Avery Ingram | This Eurocentric AI worker reinforces an unhealthy bias

Last month, Hull-based tech company February released their groundbreaking innovation Avery Ingram, a human-looking robot and the world’s first AI employee.

With the ability to pick up tasks on her own, work on up to 20,000 projects at once, and handle more than 20 tickets a day, Ingram paints a picture of the future of the working world.

Employers may be terrified or impressed by this latest development. For many, Avery is the perfect employee – she doesn’t need breaks, make mistakes, or take annual leave – she is the archetype of an ideal worker in the developed world, so why doesn't she look like many of us?

With her mousy brown locks, blue eyes and fair skin, Ingram has clearly been made to replicate a white, female worker with Eurocentric features. But she isn’t unique as a female robot. Siri, Alexa, Cortana and Google Assistant are all gendered as women. This has become such a default in our society that it often goes beyond our notice, despite some of us using this technology daily.