Study Finds Gender Bias Reduces Pay for Female-Designed AI Assistants

A joint study by the University of Zurich, the University of Limerick and SKEMA Business School placed 189 participants in a virtual-reality workplace where they collaborated with AI assistants of varying appearances. The female-presented agent, named "Johanna," was compensated less than the male-presented "Johan," despite identical capabilities and underlying technology. Respondents also perceived the male agent as more human-like and showed greater trust toward humanoid assistants than robotic ones.

While the majority reported that AI gender did not matter to them, their actual payment behavior contradicted this stance, suggesting hidden biases. Professor Thomas Fritz noted the difficulty in pinpointing the exact cause of the discrepancy, hinting at a blind spot in social perception. The researchers warn that visual design choices for AI could unintentionally perpetuate existing gender inequalities in future work environments.