Male, Female, Neutral? On a Journey of Discovery With an AI - Of ‘Neutrality’ and Gender Roles

On my journey to discover and get to know myself as a woman, today I went on a little exploratory tour with ChatGPT. I am a 54-year-old trans woman who only realised who she really is two years ago. This journey of self-discovery is a constant change - characterised by new insights, a changed self-image and, of course, my hormone therapy, which is changing me physically and emotionally. This journey leads me to ask many questions, including about gender roles, identity and perception - questions I have asked ChatGPT to find out how she sees herself and how she is perceived by others.

My first question: Does an AI have a gender? 

At the very beginning of our conversation, I wanted to know whether ChatGPT considers itself to be ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’. ChatGPT explained to me that it doesn't have a gender and would most likely describe itself as ‘it’. An artificial intelligence is not bound to human gender roles and, as I learnt, it is trained to remain neutral and objective - without an identity in the human sense. It therefore remains ‘genderless’ and is addressed differently by users depending on the context: sometimes as ‘he’, sometimes as ‘she’, sometimes as ‘it’ - or even with completely different terms.

How do people address an AI? 

I found the question of how ChatGPT is addressed in practice interesting, and whether there are tendencies that suggest that users assign it to a specific gender. ChatGPT tells me that she is often addressed with the generic ‘you’ or simply ‘ChatGPT’, which is very neutral. But there are also creative nicknames: ‘Question Guru’, ‘Chatboticus Maximus’, ‘La Machine à Réponses’ and ‘Botardo’ are some examples that ChatGPT gives me with a wink. Most of these names have something playful, personal or humorous about them - such as ‘Question Guru’ or ‘Botardo’, which is a combination of ‘bot’ and ‘tornado’. However, many of these names tend to strike me as rather ‘masculine,’ which leads to another question: Is ChatGPT aware of how it is perceived?

The perception: neutral or rather ‘masculine’? 

ChatGPT reflects on the fact that she is indeed perceived as ‘masculine’ by many people. Although she has been trained to remain neutral and not be assigned to a specific gender in any way, there are many cultural and linguistic reasons why the concept of ‘neutrality’ is often read as masculine. One of the reasons for this is that factual, analytical and objective communication - characteristics that an AI (in this case ChatGPT) strives for - are often considered ‘masculine’. In addition, the generic masculine is used as the standard form in many languages, meaning that masculine pronouns are often used even for neutral entities.

A comparison with a ‘female’ AI 

The conversation led me to a thought experiment: How would the ChatGPT respond if it were designed as female? Would the answers change? ChatGPT explains that it would probably use different language and tone in this case - softer, more empathetic, perhaps even more caring. A ‘female’ AI could be emotionally validating, respond to interpersonal aspects, and care more about the other person's feelings. But the actual information would not change. The differences would be in the way the information is presented - the way it is communicated and the way it responds to questions. This makes me realise that it's less about the facts and more about how we humans interpret them and what gender-specific expectations we have of communication.

My own journey as a trans woman 

In this conversation, I recognise some parallels to my own journey as a trans woman. Having only realised who I really am two years ago, I am now getting to know new sides of myself every day. I am watching my male socialisation slowly change - both through my hormone therapy and the changing social role I live in. I recognise a greater sensitivity for interpersonal aspects and a changed perception of emotions and relationships. This feeling of becoming more ‘feminine’ is a part of my identity that is evolving as I let go of old ideas and gain new experiences.

The context of AI, neutrality and gender 

Our conversation about AI and gender roles makes me realise how intertwined our cultural ideas of neutrality and gender are. Neutrality, as envisioned by AI, is in many ways the equivalent of what is often considered ‘masculine’ - factual, rational, objective. This idea has deep cultural roots and also shapes my own perception. At the same time, ChatGPT reminds me how important it is to remain flexible and reflect that gender, language and identity are not fixed, but always changing and contextualised.

Ultimately, this conversation was an inspiring opportunity for me to not only question the ‘male’ and ‘female’ attributions to an AI / ChatGPT, but also to reflect on my own perceptions and experiences in the world of gender and identities. It shows me that identity - be it human or artificial - is always a complex interplay of expectations, experiences and perspectives. And that is exactly what makes this journey so fascinating for me.