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Elin Kanhov

Publications and source records attributed to Elin Kanhov.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Sexualised synthetic personas encode and amplify gendered power asymmetries through voice

This work examines sexualised AI-generated English-speaking voices offered by a popular commercial platform. New technologies may enable sexual empowerment and greater diversity in gender expression, yet toxic masculinity, heteronormativity, and the abuse of women and LGBTQ+ people remain pervasive online. Drawing on a Feminist HCI perspective, we examine how commercial voice AI systems reproduce and circulate particular performances of gender. We conducted a listening experiment with a diverse group of listeners, combining quantitative adjective selection, qualitative free-text responses, and acoustic analysis. Participants evaluated male- and female-coded voices presented with either sexualised scripts or neutral text. Results reveal a narrow range of gender expression, largely binary and heteronormative. Female-coded voices are more frequently described using sexualised and submissive terms, while male-coded voices are more often associated with dominance and positive traits.

eess.AS↗
arXiv2024

Data Ethics and Practices of Human-Nonhuman Sound Technologies and Ecologies

Human-nonhuman sound interaction and technologies aim to bridge the gap of inter-species communication. While they emerge from attempts to understand and communicate with nonhumans, they also raise questions on the ethics of nonhuman data use, for example regarding the unintended consequences such data extraction can have to nonhumans. In this paper, we discuss power relations and aspects of representation in nonhuman data practices, and their potential critical implications to nonhumans. Drawing from prior research on data ethics and posthumanities, we conceptualize two challenges of nonhuman data ethics for the design of Human-Nonhuman Interaction (HNI) and technologies in sound ecologies. We provide takeaways for how sensitivities toward nonhuman stakeholders can be considered in the design of HNI in the context of sound ecologies.

cs.HC↗