I’ve been automating some aspects of my home lately. It started with a Nest here and a couple Philips Hue Lights there. For me, the geeky parts of home ownership are probably what will make it the most fun. And—if one is willing—all these disparate technologies have some connective tissue, able to be used in concert with a little effort. Right now if I have my phone on my person (which is usually the case), I can hold down the home button and ask Siri to “turn the lights on.” I can even ask her to turn on a specific light with a name of my choosing. How cool is that?

In a push to take this to the next level, I’m considering upgrading my AppleTV to the latest generation model, since it has Siri baked into it. No need to pull out my phone, if I’m within earshot, I should be able to say, “Hey Siri…,” and be on my way. But, I already have an Xbox One, so is it really worth it? I can already play Netflix, HBO Now, etc. on that system. An AppleTV seems a bit superfluous. In toying with the idea, I remembered that Amazon has some device that orders stuff and has a voice component to it. Maybe it is cheaper? What was it called? Oh yeah, the Echo.

So I looked at it, and it carries a similar price tag as an AppleTV. Bummer. Then I noticed how you use it. Start any command by saying, “Alexa …” It was at that moment that I noticed something. All the key players in the voice assistant business, have imbued their creations with female names and voices.

• Microsoft: Cortana (A crossover of a character from the Halo video game franchise.)
• Apple: Siri
• Amazon: Alexa

As I thought a little further, I began to wonder what conventional thought brought this about. The first question I reticently asked myself was, “Is this rooted in sexism?” There are a lot of famous AIs out there, and we are at a tipping point where they are transitioning out of the stuff of science fiction and into our pockets and living rooms. From a sci-fi stance, AIs have been a futuristic concept, years or decades from maturity.

• In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the AI incapable of error, and the crowning achievement of mankind was named HAL 9000, or HAL for short.
• Tony Stark, from Iron Man fame, had the most sophisticated yet humble, British (at least in accent) servant, Jarvis.
• In most stories where a robotic AI reaches sentient thought, the protagonists are usually male: iRobot, Bicentennial Man, A.I, Wall-e, Short Circuit and Chappie, for instance.

Science fiction seems to have a place for female AIs too, but they are usually cast in a different light. The central theme is usually that a man has created the perfect AI turned “real” woman like in Ex Machina or Weird Science. In rare cases, they may just be moderators lying to you about the reward of cake. Thanks, GLaDOS!

Outside the realm of fiction, real-world AI’s or voice assistants are predominantly female. So when we address these constructs and tell them what to do on our behalf, are we subconsciously satisfied telling a woman what to do, and having her obey without argument? Maybe, the female naming convention has to do with the quirks, bugs and fledgling nature of this bleeding edge technology. When the tech doesn’t work, how do we respond? I hate to constantly quote Mad Men, but Don’s pitch to Jaguar in the episode, The Other Woman, said it best:

“This thing, gentlemen, what price would we pay? What behavior would we forgive? If they weren’t pretty, if they weren’t temperamental, if they weren’t beyond our reach and a little out of our control, would we love them like we do?

No matter what you believe, I’m pretty sure these decisions concerning the name and sex of AIs all originate in the founding company’s marketing department or ad agency. Though maybe the principle reason is far simpler. Sex sells, right? I’m sure tech companies are all racing at breakneck speed to render perfectly round and supple Scarlett Johansson tones. This could all be just a byproduct of a competitive free market that can’t help but pander to the public’s baser and sometimes sexist needs.

What do you think?