TELAIGEN · The Spanish Telecommunication Sector and the Development of AI Products from a Gender Perspective
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-02-01 → 2024-01-31
- EU contribution
- €160,932
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
The Spanish Telecommunication Sector and the Development of AI Products from a Gender Perspective
Given the rising relevance of AI-driven technology and the growing concerns over its reproduction of a gender bias, my research aims to respond to these tensions empirically through exploring the gender bias within the telecommunications industry in Spain. The chief objective of TELAIGEN is to develop a multi-methodological study of the Spanish telecommunications industry on a multi-level basis. On one level, the goal of TELAIGEN is to create a holistic picture of the Spanish telecommunications industry by ascertaining its gender gap and identifying where this gap is more prevalent within the sector (i.e. in AI research teams of AI developing teams) using quantitative-means. On another level, the goal of TELAIGEN is to determine the incorporation of a gender perspective in the sector that shapes the development of AI technologies through the implementation of qualitative research methods. This goal will be realised carrying out a case-study of the company Telefónica, Investigación y Desarrollo (TID), a subsidiary enterprise, part of the larger Telefónica Group, a private Spanish multinational telecommunication enterprise headquartered in Madrid, Spain. By focusing on the particular situation of one Spanish company, TELAIGEN will be able to produce a comprehensive report that effectively identifies the necessary adjustments and measures to be taken by TID to reduce the gender gap in their teams and the gender bias in their AI products.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The rise of algorithm-powered technology in the telecommunications industry has been criticised for reproducing gender bias, particularly in Artificial Intelligence-driven (AI) products. This interdisciplinary and intersectoral project explores the gender bias within the Spanish telecommunications industry as a direct consequence of the lack of women in the sector. The purpose is to develop a multi-methodological study that allows to draw attention and evidence the gender gap and the consequent lack of a gender perspective within this industry in Spain. The central hypothesis is that the current gender gap in the sector leads to lack of integration of a gender perspective leading consequently, to the reproduction of gender bias in AI technologies. This, as a result, produces a setback in gender equality. To explore this, the study asks the following questions: what is the degree of the gender gap within the telecommunications industry in Spain? Are measures being taken to address this? To answer these questions, I will gather data on two levels: first, at the general level by implementing a quantitative survey-based methodology, targeting 400 industry insiders to gain information on the gender gap in the overall sector; and second, at the specific level, by carrying out a case-study through my secondment at Telefónica, Investigación y Desarrollo (TID), a Spanish leading research centre in new technologies where I will use qualitative-based methodologies to investigate its gender bias and its lack of integration of a gender perspective. A major outcome of this research is the production of a report to be handed to TID with specific guidelines for the incorporation of a gender perspective that will help them reduce their gender bias in their AI technologies and improve the commercialisation of their products. This report will have the potentiality of becoming a benchmark study for further research in the field, particularly within the European context.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID · Getafe (Madrid)CoordinatorSpain
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union