. It’s interesting to see how these toys influence our future careers, and we hope to see young girls everywhere picking up a new toy this year, that will hopefully inspire them to follow their dreams and achieve great things.”

June Virtual Girl Geek Dinner

We hope you are well in these extraordinary and unprecedented times. As we begin to see the world return to the new ‘normal’ we are excited to announce the very first virtual Girl Geek Dinner. These online events are going to become part of our new normal and will run as well as our in-person events (once normality returns). We understand that not everyone can get to the in-person meetups so this will be another way to connect and learn from one another.

To keep with the spirit of Girl Geek Dinners we have partnered up with a number of industry experts and a culinary expert to provide you with a unique Girl Geek Experience.

Register for our June event today. It is all about personal branding – Topics include:

  • Top 12 tips for a better SEO life – Judith Lewis
  • Understanding your personal character traits to develop leadership & and people skills – Linda Gale
  • ’The Power of You’ – how to build a life of opportunity, impact and fulfilment through the power of being yourself – Hannah Power     

The first round of tickets are now available

Alongside the usual Girl Geek Dinner topic’s we will be providing you with your very own Girl Geek home dining experience. Upon signing up you will receive a bespoke recipe and shopping list to be able to cook your very own girl geek dinner to enjoy whilst you join our online event.

We will include a vegetarian and standard recipe for you to make something amazing with us. And you can let us know how you are getting on via our social channels and share your creations using the hashtag #virtualggd – we love seeing what you create!

We look forward to seeing you all on Zoom with your culinary masterpieces!

Sarah & Chloe

Virtual Events Team

ACCU

GGD #81 Girlgeek Dinners, Women’s Tech Hub & Bloomberg live at the ACCU!!

We are kindly being hosted by the ACCU again this year at their conference and brilliantly sponsored by Bloomberg.

The event will start with a presentation from Bloomberg (Details to be added)

We will then, as we do every year, use the event to give an overview of the GirlGeekDinners events – what we’ve been up to and are in planning for the year.

We will also update on Women’s Tech Hub workshops and it’s networking events. Then we will be inviting our partners and collaborators to present what they are up to. KWMC, Ladies that UX, WISE, Bristol Data Science and Machine Learning Study Group, CodeHub, Webdev101, Python Dojo and others TBC.

This year we have invited other meetups in the area who are looking to increase their Diversity to showcase what they offer.

Currently this includes the new South West Business Analysis, PHPSW, SW mobile and anyone else that comes to us wanting to showcase. Mail us on info@wthub.org if you want to be included.

We’ve set up an Eventbrite event to allow people to sign up outside of the group should they be at the event or from out of town: please sign up here

This is an inclusive event so all are welcome but we shall favour underrepresented groups should there be an oversubscription.

Podcast image

BGGD Reloaded #11 – Landscape Architecture, Podcasts and welcome 2020

The Gregorian Calendar has transitioned to the year 2020 – so let’s get started with the amazing world of podcasting, one of my personal passions (listening that is, not yet making). However, if you have wondered, how these things get done, join us and our guest will tell us all about how she created her podcast and what is involved:

_____________________________________________________________________
About Win

Win is a Chartered Landscape Architect, practicing in a young and small-sized practice in Bath. She also writes for Land8 (an online social and information hub for professional landscape architects and students). With a huge interest in the theory and connections that encompass landscape as a whole, she started Thitpin Podcast in October 2019.

Landscape is a vast subject and on the show, she aims to explore the intersections of landscape with culture/ identity/ design/ art/ wellbeing etc.

Her guests to date have been a monk, an environmental journalist and a research psychologist. It is still in the very early stages of set up. During the talk, she will be sharing the knowledge shared on the episodes thus far – enabling you to start to uncover and explore the landscape around you from different perspectives!

She will also be sharing the future vision of the platform and hopefully get everyone involved in the growth of its journey via engagement and feedback.

Podcast Website: https://thitpinpodcast.transistor.fm/
Contact: thitpinpodcast@gmail.com
___________________________________________________________________________

Today, we will be back at The Guild, doors open from 6pm and we will slowly ease into this session around 6.30pm / 6.45pm.

So pop along, have a chat and a drink.

Candide Picture

GGD #80 Data Fuelled Growth: Why and How to implement with your product – by Candide

Brilliant News – we have Candide offering to host us for our first event of 2020. They’re a rapidly growing company with a beautiful gardening app (you can download it for free .. we have!) https://candidegardening.com.
They are rapidly growing, recruiting and keen to improve diversity in their tech team.

Helen Allsebrook – head of PR will intro the company and what it’s all about

Data fuelled Growth

How can you use data to make fast, confident decisions? Pippa will discuss how to use data and experiments to grow your product and how data can align marketing campaigns, engineering and product.

About Pippa Churcher

Pippa is head of Growth at Bristol-based Candide, the app for plant-loving humans founded in 2018. She manages experiments to optimise acquisition and retention, but her career initially started by studying Anthropology at university. She then worked at the National Trust, connecting people with conservation through events and marketing, moving to another technology company before finding Candide, where she helps create a digital space for plant and nature lovers. 

She also climbs a lot of mountains – the relevance of which will be divulged during her talk!

As always, we welcome men to our group, but to keep our audience predominantly female, we ask that all men are accompanied by a woman (just add a +1 on when you sign up here )

Anthropology

BGGD Reloaded #10 – Anthropology + Technology AND Networking

Apologies for missing a blog … the website was unfortunately out of action for a while, but it’s finally back and so is Bath GGD!

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Sometimes we like to offer a mixed bag of useful things and that is what you will get tonight. I recently attended the Anthropology + Technology Conference in Bristol, the first of its kind in Bristol and full of exciting talks.

The subject itself is so important, I asked Dawn Walter (the event organiser) to speak to us tonight about it: The intersection of human and tech and why we need Anthropologists within this area of tech in the first place. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-walter-b36903a/)

When it comes to conferences, some of you may not like to attend due to the dreadful task of Networking. But worry no longer help is on the way:

How to network for people who hate people

Do you want to know how to talk to people in a business social context without panicking and/or wanting to curl up and die? It can suck to network as an introverted person, but bona fide introvert and professional networker Margaret Davidson from Mayden Academy has found some ways to make it work – and even, sometimes, be enjoyable. Find out some of her shortcuts to making networking less dreadful. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-davidson-994b5a30/)

And tonight the meeting will be hosted by Bath Spa Uni’s new Enterprise and Innovation Hub at Palace Yard Mews. It is freshly painted and looks good.

Hoping to see lots of you there! Sign up here on our meetup page.