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Ellen Biemer's avatar

Thanks so much for your in-depth analysis of the patriarchy baked into AI! Very enlightening. (That isn’t what the AI in my phone suggested I say, and though the suggestions weren’t patriarchichal per se, I do get tired of the implication that the phone’s predictive typing knows what I want to say as well or better than I do … so actually, yeah, it’s a good example of the Man in the Basement.)

Susan Colantuono's avatar

Oh Ellen, that is such a superordinate observation!! Good on you. And thanks for taking a moment to let me know that you enjoyed the article. And that you're now on the lookout for The Man in the Basement.

Ellen Biemer's avatar

Definitely! I didn’t even think I used AI (beyond search engines) before realizing that’s what predictive typing basically is. The subtlety with which it’s becoming entrenched in our lives, without our conscious consent, is rather appalling — especially considering the potential environmental consequences of the data centers required to power it. I feel that much more attention should be focused on clean energy generation first. This is a common theme: white men doing whatever they want, not considering the consequences for anyone else. It’s exactly why more voices are needed at the table, in all situations.

Ellen Biemer's avatar

You are so right; AI is here to stay (barring some sort of apocalyptic collapse of technology). I very much appreciate people like you who are working hard to make it better and more inclusive.

Susan Colantuono's avatar

I absolutely share your frustrations with voice to text. I noticed right away that Siri defaults to male pronounts, hasn't been loaded with context around horses (mare = mayor) it it's world and more. Do don't get me started. And I am also ambivalent about AI. Data centers, Southern hemisphere women doing the sorting of what AIs are getting trained on, the embedded bias, it's a mess. But as my colleague @Michell Redfern says, "That egg can't be unscrambled." So I do my best by using AI to do good in the world. My book is one example. It will truly help women. This is another: https://www.bebusinesssavvy.com/p/how-ai-reinforces-gender-bias-at

Susan Colantuono's avatar

That's so funny Robert. In writing my new book, Built Without You I did several side-by-side controlled comparisons between Chat and La Claude. She consistently gave me to the point incisive insights - sometimes with humor that made me laugh til I cried. He consistently gave me long, bloviated tomes when all I needed was a "yes." Overexplaining, doing work I didn't ask for. In my mind burning tokens. UGH! I'm glad that it's been a boon to your work. We create the

AI that we need.

Robert J. Rei's avatar

This was a very interesting presentation of your Assistive Intelligence (AI) experience with one particular chat type product, Claude. With regard to how you "influence each other" in my own work we have developed a term to describe a significant part of this factor, "Contextual imprinting."

I myself have not used Claude, and at some point I will sample it sometime. As for me and my focuses I learned long ago not to anthropomorphize the tool I use, ChatGPT, and since that time my work has improved considerably.

Michelle Redfern's avatar

I had so many visuals as I was reading through this Susan and including that entitled bossy chest beating well-groomed white man charging up the stairs of the basement to loudly interject hmm could have been describing my career

Susan Colantuono's avatar

You will appreciate meeting all the personas of The Man in the Basement. I was literally laughing out loud as La Claude and I named them - and she in her own AI way was too. Yes he’s a self-important, chuffing and perfectly awful thing. You aren’t the only one whose career he polluted.