In a virtual-reality office study, 189 knowledge workers awarded a female-presenting AI assistant 10.25% less money than a male-presenting counterpart for doing the same work. The peer-reviewed paper was published Oct. 3 ahead of its presentation at NordiCHI 2026 in Vaasa, Finland.
The study compared workplace assistants shown as a text chatbot, desk robot and human-like agents with male or female appearances. The assistants used the same underlying technology, according to the University of Limerick release. After completing tasks, participants divided real money between themselves and an assistant based on its contribution.
The female-presenting avatar, Johanna, received 10.25% less than the male-presenting Johan. Participants also rated Johan as more human-like. The paper does not show whether gender presentation alone drove the reward difference.
The researchers interviewed 34 participants; many said they preferred clearly non-human assistants and that gender did not matter to them. Because the task was a one-session VR simulation, it does not establish how appearance affects reward decisions in actual workplaces.
Sources
- Cuber et al., “Human-Like and Male? How AI Assistant Design Relates to Trust and Monetary Reward at Work in VR,” ACM NordiCHI 2026
- University of Limerick, paper record and abstract
- University of Limerick research release via EurekAlert
- USDA Forest Service photo by Marc Barnes via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the United States (illustrative workplace VR photo; not an image from the study)
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