'More Than Just Breakfast in Bed'
Objectification vs. Posthuman Collective Responsibility in Channel 4's "Humans"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17169/ogj.2024.216Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Feminization, "Humans", Mother Image, sexual violenceAbstract
In the intro to the Channel 4 television series "Humans" (2015-2018), a voice-over praises a gynoid with the words: "This mechanical housemaid can do more than just bring breakfast in bed". According to the argument of this article, the intro and beginning of the series activate misogynistic tendencies in the AI imagination in order to make them visible and question them. "Humans" illustrates how sexist and, less prominently, racist power structures are perpetuated in AI design. In particular, the series takes a critical look at the interaction between the objectification of women and the feminization of objects. Over the course of the three seasons, demands for overall social care and interspecific tolerance increasingly come to the fore. Ultimately, however, this tolerance is demanded solely on the basis of equivalence. At the same time, the series remains rooted in a binary gender construction. As a result, it partly undermines its own critique.
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