Story perspectives

AI assistant Johan paid 10.25% more than Johanna

By Drooid · Oct 6, 2026, 12:11 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

University of Limerick researchers found workers paid male-presenting AI assistant Johan 10.25 % more than female-presenting Johanna.
The study placed 189 participants in a virtual-reality office to complete identical tasks with the agents.
Participants perceived Johan as more human-like and trusted him more than Johanna.
Results will be presented by co-author Mary Hausfeld at the 14th Nordic HCI Conference in Vaasa, Finland, Oct 5-7.

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Story summary

University of Limerick researchers found workers paid male-presenting AI assistant Johan 10.25 % more than female-presenting Johanna.
The study placed 189 participants in a virtual-reality office to complete identical tasks with the agents.
Participants perceived Johan as more human-like and trusted him more than Johanna.
Results will be presented by co-author Mary Hausfeld at the 14th Nordic HCI Conference in Vaasa, Finland, Oct 5-7.