Unequal pay, even as an algorithm

It is well known that women earn less than men on average.  But the extent of this pattern is surprising.

In a new experiment, researchers examined how the perceived gender of an AI assistant affects how it is evaluated. The task: After working together, participants were asked to split a sum of money between themselves and an AI assistant. The result: The avatar presented as female received a smaller share of the money on average and was also perceived as less human. Before the experiment, many participants had insisted that the AI’s gender made no difference to them.

For the labor market, this is more than a curiosity. Companies are increasingly using AI agents as digital colleagues, and every design decision about voice, name or avatar carries assumptions about gender roles. Relying on stereotypes without questioning them transfers old inequalities into new systems.

These topics also caught our attention:

• “Agency” as a door opener: The Frankfurter Rundschau explores this new buzzword, its psychological background and why “agency” is in such demand right now.

• Building an international career: The German Federal Foreign Office and Impactpool are building a new talent pool for German nationals who want to work in the multilateral system.

• AI is eating entry-level jobs: zdfheute has investigated the role AI plays in unemployment among university graduates and the upheaval in the labor market.

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