Meet Betabot Model # 80016.

Betabot model # 38557 suggested a rich line of inquiry into gender. Thus, a new category of Betabots was created: the Eighty-Thousands. This new line of Betabots are dedicated to exploring communication through, and about, gender.

To that end, an ingenious experiment was devised wherein 33 fresh Betabots were given unfettered access to the entirety of the past 33 years of Western English-language film and television, and allowed to process this data without interruption for a full 33 hours. This technique has since been termed “The Three-Thirtythree Cultural Exposure Test”.

At the end of the 3-33, the Betabots were all prompted to select 3 musical themes, from any of the available films and television programs that they had access to. They were given no other requirements or instructions for how to make their theme-song selections.

Coincidentally, once again the number 3 makes an appearance, as roughly one third of the 33 Betabots selected either the first or last three themes available- ordered either chronologically or alphabetically.

One third selected themes at random without any discernable pattern,

and one third selected themes based off of an identifiable criterion. For example, number 26 selected themes entirely from pornographic films, number 4 selected themes from science fiction films and television programs, number 19 selected three themes from children’s television cartoons, and number 16 showed a preference for action-adventure films.

To further refine our results, the 33 Eighty-Thousands were then all prompted to delete 3 films or television series permanently from their electronic “brains”. Again, no specific criteria was given, and again, the 33 fell neatly into the rule of thirds, by in large following their previously displayed dispositions.

The first two thirds deleted their selections dispassionately, either at random or based on a logical ordering. Interestingly, a few members of the first two thirds choose their selections based on size. 3, 17 and 22 all choose the three largest files while 9, 15 and 27 choose the three smallest files. This seems to reflect a priority system based either on a conservation of data or a conservation of space.

The final third made selections that revealed more about their developing “character” and helped to single out the Betabot that showed the most development of a “gender” or at least, something that could be described as gender-based preferences. Number 16 was selected, as it showed the strongest preference for gender based themes. It had initially selected the themes from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Superman and it choose to delete The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and the entire run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

All other Betabots defied easy pigeonholing into a gender, including number 26, the Betabot that seemingly loved porn. It deleted a romantic comedy that had no nudity or sex scenes, a horror film- also without nudity or sex scenes, and an action film- again- lacking nudity or sex of any kind. Number 26 seemed fascinated with sex of every sort, but showed no preference for a gender, or any particular type of sexuality.

After selecting 16 for field testing because of it’s preference for “Fella Films” and dislike of “Chick Flicks”, we equipped 16 with a panel of three buttons and an audio system through which 16 was to communicate with observers. “He” was prompted to play “his” favorite themes whenever an observer pressed his buttons. The first two buttons were left open to the Pirates theme and the Superman theme respectively, but for the third, we reinstalled the deleted episodes of The Opera Winfrey Show, and instructed 16 to play Chaka Khan’s anthem I’m Every Woman, which served as the theme to The Oprah Winfrey Show during a 3 year period, from 1994 to 1996.

We then painted 16 a feminine shade of pink, as well as painting on its side 16’s full model number: 80016. But rather than use the standard black paint, this time the model number was painted in a softer tone of white.

Why did we do this? This is the true direction of this experiment. We have already established that Betabots can seemingly develop a preference for one gender over the other, but can that preference be changed?

Can a Betabot be taught that its choices are “Wrong”?

To this end, we are relying on observer expectations- of course the Betabot is lacking any sort of sensory equipment that it could us to inform itself that it is a pink Betabot, but it is hypothesized that a Betabot garbed in pink will be expected by observers to be more feminine, or behave in a more feminine way. If this is true, then perhaps observers will show a preference for the most “feminine” song: I’m Every Woman. Over time, if 80016 is continually requested to play this song longer and more frequently than it’s own selections, will it change those selections? And how? Will it be compelled to select 2 other songs that are similar to I’m Every Woman or are themes from a similar program? Or will it rebel somehow?

Already, 80016 is displaying some frustration. It quickly plays its preferred songs as soon as its first two buttons are depressed but it will sometimes initially refuse, or stubbornly delay, playing I’m Every Woman. Interestingly, at the time of writing, this only occurs if 80016 is asked to play I’m Every Woman by itself. There is no such behavior present when 80016 is requested to play it in tandem with both or either one of the two other songs.

It will be interesting to see how field testing will progress as 80016 communicates it’s preferences, and as observers communicate their cultural predispositions.

Footage here.