‘This uh. . . young lady young gentleman’: Gender attribution in the context of a gender-ambiguous robot

Abstract

For humanoid robots, gender-ambiguous presentation is implemented as a potential way to avoid gender-stereotypical design. Using conversation analysis, we look at video recorded user interaction in the presence of a designedly gender-ambiguous robot, showing how this design choice is actually dealt with within a social context. Robot gender becomes relevant initially when a user refers to the robot with a dual-gendered package (‘young lady young gentleman’), with another user proposing ‘her’ for the robot, and the talk then evolving to the pursuit of agreement on the robot’s proposed femininity. Robot gender attribution is treated by these users as a collaborative endeavor rather than an individual choice. It includes displays of accountability and orientations to delicateness of gender attribution. By implication, the analysis shows that ambiguous design shifts the burden of gender attribution from robot designers to users.