How is Feminist conversation design different?

This comment was posted to the FutureLearn comments section in reply to the exercise of the same name.

This quote from the Feminist Design Tool is a great summation.

“A feminist approach to conversation design means using empathic, inclusive, accessible language, and providing opportunities for the user to specify how they would like to be addressed.”

Feminist chatbot design versus Patriarchal design

Feminist chatbot design would involve greater intersectionality, awareness of a broader range of stakeholders, and a broader range of positive outcomes. Instead, Patriarchal design might be focused on profit, zero-sum win conditions, or continuity of control.

The designer might consider writing their script iteratively in an open-source environment, like GitHub, with invitations to community stakeholders to contribute to the script. They might consider prototype conversations where they take the place of the bot in a face-to-face situation with stakeholders.

Anyone taking a broader approach to positive outcomes will face more challenges, but might find these offset by a broader range of solutions. Where Patriarchal approaches might require secrecy, a Feminist approach can allow stakeholder contributions. It's hard to label empathy as a challenge, but making it systematic is not well-covered in our education system.

Overall, Feminist chatbot conversation design benefits stakeholders by considering a broader set of community members, a broader set of pain-points, and deliberately contributes positively to their future without stereotyping.

This page is part of the [[Feminist Chatbot Main Page]].