Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are aircraft that fly without a human pilot on board. Drones are controlled remotely by a human operator or autonomously using onboard computers and sensors. As drones do not have biological sexes, assigning a gender to drones is not straightforward. However, there are several ways gender can be considered in relation to drones.
Anthropomorphization of drones
One approach is to anthropomorphize drones by assigning human-like attributes such as gender. People often refer to vehicles, computers, and other machines using gendered pronouns like “he” or “she.” This can be a natural way for humans to relate to the drones. Some factors that may influence the perceived gender of a drone include:
- The drone’s name – Names associated with male or female humans may lead to a drone being viewed as masculine or feminine respectively.
- The drone’s voice – Drones with voices perceived as male or female may be gendered accordingly.
- The drone’s physical appearance – Smooth, curvy designs may be viewed as more feminine while angular, rugged designs seem masculine.
- The drone’s role – Drones used for strength-related jobs like heavy lifting may seem masculine while drones performing nurturing tasks like delivering medication may seem feminine.
When people anthropomorphize a drone with a specific gender, it can affect how they perceive and interact with that drone. However, arbitrarily assigning gender to drones in this way risks reinforcing gender stereotypes.
Gendered language used to describe drones
Another way gender comes into discussions about drones is through the types of language used to describe them. Words with masculine or feminine connotations are often applied to drones. For example:
- “Fembot” implies a female drone with human-like qualities.
- “Attack drone” evokes aggression associated with masculinity.
- “Nurse drone” has caring feminine connotations.
- “Protective mothership” evokes feminine nurturing roles.
Using gendered terminology and tropes can influence people’s mental models surrounding drones and perceptions of their capabilities. However, relying on traditional gender stereotypes in drone descriptions can perpetuate restrictive ideas about gender roles.
Gender and drone design
Gender can also play a role in the aesthetic design of drones. Some examples include:
- Color schemes – Pink drones marketed towards women, blue or black drones aimed at men.
- Size and shape – Larger, angular drones designed to appear powerful and masculine versus smaller, rounded drones seeming delicate and feminine.
- Decorative elements – Masculine patterns like camouflage or feminine accents like flowers.
Gendered visual design elements may appeal to certain demographics but could also reinforce exclusionary stereotypes that particular aesthetics are inherently masculine or feminine.
Gender of drone operators and users
Looking at the gender breakdown of the people who operate or otherwise utilize drones can provide insight into real-world gender representation. Research suggests most military drone pilots have traditionally been male though the proportion of female drone operators is increasing. On the commercial side, male users outnumber females across most drone applications like surveying, photography, and racing drones.
However, the gender gap appears smaller in fields like drone delivery services. As drones continue proliferating across industries, increasing diversity of their user base can benefit the drone industry overall. Actively recruiting women drone pilots and designers could lead to innovation of new use cases.
Gender bias in drone AI
For drones with AI components, built-in gender biases could manifest in their functional behaviors. Face recognition systems in drones may be less accurate at identifying women. Voice interaction systems may defer to masculine voices over feminine ones. Gender imbalances in AI drone training data and development teams could propagate biases.
Mitigating gender bias should be a priority for ethically-minded drone AI. Diversity in the humans involved in designing, training, and testing drone AI is important for reducing bias. Companies should also audit algorithms for fairness across gender representations.
Practical implications
The intersections between gender and drones have some real-world effects:
Marketing and customers
Drones designed with a specific gender in mind may appeal more to that target demographic for direct sales or influence advertising effectiveness. However, pigeonholing products into gender categories could also alienate potential customers not identifying with that gender. Gender-inclusive design and marketing could attract a wider audience.
Public perception
Public opinions of drone technology may be swayed by the language, visuals, and gender representations put forth by manufacturers. Portraying drones using stereotypical masculine aggression or feminized subservience risks skewing public discourse around appropriate uses.
Regulations
Policymakers creating drone regulations could be vulnerable to gender-based assumptions. For example, prioritizing military over commercial drone needs promotes masculine stereotypes of drone applications. Including diverse perspectives in policy discussions creates more holistic regulations.
Trust in drones
Gender biases in drone AI could undermine user trust if certain demographics feel misrepresented or mistreated. Being transparent about testing for gender fairness and eliminating bias through design helps build public confidence.
Drone industry culture
Male-dominated engineering cultures may unconsciously introduce masculine defaults into drones. Improving gender diversity and inclusion within the drone industry promotes innovations suited for a general user base.
Gender neutrality as an alternative approach
Rather than stereotypical male or female associations, some argue drones are fundamentally genderless machines. A gender neutral perspective avoids anthropomorphizing drones by focusing entirely on their functionality.
Benefits
Framing drones as gender neutral technological tools can:
- Reduce reliance on gender stereotypes
- Increase freedom in drone design unconstrained by gendered aesthetics
- Allow a universal appeal to all genders
- Promote perceptions based on drone capabilities alone
This perspective aligns with modern trends toward inclusive language and gender diversity. Products not strongly identified with one gender have wider market potential.
Limitations
However, a strict gender neutral stance also has some drawbacks:
- Contradicts natural anthropomorphizing tendencies
- Disregards potential gender preferences in drone roles
- Oversimplifies complex gender representations in technology
- May seem detached and impersonal
While logical in theory, in practice it can be difficult to completely eliminate innate gender associations people make with drones.
Conclusion
Drones do not have inherent biological genders. But gender still plays a complex role in how drones are designed, perceived, discussed, and used within human society. There are no absolute right or wrong approaches but rather tradeoffs to consider.
Focusing excessively on masculine or feminine attributes can exacerbate gender stereotypes and polarization. But completely ignoring gender risks missing opportunities to address real gender discrepancies in the drone industry.
Striving for more gender-inclusive perspectives on drones allows leveraging the insights gender provides while avoiding its pitfalls. Diverse gender representation in the human elements of drone ecosystems—including operators, designers, engineers, regulators, and users—creates drones optimized for society as a whole.
