Constructions of gender in the history of artificial intelligence

Abstract

Key developments in the history of artificial intelligence are described in terms of a model of gender (Man of Reason), drawn from the work of philosopher Genevieve Lloyd, and informed by research in gender and technology and feminist epistemology. Significantly, the model demonstrates the elevation of mental knowledge over corporeal knowledge. Recent attempts to address the problem of embodiment in situated robotics go some way toward overcoming this problem but have yet to address the question of situatedness, which feminist and other social science research suggests should be an integral part of our models of knowers.