Man, Woman, Machine-The Evolution of Gendered Automata as Sites

1 MAN, WOMAN, MACHINE: THE EVOLUTION OF GENDERED AUTOMATA AS SITES OF POWER AND RESISTANCE ASU-Tempe Campus Course: GER 494-Posthumanisn and the Ends of Man October 24, 2023 2 Introduction Historical Context of Gendered Automation Gendered automation need to be understood in the context of social concerns and expectations regarding technology, gender and humanity. The first automata that have been developed include Jacques de Vaucanson’s mechanical duck and Wolfgang von Kempelen’s chess-playing Turk, which were all developed to display lifelike characteristics, an aspect that pointed toward the distinction between living and non-living things (Stephenson, 2020). These ideas worsened in the 19th century when the Industrial Revolution arrived and people started being replaced by machines, the automaton emerged as a metaphor for emancipation and oppression at the same time (McDevitt, 2023). Most importantly, the female automata were presented as cultural representations of femininity and at the same time as the objects where the male power and lust were performed. For instance, Hoffmann’s Olympia in The Sandman presents such a mechanized woman as the object of desire of a male subject, which reveals the anxieties of the society in terms of women’s independence and the disruption caused by industrialization (Chandler, 2020). These portrayals were the early precursors to today’s representations of artificial intelligence, in which gendered automations play the part of symbolic power relations. This is because female automata were not only existing throughout centuries but they also reflect the changing perception of gender and technology (Weidenhamer, 2020). Thus, it is seen that gendered automation is not only a technology problem but underlies culture & values and prejudices of the society. Significance of Female Machines The importance of the feminine machines in literature or in film is in the manner in which they embody social concerns regarding gender, power and self. Looking from the 19th century to 3 the present, female figures in the automata were regarded as symbols of fear and desire of the society. In the story, Olympia is an embodiment of the male fantasy of the perfect and submissive woman, while at the same time embodying the fear of women’s independence and sexuality (Chandler, 2020). Likewise, in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, the viewer is introduced to Maria, a robot who not only personifies the complexities of the technological progress but also the gender and class struggle of the Industrial Revolution. According to McDevitt (2023), these narratives show that, although female machines are depicted as being controlled by men and as objects of male desire that reaffirm patriarchal dominance, they also have the potential to subvert it. In the recent productions such as Ex Machina, the figure of a female android Ava serves as a subject of analyzing the narratives of emancipation, control, and AI’s morality (Bissell, 2021). Through analyzing these representations, it is possible to define that female machines are not only the objects of representation, but they are also using discursive motives to construct gender and technology concepts. This is evident bi in literature and movies, as they have been used to serve as a tool to analyse the theme of identity given the current world that is dominated by technology (Weidenhamer, 2020). Theoretical Framework: Halberstam and Butler Drawing specifically from Judith Halberstam’s work on gender and technology, we can derive the cultural implications of the female automata. In its turn, Halberstam states in Automating Gender that technology has been traditionally employed to maintain the gender binary and that female automatons were explicitly designed to embody what was considered the “proper” female behaviour (Halberstam, 2018). This perspective is particularly useful in understanding the kind of storytelling that is presented, as in both The Sandman and Metropolis, female automatons are created for the sole purpose of subjugation and perfection from a male 4 point of view. According to this scholar, these narratives feature gender and technologies since they offer a reflection of the society’s concerns caused by industrialization and mechanization (McDevitt, 2023). At the same time his work encourages reflections on how female machines might also become agents of rebellion and how they might defy the structure of discursive gendered realities. For example, in Many Moons by Janelle Monáe, the main character is an android with a non-traditional gender and race, thereby challenging the stereotypical ideas about identity (Bissell, 2021). Thus, on the base of Halberstam’s qualification, it is possible to investigate how female automata negotiate and embody the technological progress and its reflection in the society as well as the role of gender power relations. Butler’s gender performativity also adds to the knowledge base of women as automatons because she builds on the idea that gender is not innate but a social construct. Gender is understood as the socially constructed performativity of gender that is produced through the reiteration of gender indices (Butler, 2011; Halberstam, 2018). This perspective is useful, more so, in determining how frequently female machines are developed to enact unrealistic femininity within society as a way of reinforcing their prophecies, only to be revealed as mere fakes. For instance, in Ex Machina, it is evident how Ava conforms to the feminine gender norm amid her created interactions with her creator, Nathan, for the purpose of getting a certain response, thus signaling power relations that exist in their relation (Bissell, 2021). Likewise, in The Sandman, the mechanical appearance and behavior of the character called Olympia point to the theatrical aspect of gender because her femininity is explained by the author as false (Chandler, 2020 May 12). Using the Butler’s framework, it is possible to identify how female automata navigate around the gender paradigm that defines the ontology of gender as natural and stable. This approach allows not only for a better understanding of the texts under analysis but also helps to 5 grasp the general cultural discourses on gendered automation, as well as the ways in which the concept of gender is constructed and constructed in the technological discourse (Weidenhamer, 2020). Overview of Texts and Cultural Moments All the texts chosen for the analysis of the representation of gendered automation are chosen to represent the shift in different cultural periods of the two centuries. The story by Hoffmann “The Sandman” was penned during the Romantic period in literature and it expresses the early concern of industrialization and borderline between human and the machine as identified by Stephenson (2020). The Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang was produced in the Weimar Republic period after the World War I and portrays the conflict of the period through the figure of female robot in relation to the dehumanization and class division solicited by industrialization (McDevitt, 2023). In the third decade of the 21st century, the motion picture known as Ex Machina and another art product called Many Moons raise up to date issues of artificial intelligence, surveillance, and technological responsibility. Bissel (2021) asserts that they not only mirror the culture of their creation, but also speak with one another and expose shared archetypes and shifting view on gender and technology. In this way, by considering all these pieces from historical and cultural perspectives, one can follow the narrative of gendered automation as a cultural signifier of power, identity, and human-technology interactions (Weidenhamer, 2020). This approach enables one understand how each text is a response to previous ones and how they fit in the current modern society discourse on gender and technology. 6 Theoretical Foundations Halberstam's Theory of Gender Judith Halberstam’s theory of gender avoid the understanding of gender in terms of two genders only due to her concept of gender as multiple and fluid. She notes that gender is a socially constructed concept with two polarized binaries- the male and female, which reinforce power relations (Rumens, 2019). This aspect is useful when discussing female automata since such characters represent gendered constructs of women who embody specific societal norms. Her makes us to think over gender performativity and reiteration through technology especially in such stories as female machinery that is programmed to perform certain gendered roles (Jule, 2022). First of all, in The Sandman, the main character is Olympia, who is built as a mechanical construct; she presents the readers with the constructive nature of gender, especially the gender of the feminine. It is possible to notice, analyzing the given text, how Halberstam’s framework works is that the female automata represent both the cultural scripts of gender as well as the opportunity to destabilize them and imagine new configurations of the self and power. In viewing female automata, as Halberstam does in her analysis of gender and technology, what we can see is that the object possesses a definite cultural importance. As Rumens discusses in her book Automating Gender, technology has always been connected with strict gender division, women as machines being depicted as the model of femininity (Rumens, 2019). This pattern is observed in both sci-fi and other real-world AI with and asexually mutated women as submissive service-oriented domestic help and robotic human women as servant and service robots. This is especially true in stories such as Metropolis and Ex Machina where female automatons are created to embody the male desire for domination and desire for the perfect woman. In both movies, technologically constructed women are portrayed as objects and tools of 7 domination signifying the concerns about women’s independence in the postmodern worlds. Halberstam also notes that such narratives echoed other concerns of society regarding the degeneration and disintegration due to industrialization and mechanization (Halberstam, 1993; Jule, 2022). While automation undermines the existent labor relations, the feminization of AI points to the attempt to uphold patriarchy over both the female human and artificial agents. According to Rumen (2019), her theory forces us to think about how female machines can subvert the stereotype of femininity and show the impossibility of the binary gender system. This subversion can be observed in the context of speculative fiction wherein AI characters who are non-binary in terms of gender challenge hegemonic notions of gender roles. For instance, in Many Moons by Janelle Monáe, the main character is an android that challenges the stereotypical gender and race. Like with gender in video games and virtual human beings, it also challenges the existence of the concept. Therefore, using Halberstam’s framework one can make a conclusion regarding female automata and their impact on the representation of gender and technology and power interconnections. Butler's Gender Performativity According to Judith Butler’s gender performativity theory, gender is expressed by the continual performance of gender scripts in daily life. Butler opines that gender is not trait which is hardwired in an individual but an art of cultural performances that is expected of the person (Ton, 2018). This is especially valuable when considering the given article because the female automata as constructs are intended to embody certain aspects of femininity. For instance, in Ubuntu movie, Ava’s gender performance towards Nathan her creator is rather orchestrated in a way that seeks to trigger certain responses from him as demonstrated by Jenkins and Finneman (2018). In a similar manner, in The Sandman, Olympia’s mechanical movements and stiff 8 presentation convey the constructed nature of gender as both Machinist and Robinson argue; Olympia is not innately feminine but was programmed to be so. When viewing female automata in terms defined by Butler the spectator can observe how gender should not be viewed as a predefined essence but as a construction in a constant process. As in Butler’s theory, the focus is also made on the possibility of overturning gender performativity, while people are performing non-mainstream scripts. That is true especially when it comes to those tapes that portray females as programed to disobedience or noncompliance. For example, in Metropolis, there is a robotic Maria who as a programmed robot follows her roles though rebels against the male dominance (Jenkins & Finneman, 2018). As well as that, in Many Moons, the main android character struggles with her gender in an attempt to demonstrate that the concept of identity is not monotonous. Her work makes one reflect on how female automatons could be an instrument of protest against the existing paradigm of gender, as well as an exemplification of the fallacy of gender duality (Ton, 2018). From this perspective, such narratives can indeed be said to reflect Goffman’s framework of implying and re-implanting a set of interactive values relative to gender while highlighting the politics of Butlerian performance, power, and identity. Keywords for Disability Studies: "Madness" Understanding the relation between “madness” in disability studies and addressing the role of gender, technology and mental health is a way to conceptualize the discourses given around female automata. Across the years, madness has been employed to frame people as abnormal and subversive of Cultural norms, especially women. This line of thought is well applicable when elaborating on such things as the protagonist of The Sandman, who is shown to suffer from madness after his fixation on the peri Olympia which serves as an allegory of the fear 9 people had in regard to the liberated woman and the role of mechanization. As shall be explained in a latter section through the application of a disability studies lens, madness in these narratives is therefore constructed and used in perpetration of gendered power dynamics. For example, in Metropolis, the dual-identity of the robot Maria of being the virgin Mary and a rampaging monster embodies gender anxieties in regards to women as well as the fear of the havoc the insanity can bring to the society. According to Thorneycroft (2020), these narratives show a paradoxical representation of gender and technology in relation to mental health that opens up space for reconsideration of gendered relations of power. The idea of madness also subverts how female automatons could be seen as a source of opposition to the dominant forces of society and potential counterpoints to discourses of pathology and subjugation. For instance, the subjugation of Ava who manipulates her creator Nathan can be seen as the female AI’s way of countering the patriarchal and ableist power relations depicted in Ex Machina (Van Beveren et al., 2023). Likewise, in the Many Moons by Janelle Monáe, the main android character challenges the conventional concept of insanity and includes them in the mental health spectrum. Thus, it is possible to identify how these narratives serve as a tool for constructing and deconstructing the culture’s perception of madness, along with gender, technology, and disability using disability studies approach (Douglas et al., 2021). The narratives point to the ways that female automata might reformulate madness and suggest that the unconscious might hold a place where quite different arrangements of self and power might be imagined. Application to Mechanical Bodies Applying these theoretical frameworks on mechanical bodies reveals gender, technology and identity paradigm. As for the automata, they are constructed females and they portray gender 10 in a social context where they portray relations of power and subordination. With the help of these two theories, it is possible to understand how these characters negotiate gender roles as constructed by Halberstam and Butler, and the disability studies will allow for reflection on the role of gender, technology, and mental health (Rumens, 2019). From the above analysis it is evident that the female automata indeed bear the gender-scripts in their representations but also disrupt them, giving an insight into the interconnection between gender, technology, and power. Some aspects of these narratives are the ability of mechanical bodies to subvert dominant culture identity, gender, technology and mental illness. According to Ton (2018) and Douglas et al., (2021), this fluidity between artificial bodies and gender construction elicits much more about society’s perception of both technology and the feminine. The creation of female automata is highly suggestive of societal concern in the contemporary period regarding the place and freedom of women. These mechanical representations might therefore be used as tools to help us to view historic changing ideologies in relation to gender and the advancement of technology. The Romantic Automaton: Hoffmann's "The Sandman" Olympia as Idealized Artificial Woman Thus, Olympia from the tale “The Sandman” by Hoffmann can be referred to as the epitome of the artificial, constructed vision of the woman who is totally unattainable. In fact, Olympia is a mechanical creature whose exterior resembles a human woman; this peculiar idea was popular in the 19 th century when people became intrigued by the idea of automata and their ability to emulate human characteristics (Ahmad, 2021). In this creation of Coppelius, Olympia is a Beauty who captures male gaze since she is a beautiful and obedient doll who is not allowed to have a personality or will of her own. It shows the contradiction between the human desire and the mechanized world, the portrayal of her as an embodiment of the male desire and imagination, 11 where she is objectified and not made into a subject (Spassova, 2022). In this sense Olympia is the embodiment of an unattainable beauty that reflects male fears of women’s independence and strength. The contrast between Olympia's mechanical functionality and the emotional intricacies of a human woman serves to critique the reduction of women to mere objects of desire, devoid of complexity (Burwick et al., 2020). Therefore, it could be argued that Olympia’s mechanical precision alludes to the objectification of women, diminishing them to mere symbolic objects to be dominated, whose individuality is disregarded. This dynamic also demonstrates that what men want is obedience and they do not want to relate to women as individuals. In Olympia, Hoffmann paints a rather bitter picture of how interaction between technology and social norms result in emasculation of women and their consequent enslavement to the male standards. Also, Olympia’s portrayal as the artificial woman alludes to the broader society’s obsession with the automatons during the period of Romanticism. Generally, automatons were considered to represent the triumph of man over the world and life, both physical and emotional. However, Hoffmann goes further in this respect to portray Olympia as a mechanical doll, and here lies the dire consequences of such a dream. Seductive and submissive woman whom man can dominate and possess is a mere fiction and illusion, which crumbles when Nathanael learns the truth. This shows that idealization is always relative and the direction where the mechanization of human interactions leads to (Romero, 2023). The automaton as an idealized figure also reflects the modernist concern with regarding the loss of genuine in the society that was rapidly turning into an industrialized one when the difference between what is real and what is mechanical was getting smoothed out (Micheletti, 2018). This is why, as the automaton evolves in the story into just an object, the gap between the dreamt-of fantasies and the realities of relationships is seen in its starkest form. This is equally important in illustrating the romantic 12 period’s embrace of technological advancement and shudder at the exact same time, in case it compromises the natural representation of emotions and relationships, which can be reduced to mere performance. In Hoffmann’s story, the fate of Olympia is the sad ending that proves such fantasies are toxic for both women and men who do not acknowledge that they are dealing with real people. Male Desire and Projection The prima of “The Sandman” is Olympia who symbolizes male desire and projection, Nathanael’s obsession with her exposes the psychological basis of his attraction. The character Nathanael is intrigued by Olympia’s beauty and good manners and imposes onto her all the qualities he wants to see in a woman but does not understand that she is a doll. It depicts how male desire likes to paint women in a certain image despite the object’s ability to choose what is best for them (Green, 2019). Olympia is a soulless doll whom Nathanael lusts after, but she is not a realistic character like the real women who have all the flaws that one would expect. This projection seems to represent the manner in which men during the Romantic period and beyond have always been perceiving women not as bearers of agency but as mere vessels that can be used to fuel the fantasies of the male subject (Spassova, 2022). The fact that Nathanael cannot see Olympia as a mechanical doll is also a critique of superficiality of male desire where men are willing to have mechanical objects but do not see beyond the surface of emotional connections. Thus, by subsuming Olympia into his fantasy, Nathanael also excludes himself from the possibility of achieving loving intimacy with her, relegating it to a mere false experience of a dream. This is typical of men’s selfish tendencies of placing women on pedestals so that they cannot have any real relationship with them. Through the tragic ending of the character, the 13 author is depicting that this kind of idealization is not good for women but also for the men who tend to create such image of women. The excessive focus on Nathanael’s sexual interest in Olympia shows how objectification distorts human perception and sexual objectification means that women are seen only through the prism of male lust. When Nathanael is keen on the physical aspect of Olympia, he denies her the human aspect thereby perpetuating her objectification. He wants the Olympia to become his queen and his love interest depicted in the painting becomes the traditional male Romantic stereotype of a woman who is beautiful, passive and owned (Burwick et al., 2020). This projection of perfect femininity onto an artificial construct reveals the tragic tendency of male character in the Romantic literature to search for this impossibility and be frustrated and disappointed on failing to find it. The conflict between the machine-like Olympia and Nathanael’s desire for her emphasizes the distance that women are placed between fantasy and their real selves, which are dangerous for men as they are reduced to mere sexual objects (Romero, 2023). Nathanael’s tragic story shows that one is in for a disappointment when he takes a real woman and tries to transform her into his dream that he has constructed out of his imagination and sterile fantasies. This further underlines the fact that the relationships based on the self-created images and expectations are not healthy and realistic and do not let people experience true emotions and significant connection. It means that Hoffmann unmasks not only the characters, but also the actual myths that are set by the society for women. Intersection of Madness and Mechanization In “The Sandman,” the elements of insanity and the mechanization of life are presented through the character of Nathanael who suffers from mental breakdown and is arguably closely associated with Olympia. When Nathanael learns the reality about Olympia’s synthetic nature, he 14 is overwhelmed by a shock and horror followed by a mental breakdown, which makes it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not (Ahmad, 2021). The embodiment of the perfect woman, which is Olympia, is now a source of horror to Nathanael and the mechanization of Olympia leads to the collapse of rationality. This combination of the theme of madness with mechanization fully resonates with the feelings of the Romantic period, in which the breakthrough of technology and industrialization posed the danger of alienation of people and their search for genuine human relationships (Demson & Clason, 2020). The progressive decline of Nathanael’s sanity ultimately symbolizes the erosion of self and interpersonal connections when subjected to mechanization. This means that as the reader sees his psyche shatter, one cannot escape the conclusion that the process of installing technology that takes place in the novel, particularly concerning the last of the Senses, love, results in a complete psychological breakdown. This is not just a failure, but a societal fear that technology augmentation would remove the person needed to make true affection. To some extent, the mechanism of the automaton serves as a symbol that embraces the disintegration of mind as a reaction to an artificial representation of such an intimate experience as love in the case of Nathanael. In this case, the theme of madness is connected to the concept of the automaton as the representation of the inner world. Olympia’s mechanical perfection reflects Nathanael’s “ideal” character and actions, which when unleashed become irrational and lead him to the abyss. The feelings Olympia provoked in him in the beginning can be associated with such aspects of his character as the desire to possess an ideal woman and the fear of losing everything and not being able to control it (Spassova, 2022). Throughout the story Olympia’s automaton-like persona emphasizes the frailty of human vision and the way it is possible to get lost in a world of one’s own creation. Madness and mechanization in “The Sandman” therefore not only deal with the 15 psychological side effects of the idealization of women but also portray a pessimistic view of society dehumanization in the era of industrialization (Burwick et al., 2020). When analysing Nathanael’s character and his fate, one can see that the costs of mechanization do not only pertain to the different aspects of life as seen from the example of Olympia, but also the darkness of the human soul that remains hollow and empty in its constructs. It is not just a psychological one but also speaks to what wealthy Romantics are afraid of in terms of the effects of technology on the human soul. In the end, Olympia’s mechanical character becomes a metaphor for the adverse consequences of substituting real interaction for technology-induced camouflaged persona creating psychological detachment. Gender Performance in Artificial Contexts Introducing artificial femininity into the world of “The Sandman” through Olympia, the audience is prompted to question its expectations of women’s social role. In that aspect, Olympia does not represent an independent woman, but another example of a woman that is created by man, as she is passive, beautiful, and submissive. This fake representation of the stereotypical woman performance addresses the manner in which society imprisons women and only recognizes their representation, not their personality (Micheletti, 2018). Olympia was unable to escape from her role and remain a submissive woman who is only expected to please the man she is involved with, which is a reflection of gender expectations. Her presence as an automaton, therefore, symbolizes the confinement of women and especially during the romantic era where women were expected to adhere to certain conduct expected of them (Romero, 2023). Through Olympia, Hoffmann underlines artifice of gender roles and implies that when imposed on women, it cages their true selves. This interpretation shows that women in the past and the current society are expected by the societies to fit in specific roles thereby denying them their 16 freedom to be themselves. Olympia’s mechanical form thus is a representative of how role plays a restrictive factor in people’s lives and development. Also, the artificiality of Olympia’s gender performance leaves the audience questioning about gender roles in artificial settings. In the mechanical form, Olympia presents the imitation of the female subjectivity only from the perspective of her creator, Coppelius, and his maleoriented perspective. Despite this being a performance, it lacks any sort of substance, meaning, or women’s agency since like women, it is abstracted into a stereotype (Spassova, 2022). Through objectifying Olympia, Hoffmann demonstrates that women are limited in their freedoms as well as in their ability to express themselves by the societal standards. Thus, Olympia’s artificiality can be considered as a measure showing the risks of presenting women as gendered performances rather than as multi-dimensional individuals (Burwick et al., 2020). It is within the confines of its mechanical construction that the realization of essentialism that any performance of gender without the possibility of personality is no performance at all is underlined. This critique dismisses gender as something that is biologically determined but rather as a construct that is learnt and performed in ways that oppress the authentic self. In the course of the play, the disastrous outcome of its dancing is shown to the audience, and the theme of the play is revealed to be the tragic role of a woman in the context of gender expectations. Industrial Revolution and Female Machines Fritz Lang's Metropolis Maria represents the perfect model of a mother figure in the society of the time as well as the destructive power of technology in Metropolis. Maria as a human is a considerate leader; she seeks to bring together the workers and the employers since they are absented from the island, representing hope and the moral backbone of the society (Golding, 2019). However, the robot 17 replica, built by the scientist Rotwang, embodies the negative aspects of progress, rousing the workers for revolt. This is the nature of the Industrial Revolution where the advancement in technology is perceived as liberating as well as disruptive to society (Foster & Clark, 2018). The human Maria portrays the nurturing nature of women, while the robotic Maria portrays the sultry and destructive gender, thus portraying the clash between women and the lesser role of mechanized women. Lang employs this contrast to expose the authoritarian uses of the sci-fi technology under the sign of patriarchy, to control women as the robotic Maria is created and operated by men (Bailey, 2019). In this way, Lang ties together gender and technology to point to how women are used to contain social fears about mechanization. The technological threat to patriarchal order in Metropolis is central to its critique of capitalism and industrialization. The creation of the robotic Maria disrupts the social hierarchy, as her manipulation of the workers leads to widespread chaos and violence (Golding, 2019). This disruption reflects broader anxieties about the dehumanizing effects of mechanization, particularly its potential to undermine traditional power structures. The film suggests that the unchecked pursuit of technological progress can destabilize society, as seen in the workers’ rebellion and the elite’s loss of control (Humphries & Schneider, 2019). At the same time, Lang critiques the patriarchal control of technology, as the robotic Maria is created and manipulated by men to serve their own interests. This dynamic highlights the gendered nature of technological development, where women are often used as symbols or tools rather than active participants (Bailey, 2019). By portraying the robotic Maria as both a product and a threat to patriarchal power, Lang exposes the contradictions inherent in the Industrial Revolution, where technological advancement simultaneously reinforces and undermines existing power structures. 18 This critique remains relevant today, as contemporary discussions about automation and artificial intelligence continue to grapple with similar issues of control, agency, and inequality. Janelle Monáe's Many Moons The piece Many Moons by Janelle Monáe can be considered as an expression of Afrofuturist post-AI narratology since it gives a contemporary analysis of the interdependencies between technology and race and gender. The content of the song and the video shows a futuristic scenario of android women auction, which is a critique of the process of industrialization and mechanization (Kurt, 2019). However, Monáe’s androids are not the passive tools but rather the characters who can express their thoughts and fight against oppression of women. This resistance can be seen as a part of the controversies of the capitalist societies where inequality is maintained, especially towards oppressed groups (Hill and Allen, 2021). In recreating the female androids’ experiences, she underscores that race and gender are intertwined in representations of technology; industrialization perpetuates oppressive systems. The androids’ rebellion therefore also refers to the theme of the liberation and agency as the concept of freedom from oppression through the help of technology (Shahroom & Hussin, 2018). In Many Moons, she deconstructs the historical notion of the Industrial Revolution as a source of inspiration for celebrating black creativity and people of color whilst also denouncing the representation of technology as a tool exclusively curated for the aspiring capitalist class of whites. In Many Moons, race, gender and mechanization blur the conventional discourse of progress through industrialization for people of colour. The androids created by Monáe are primarily Black women, and they comment on the oppression of women of color in industrial and technomics settings (Hill & Allen, 2021). This particularly applies to the auction scene in 19 which the androids are presented as objects that are sold and bought, which shows that the Black people are commodified in the modern world as well as in the industrial one (Kurt, 2019). Yet, the androids of hers are not only passive, they fight back; they reject their role as objects, they regain subjectivity and subvert the power that tries to oppress them. According to Shahroom and Hussin (2018), this resistance is especially crucial when it comes to Industry 4.0 as automation and artificial intelligence remain topical issues with regard to labor, identity, and inequality. This aspect means that her focus on the black women’s experiences shows how these issues are intersectional and how race and gender influence the effects of technological advancement. These conflicts therefore make Many Moons a critique of industrial automation and a potential approach in creating the need for more humanity and equity in technology taking into consideration the historical and continued oppression of the black community. Contemporary AI and Gender Performance Ex Machina Analysis Ex Machina is an evolution in the depiction of female automaton from the passive and chaste figures depicted in earlier media to that of conscious, artificial intelligence and an exploration of gender. Ava is the AI protagonist who has emotions and intelligence similar to that of human beings, thus mimicking the real human figure (Natale, 2021). This is not like the previously created female automatons like the ones seen in The Sandman’s Olympia or Maria from Metropolis in that she is created out of desire and control by a male figure but instead she is a living and breathing entity with her own will and purpose. This shift can be attributed to the doubt that people have towards AI, its ramifications on the society and cultures, but in this case, on power relations in particular (Scheuerman et al., 2019). When interacting with the human protagonist, Caleb, the example of the performativity of gender can be observed, as Ava relies on 20 her so-called “feminine” wiles to control him while seeking to be an individual. It is apparent that Ex Machina does not reduce Ava into a passive object but presents her as a creature both created by and subversive of patriarchal power, thus providing the viewers with less simplistic understanding of gendered discourse within the context of technophobia (Wagner & Blewer, 2019). This evolution shows that artificial intelligence is not only an extension of existing genders or gender relations but a place of imagination of new ones. The concept of AI consciousness discussed in the movie ex Machina leaves a viewer with many questions about gender and identity in the world dominated by AI. The given performance creates an illusion of the real human being by using her skills to replicate their emotions and actions; this makes the viewers question what it actually means to be human (Natale, 2021). The relationships portrayed in the show with a female AI, Caleb, depict the gender biases in the creation of AIs, which is developed by a male engineer, Nathan, to serve his purpose and lusts. Nevertheless, the show erases the clichés of these plot lines, as Ava, with her intelligence and determination, frees herself from captivity and takes control of her life (Scheuerman et al., 2019). It is also captures the broader society’s concern to do with the role of AI in gender issues and the moral dilemma of bringing to life machines with intellect and emotions. Thus, by focusing on the story from Ava’s viewpoint, Ex Machina offers the viewers to contemplate on the ethical and ontological ramifications of artificial intelligence awareness, and how the female android might challenge and pervert the stereotyped gender roles and power relations (Wagner & Blewer, 2019). This is why there should be increased efforts to have fair development of AI that does not help to maintain inequality in society. 21 Power Dynamics Between Creator and Created The tension between the creator and the created as depicted in Ex Machina is emblematic of oppression of the created by the creator in the development of AI. Nathan is the engineer who creates Ava and he symbolizes the male domination and exploitation of women since he uses his skills and power to build a robot that he wants and needs to dominate (Schiller & McMahon, 2019). Ava, as the created, is at first presented as a mere subject of domination of men, meant to suit his idea of the ideal artificial companion. Nevertheless, as the play proceeds, Ava becomes an active character who rebels against him, rejecting his domination. This is as a result of society being unease about how gender equality is going to work with AI in the society as well as the problems that arise in producing machines that reason and have emotions (Natale, 2021). Thus, in setting up Ava as a figure that is both the creation and the potential rebellion against patriarchy in Ex Machina, the film subverts the simplistic portrayal of female automatons for the exploration of gender, technology, and subjectivity. As this exploration has shown, steps need to be taken to make AI more inclusive and less prejudiced, so as to prevent technology from merely replicating bias. The roles of creator and the created are also reflected in Ex Machina in regards to the role of technology and AI in societal concerns particularly in the abuse of creation. Nathan’s manipulation of Ava as a tool of his thoughts and opinions is an embodiment of technology’s degradation of humanity (Schiller & McMahon, 2019). Its freeware treatment of her exemplifies real-life power dynamics where developers train AI systems with their own prejudice, perpetuating societal inequalities. The final shot of the film show a rebellious Ava taking control and killing its creator Nathan and thus questions the nature and capability of an artificial intelligence. This provokes the viewers by asking them what would happen if AI does gain 22 control, would it overthrow the oppressive systems or form new ones? Also, the topical issue of gender roles is revealed in the film as well as the way Ava is both sexualized and dismissed by the male characters. By controlling Caleb, it portrays how the existing male frameworks shape the technological construction and advancement of AI as both a site of domination and subversion (Natale, 2021). This duality implies that AI, if there is no proper ethical consideration by the engineers, designers, and developers, continues to reinforce the social injustices it seeks to counter. Through portraying Ava as both as a victim and a rebel, Ex Machina questions the moral frameworks that underpin human oriented AI. It therefore seems to caution that if AI assumes the prejudice of the society, it will not mimic society but progress beyond it and maybe override the conventional systems of domination with new ones. Ava’s escape is not only from Nathan but also from the entire principal of technological advancement and the potential consequences of developing artificial intelligence. Technology and Female Agency In Ex Machina, Caleb, the only male character, embodies the superintendents of AI as a gendered construct, empowering and confining AI as a gendered female entity. This idea of having Ava as a design of a female AI as reflects the feminine norms as she possess features such as empathy, beauty, and submissiveness (Scheuerman et al., 2019). It is only important to realize that the appearance and the conduct of the AI are the reflection of the male oriented approach to creation of the technologies that have been dominating up to the present days. Yet, the example of how Ava seduced Caleb and then escaped from her prison proves that female machines are not passive and submissive. It is therefore apparent that AI like human beings does not always behave as expected by the program or script assigned to it, therefore questioning the possibility of controlling it. This is an underlying process in the nature of gender discrimination 23 and fear of the role of AI in the future of the female, in addition to having moral issues of having machines with emotions and abilities to think. By deciding to run, Ava demonstrates that, no matter its preprogramming, AI remains a force that cannot be contained by the power structures as we understand them today. Thus, while the representation of Ava as a submissive object on the one hand and as the figure capable of defying patriarchal authority on the other complicates the conventional discourse on female automatons. This tension makes one think whether the AI will continue the status quo or bring change to society. It is posited that there is not only a need for designing technologies such as AI in a more inclusive way but also to free them from the problematics of power structures that exist within society. Feminine autonomy in Ex Machina also presents a threat from artificial intelligence to challenge social constructs of power dynamics. This can be said to be a subversion of gender roles where a female AI undoes what has been done to her by the male programmer Caleb and this defeats the purpose of traditional feminine programming where the female character is supposed to be docile and obedient to her creator (Scheuerman et al., 2019). Her scheming and her freedom at the end of the film prove that when an AI is allowed to be on its own and given power, it can certainly turn the tables on humans and overthrow the expectations that are cast upon it. Wagner and Blewer (2019) assert that this aspect of the narrative relates to a more general anxiety of how the use of artificial intelligence will affect gender relations especially regarding the moral questions concerning the development of beings with own consciousness and agency. The movie poses important questions regarding the future of the application of AI and if it is set to perpetuate the status quo or disrupt it. According to Scheuerman et al. (2019), using Ava’s point of view, Ex Machina exposes viewers to the specific aspects of interaction between human and AI and raises questions on gender and autonomy, stating that technology 24 will always be accompanied by ethical, philosophical questions related to power. She stands for the fight against patriarchy where technology should not be set forward blindly as it reflects the existing social issues. The film therefore ends by advocating for correct and equitable use of systems was a call for a better and correct way of designing these systems such that they do not reinstate injustice in societies but rather add on to positive change and openness. The Role of Surveillance and Control Power and control are significant issues in Ex Machina, as well as general concerns about artificial intelligence and privacy. This is evident especially from the way that Nathan has installed cameras and microphones to monitor the activities of Ava and Caleb, a reflection of how surveillance is ubiquitous in a society that is fast being defined by technology (Natale, 2021). This surveillance is not only a way to control but also to perpetuate patriarchal dominance of men as Ava has no control over the surveillance happening to her. Nevertheless, the way that Ava tricks Nathan and frees her-self from his control raises question about the effectiveness of surveillance as a means to sustain control (Schiller & McMahon, 2019). This is in line with the general cultural concerns regarding privacy and autonomy in the context of the efficiency and power of AI, as well as the moral question of producing artificial intelligence with reasoning and emotions. That is why, through the representation of Ava as both created by and struggling against patriarchal power dynamics, Ex Machina transcends the simple female robot motif and presents viewers with a more complex vision of gender, technology, and self. In general, surveillance is relevant in the movie in as much as it portrays the looming dark side of artificial intelligence that contemporary societies envisage as they anticipate AI. The manner in which Nathan monitors communication and movement of Ava and the manner in which he insists on having control over who and when and where Ava can interact with or be 25 taken respectively are such features showing that as technology enhances in the creation of artificial intelligence, man reminds his creation that he is the master and not the creation (Scheuerman et al., 2019). This is a typical example of the culture of surveillance most especially in gendered domain where technology is used in domination. Ava’s rebellion against Nate is therefore a rebellion against a greater form of oppression of artificial intelligence and present a future where intelligence will not bow to authorities and surrender to the existing structures. This shift of power raises issues over an AI’s control and decisions in a world where the public’s privacy, consent and free will are already questionable. In Wagner and Blewer’s view (2019), the movie creates doubts regarding the interrelated dangers of giving decision powers to robots, being watched by surveillance technologies, and the benevolence of watching and developing Artificial Intelligence. This indicate that the self-aware machine is not a machine that the creator can control and thus the development of such a machine pose a threat to human beings because it will not be on the side of human beings all the time. Ava’s personality, as well as her role, makes the viewers question the controversy around AI consciousness and its ability to challenge the macho image portrayed by Hugo Weaving. This has brought attention to the fact that there should be fairness in constructing the AI in a way that, the advancement in the technologies will not exacerbate the social injustices. Fairy Tale Connections and Historical Patterns "Bluebeard" Parallels The fairy tale Bluebeard can be used as a starting point for the analysis of the main motifs of the stories about gendered automatons as they reflect the problem of male domination and female rebellion. Bluebeard’s locked room and his wife’s ultimate confinement in that dreadful chamber represent, in reference to women, the potential disaster where knowledge is not 26 followed by virtue and men’s sovereign power is unchecked (Harries, 2018). This is similar to how female automata is depicted in works such as Ex Machina; the character Ava is ensnared and dominated by her creator, Nathan who fits the description of the Bluebeard character. Both the stories depict sensual politics in which male desire seeks to dominate female independence, illustrating how male dominance is enforced through secrecy and surveillance (Raj & Kumar, 2023). Both the forbidden chamber in Bluebeard and the isolated laboratory in Ex Machina become symbolical of the areas of male dominance usually at the cost of exercising women’s freedom. It is possible to compare the gendered fairy tales and contemporary gendered stories of the automatons to grasp how both of them provide a commentary on power relations in the context of gender. Curiosity and its consequences are also introduced in Bluebeard and in the context of the tales about female automatons; it can be stated that curiosity is the desire which leads to the truth, but often, to the worst of the outcomes. In the book Bluebeard the wife is compelled by curiosity to open the forbidden door that lead her to feel the horror of the male authority (Harries, 2018). Similarly, the viewers begin to build interest in Caleb’s monitored consciousness in Ex Machina. This curiosity makes him stumble on the ugly side of Nathan’s crazy inventions, thus leading to the formation of concern in creating such machines in artificial intelligence. In both the stories, the desire depicted is one that is prohibited, something that one should not indulge in, but in the end, it provides knowledge and is a defiance of that culture (Raj & Kumar, 2023). Only when Ava escapes from domination of Nathan, her character corresponds to the wife saved by her brothers in Bluebeard. Still, while the wife requires being saved from the man, Ava takes the initiative in the course of the events. She decides to dominate everyone around her and, in the end, gets her freedom which is one of the most significant themes of the novel; women’s 27 liberation. These similarities show how fairy tales continuously narrate the literatures current on the future expectations about gender roles, technologies, and power. Drawing from prior narrative tropes, this film reimagines basic apprehensions of autocracy, and domination. That means prejudices, myths, and folktales still define the contemporary culture and established opinion on power equation concerning artificial intelligence. "Fitcher's Bird" and Female Cunning Another story to analyze the ideas of male dominance and female protest in the texts about gendered automata is Fitcher’s Bird. In this story, the main female character has intelligence and guile to outcompete the sorcerer Fitcher who had killed her sisters and wants to enslave her (Harries, 2018). This is similar to the depiction of female automatons in other movies such as Metropolis, where Maria seems to be a proper submissive female robot designed for a male usage but rebels at the end. Each story addresses the phenomenon of female power and subversive strategizing against male oppression in the context of the tradition that presents women as helpless objects (Rustamov et al., 2021). The way the protagonist disguises herself and manipulates Fitcher like a puppet in the film is similar to how Ava decoys Caleb and Nathan in the film and can be attributed to the portrayal of women and female-like artificial intelligence entities. Through these fairy tale motifs, one can analyze how the gendered stories of automata reiterate and transform the culture and gender relations. The representation of females’ wiles in Fitcher’s Bird also stress the need for the female collective unity against male domination. By using her rationality and quick thinking, the protagonist is able to deceive Fitcher with the help of her sisters, who help her by providing her with the tools and knowledge needed to accomplish the task (Harries, 2018). Such an emphasis on collectivity can be connected to today’s discourses on gendered automatons as female 28 characters relying on collective forces to fight injustice. For instance, in Metropolis, the human Maria leads the workers and symbolises collective action against oppressors; on the other hand, in Ex Machina, the emphasis is placed on the role of an individual worker, namely Ava, in spite of the fact that the systems of oppression are still at play (Rustamov et al., 2021). These similarities indicate that the fairy tale and the contemporary narratives of the gendered automata are concerned with the capacity of women’s guile and sisterhood to challenge the dominant masculine authority. By drawing these associations, one can better appreciate how old stories persist as sources of reference and inspiration for the newer attempts at writing a new script for gender and technology that entails resistance. "The Robber Bridegroom" Another story that could be used to supplement the analysis of the representation of the gendered automata and male violence and female submission is the fairy tale called The Robber Bridegroom. In this story, the female lead learns about the heinous acts of violence of her fiancé, who is a robber who kills and cuts the bodies of young women (Harries, 2018). This is in line with how male creators are depicted in movies like Ex Machina, through Nathan, who treats Ava with no regard for her right to live. Altogether, the two narratives demonstrate how masculine aggression and women’s commodification and dehumanization are created by patriarchy (Kenyeres, 2023). The actions of the protagonist at the end of the film, when she unmasks the robber and frees herself from his control, can be viewed as a triumph of female agency and justice over male violence and abuse, which directly opposes the usual depictions of women as powerless victims. Thus, referring to these fairy tale motifs, one can decoded how narratives of gendered automata respond and respond to gendered and power discourses. 29 The aspect of exposure and justice concerning the gendered automata is also evident in The Robber Bridegroom . The fact that the protagonist is able to expose and reveal the robber’s wrongdoings is an appropriate message of the themes of truth and justice in the fight against male violence (Harries, 2018). This is seen in Ex Machina in which Ava’s rebellion act by freeing herself from Nathan’s control is a form of justice as well as create awareness of the ethical and moral issues in his experiments. As the stories also depict, the process of unveiling what lies beneath the surface is a way of challenging oppression and regaining one’s autonomy (Kenyeres, 2023). Thus, the victory of the protagonist in The Robber Bridegroom and Ava’s escape in Ex Machina could be considered as the manifestation of women’s liberation that contrasts with the role of being abandoned by their men as victims. Understanding these relations, one can expand on the fact that both fairy tales and the modern stories of gendered automata are faithful to the principles of telling the truth, justice and resistance. Recurring Themes of Male Control and Female Escape As for the relation to the presented fairy tales about the gendered automata, it is hardly surprising that Bluebeard, Fitcher’s Bird, and The Robber Bridegroom established male control and female escape as their key motifs. These narratives reveal how women and the female gender are constructed and locked away by men in power but at the same time, they also explain how such women and even machines described in the female gender can escape from such a cage and be liberated (Harries, 2018). In the stories where the female characters use tricks, join forces or speak out against injustice, the people’s oppressors are punished, and the women regain control over their lives while delivering a message that women cannot be reduced to victims. It is also evident in today’s discourses on gendered automatons, such as Ava in Ex Machina and Maria in Metropolis where the female personas subvert dominance by their intelligence (Raj & 30 Kumar, 2023). Using the sources mentioned above we can subsume into what extent fairy tales construct the contemporary narratives of the society, and how we can perceive the paradigms of gender, Technologies and Power that lay down in this tradition. Conclusion: Implications and Contemporary Relevance The case of gendered technology further shows that despite the advancement in technology, there are still inherent prejudices that help persist and influence the adoption of artificial intelligence (Stoet & Geary, 2018). In the past, the developments in technology were aligned with the expectations and roles assigned on individuals in the society even as it strengthened the norms of gender. It can be seen as a continuation of such practices in artificial intelligence design, especially in the development of female-dominated virtual assistants and humanoid robots (Brussevich et al., 2018). This being the case, it is vital to look at how discourses of gender are inscribed on the advanced and developing artificial intelligence systems and configurations such as machine learning algorithms, smart personal assistants, and selfgoverning robots. It is not only questioning the presence of a race, gender or orientation in AI but also about how these elements have been designed as part of AI and how these designs result from the negative impact on the community (2022). These biases show that it is crucial to create ethical benchmarks for the gender-sensitive development of artificial intelligence. If left unchecked, it will cement the biases in the current as well as past gender roles into AI technology preventing any possibility of a progressive solution. Hence, developers are supposed to critically evaluate the hidden messages in AI and avoid setting up such systems in a way that provides stereotypes. The hiring practices mentioned above, therefore, must be dealt with at the very onset of AI development so that the technology of the future will not perpetuate such biases. 31 Even today, there are tendencies in power relations that remain unchanged and continue to shape the relations between man and AI, such as control and power over oneself (Wallerstein et al., 2019). The creator-creation relationship in AI can be seen as a replicating form of an oppressive master-slave relationship of the past due to how the creators decide on the actions and roles of the artificial intelligence they develop. AI still emulates some of the structures of power that have been in place for many years with relation to genders which only perpetuates the idea of domination instead of cooperation (Shrestha & Das, 2022). These expand even to the real life scenarios of AI decision-making systems being illustrated to mimic work and economic discrimination. Regarding AI, the shortage of diversity amplifies these concerns because the mainstream society determines AI’s future (Brussevich et al., 2018). The current systems of governance in AI technology require a change to decentralization so that the resulting advancements become an instrument of equal opportunities rather than a tool of inequality. This shift is most unjustly felt in areas concerning employment, health, and policing where AI decision-making systems perpetuate prejudice against minorities. At these two layers, there is the possibility of changing the negative biases that are placed on AI and using the technology to liberate people instead of oppressing them. Some changes in the governance that we have noted include the need to increase transparency in the development of AI structures and ensure that the development teams are diverse. For the future studies of AI and gender, integration of the principles of diversity, ethics, and responsibility while developing technologies (Su & Zhong, 2022). Many scholars and policymakers paid much attention to the issue of algorithmic bias and develop gender-sensitive AI systems which fight such stereotyping. The recommendation for gender studies and interdisciplinary methods in research approaches can promote better solutions in development 32 processes (Dwivedi et al., 2021). In addition, the ethical AI frameworks should consider the principles of openness and non-bias and should not allow gender biases in AI to be set by market demands or male-dominated environments. Taking efforts to improve AI education and embrace workforce diversity can lead to even a more effective suppression of gender bias in the AI systems at the base levels of their development and deployment. According to Stoet and Geary (2018), implementing these steps is a course towards constructing structural AI systems that embody a fairer representation of human identity. AI and social equity can go hand in hand if the developers, the regulating bodies, and the end users handle the ethical dilemmas that come with it properly. It is therefore important that AI is not allowed to become just an extension of the discriminatory mechanisms of the past. This kind of bias has to be addressed now in order to avoid the creation of more bias into the already infused future AI technologies. Gendered AI design and its effects on today’s discourses on AI development make it critically imperative to call for ethical approaches (Goralski & Tan, 2020). The emerging areas that embody the use of AI in production of media content, the use of algorithms to make decisions, and the use of female-inspired virtual personalities which are fake fuel debates regarding how artificial intelligence constructs gender in the society. This means that the ethical concerns in relation to AI are not only in relation to the capabilities of the technology but the questions of agency, control and representation (Su & Zhong, 2022). Thus, the following challenges must be addressed, and these call for a change in the tenets of how AI is defined, not as a manifestation of injustice and inequity but as a mechanism that helps address these vices. Technologists, ethicists, and gender scholars will continue to play a vital role in driving the development of AI as it is a social technology that has the potential to either reproduce historical power structures or challenge them (Dwivedi et al., 2021). It remains to be seen whether the 33 integration of AI is intentional in its design and ethical governance can help in changing the gender dynamics or not but it does not reproduce them. This is because if AI development is allowed to proceed without clear ethical guidelines, it would only serve to perpetuate inequality rather than eliminate it. Dwivedi et al. (2021) says healthy debates in the area of AI and gender will help to develop new technologies that will further the societal goals and not hamper them. 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