Popular artificial intelligence (AI) chat ChatGPT already has more than 180 million users, but jeweler Harriet Kelsall says it's not for her.
Being dyslexic, she admits that using it can help improve the clarity of her communication with clients on her website. But in the end she says she just doesn't believe him.
Kelsall says that when he experimented with ChatGPT this year, he noticed bugs. She tested him by asking him about the crown worn by King Charles III at his coronation in May, St. Edward's Crown.
"I asked ChatGPT to tell me some information about the crown, just to see what she had to say," she says. "I know very little about the gems in royal crowns, and I noticed that there were large sections within the text around it that were about the wrong crown."
While ChatGPT has become extremely popular since its introduction a year ago, Kelsall's reluctance to use it appears to be significantly more common among women than men. While 54% of men already use AI in their professional or personal lives, only 35% of women use AI, according to a survey earlier this year.
What are the reasons for this glaring gender gap in the use of Artificial Intelligence and should it be of concern?
Hayley Bystram, has not been tempted to save time by using AI. With a matchmaking business, she says she meets her clients face-to-face to match them with others they're compatible with, with no algorithms involved.
AI expert Jodie Cook says there are deeper, more ingrained reasons why women aren't embracing technology as much as men.
"Fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics have traditionally been dominated by men. The current trend in the adoption of AI tools seems to reflect this disparity, as the skills required for AI are rooted in Stem disciplines.
In the UK, only 24% of the workforce across all Stem sectors are women and as a result women may feel less confident using AI tools,” says Cook.
"Although many tools do not require technical skills, if more women do not see themselves as technically competent, they may not experiment with them.
And it also still looks like science fiction. In the media and in popular culture, science fiction tends to be marketed to men.”
Psychologist Lee Chambers says that typical female thinking and behavior may prevent some women from embracing AI.
"It's the confidence gap – women tend to want to have a high level of competence in something before they start using it," he says. "While men tend to be happy, i.e. satisfied, to use something, even without much competence."
Chambers also says women may fear having their ability questioned if they use AI tools.
"Women are more likely to be accused of not being competent, so they need to emphasize their credentials more to demonstrate their expertise in a certain field," adds the psychologist.
Or as Harriet Kelsall says: "I value human authenticity and creativity."
