A University of Cambridge study found that cinematic depictions of AI scientists “are so heavily skewed towards men” that a “cultural stereotype” has been established which may contribute to the shortage of women now working in AI development.
The team from the University’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) whittled down over 1,400 films to the 142 most influential cinematic works featuring artificial intelligence between 1920 and 2020, and identified 116 characters they classed as 'AI professionals'.
Of these, 92 per cent of all AI scientists and engineers on screen were men, with representations of women consisting of a total of eight scientists and one CEO. This is higher than the percentage of men in the current AI workforce (78 per cent).
Researchers argue that films such as 'Iron Man' and 'Ex Machina' promote cultural perceptions of AI as the product of lone male geniuses.
Of the eight female AI scientists...