First of all, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what gender is, as the word is often incorrectly used interchangeably with “sex.” A sex is a biological distinction referring to physical characteristics corresponding to specific roles in the practice of sexual reproduction, generally separated into the two categories male and female though some variances can occur. Sex is determined through genes present in sex chromosomes, which alter the formation of primary sex characteristics (sex organs). Secondary sex characteristics, which are distinctive traits unrelated to the reproductive system (i.e. fat distribution, ect.), are formed through levels of sex hormones estrogen and testosterone.
Gender, on the other hand, refers to the socially constructed and psychological distinctions of male and female persons. It is the mental counterpart of sex, a personal sense of identity rather than a physically verifiable state of being. For most people, their sex and gender are considered aligned and thus indistinguishable, but a minority of the population feels that their own internal sense of gender does not match up with their physical sex and thus requires a distinction be made. The concept of gender is greater than this, but as it is unrelated to my point about AIs, it will not be dealt with in this article.
Cortana is a smart (self-aware) AI, the product of a Tier 3 civilization, namely the human race. The people of a Tier 3 civilization are unable to produce smart AIs without using – and ultimately destroying – a brain of sufficient intellect from which to base the circuits using cognitive impression modeling. In Cortana’s case, the brain used was a flash clone of Dr. Catherine Halsey’s adult brain. I see no evidence to suggest that Dr. Halsey’s gender would not be female, and I deem it a reasonable assumption that Cortana would share the gender of her brain donor. Transhumanist reasoning aside, Cortana has demonstrated no tangible behavior to suggest anything other than a female gender identity. Her voice, avatar, mannerisms, and social interactions are all of a feminine nature.
So, Cortana = female gender. The soalan is: is gender relevant for our understanding of AIs? I say it is. Cortana and other smart AIs are noncorporeal entities – minds without bodies. Without a body for which to have a sex, I deem the sex issue to have no value.
343 Guilty Spark and other Forerunner AIs are another matter. Unlike humanity, the Tier 1 Forerunners appear to have been able to construct fully conscious AIs without the “blood sacrifice” required for the production of the Tier 3 AIs. As gender is a human subject, would a lifeform so far removed from humanity possess anything similar?
Spark is often considered male from the AI’s male voice, supplied sejak actor Tim Dadabo. Spark also behaves in a somewhat masculine manner, although this could just be attributed to stereotype. Perhaps a notable insight lies in the novelization Halo: The Flood, where Spark is referred to as ‘it’ sejak the narrator (partially John-117, partially omniscient) from the first introduction of the character to the return to the Halo control room, in which Cortana refers to Spark sejak masculine pronouns. After this, the narrator then refers to Spark using masculine pronouns. This could be interpreted as John thinking of the AI as genderless sejak default, but later becomes enlightened sejak Cortana. However, masculine pronouns are common to refer to people of inconclusive gender, making this remain unclear. In addition, lebih than one continuity error has arisen from the novel, such as Hunters being referred to as having bones, when it was later established as canon that Hunters are hiveminds composed of several worms and would have no bones.
In conclusion, I feel that gender, not sex, should be the basis for these AI characters. Cortana is absolutely female, for both physiological and observation-based reasons. 343 Guilty Spark, on the other hand, is up for debate. Personally, I would call him male, but the issue is definitely vague and unclear.
