Have you ever wondered why a disproportionate percentage of artificial intelligence systems have female personas? Kristi Sharma, VP of Bots and AI at Sage Group, aims to straighten things out in the best way she knows.

In an interview with Computer Business Review, Sharma talked about the dangerous projection of human bias on artificial intelligence. When asked why some people view AI as sexist and lacking in diversity, the Sage exec replied that this view is a result of real-life events. She went to point out how the human race is corrupted by bias, both consciously and unconsciously. In effect, this is being projected into the artificial world as well.

In a world swarmed with Internet of Things (IoT), AI assistants are -- more often than not -- defined as feminine. Alexa, Cortana and Siri are not just notably feminine names; their roles have been defined as those of the fairer sex as well.

Interestingly, AI roles commonly try to imitate the traditional positions that females have been designated to throughout the years, such as personal assistant roles or in the administrative force. According to Sharma, this fulfils the gender bias. As with the human workforce, the Sage exec said that AI should be a reflection of it.

The Sage Group is responsible for the creation of the Pegg bot, a gender-neutral assistant, which according to the Hello Pegg website is neither a he nor a she, but an "it." A belief of the company, which it greatly upholds, is that AI does not need to pretend that it's human. Rather, it needs to add value by way of delivering and completing complex tasks.

Sharma led the creation of Pegg, which she said was developed within the core of "Bot Pride." The VP explained that it's crucial for bots to be proud of itself as a bot, without having to pretend to be anything other than what it is.

When asked how the modern society will benefit from a gender-neutral AI world, Sharma said that it is a great source of empowerment and will encourage children to think "outside of the box," leading to a more diverse workplace. Together with The Sage Group, Sharma believes that this way of thinking will drive more women not just in the tech industry, but also in all the other sectors dominated by men.